Setup error with and without image guidance using two canine intracranial positioning systems for radiation therapy.

Daily image guidance reduces inter-fractional variation in patient position for intracranial radiation therapy. However, the ability to detect and correct positioning errors is limited below a certain level. Because of these limitations, the accuracy achieved with a positioning system prior to image guidance may affect the error remaining after image guidance (the residual setup error). The objective of this study was to compare the setup accuracy achieved before and after megavoltage (MV) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) guidance between two intracranial positioning systems. Equipment included a four degrees-of-freedom couch capable of 1 mm translational moves. Six dog cadavers were positioned 24 times as for clinical treatment in a head re-positioner (HPS), and the coordinates of five fiducial markers were measured before and after image-guided correction. The values obtained for the HPS were compared with those previously reported for the standard positioning system (SPS) used at this facility. The mean three-dimensional distance vector (3DDV) was lower for the HPS than for the SPS when no image guidance was used (P = .019). The mean 3DDV after MV guidance was lower for the HPS than for the SPS (P = .027), but not different after CBCT guidance (P = .231). The 95th percentiles of the 3DDV after MV and CBCT guidance were 2.1 and 2.9 mm, respectively, for the HPS, and 2.8 and 3.6 mm for the SPS. The setup error after MV guidance was lower for the positioning system that achieved a more accurate patient position before image guidance.

Residual setup error in the canine intracranial region after megavoltage, kilovoltage, or cone-beam computed tomographic image guidance for radiation therapy.

Sources of residual setup error after image guidance include image localization accuracy, errors associated with image registration, and inability of some treatment couches to correct submillimeter translational errors and/or pitch and roll errors. The purpose of this experimental study was to measure setup error after image-guided correction of the canine intracranial region, using a four degrees-of-freedom couch capable of 1 mm translational moves. Six cadaver dogs were positioned 45 times as for clinical treatment using a vacuum deformable body cushion, a customizable head cushion, a thermoplastic mask and an indexed maxillary plate with a dental mould. The location of five fiducial markers in the skull bones was compared between the reference position and after megavoltage (MV), kilovoltage (kV) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-guided correction using orthogonal kV images. The mean three-dimensional distance vectors (3DDV) after MV, kV and CBCT-guided correction were 1.7, 1.5 and 2.2 mm, respectively. All values were significantly different (P < .01). The 95th percentiles of the 3DDV after online MV, kV and CBCT-guided correction were 2.8, 2.6 and 3.6 mm, respectively. Residual setup error in the clinical scenario examined was on the order of millimetres and should be considered when choosing PTV margins for image-guided radiation therapy of the canine intracranial region.

Effect of partial covering of the visitor viewing area window on positioning and orientation of zoo orangutans: A preference test.

The window of the visitor viewing area adjacent to an animal platform in an orangutan enclosure was altered to produce three viewing treatments in a randomized controlled experiment. These treatments were window uncovered, left side of the window covered or right side of the window covered. Observations were conducted on the orangutans present on the platform, and on their location (left or right side), and orientation (towards or away from the window) while on the platform. The partial covering of the window had little effect on the proportion of time orangutans spent on the viewing platform, or on the direction they faced when on the platform. When the orangutans were facing towards the window, and the right side was uncovered, irrespective of whether the left side was covered, they spent about three quarters of the time on the right side, suggesting a preference for the right side of the platform. However, when the right side was covered and the left side uncovered, the animals facing towards the window spent only about a quarter of the time on the right side, that is, they spent more time on the uncovered side. The results suggest that the orangutans have a preference to position themselves to face the window of the visitor viewing area.

Relaxed conditions can provide memory cues in both undergraduates and primary school children.

BACKGROUND: Memory can be impaired by changes between the contexts of learning and retrieval (context-dependent memory, CDM). However, the reminder properties of context have usually been investigated by experimental manipulation of cues in isolation, underestimating CDM that results from interactions between cues. AIMS: To test whether CDM can be demonstrated using multiple contextual cues combined to create relaxing versus neutral contexts at separate learning and memory testing stages of the experiments. SAMPLE: Forty university undergraduates (in Experiment 1), and forty 9-10 year-olds (in Experiment 2). METHODS: All participants were given age-appropriate tasks under either relaxing or neutral conditions. The next day they were tested for retrieval or practice effects, under the same or different (relaxing versus neutral) conditions. RESULTS: For both age groups, there was a (mostly asymmetric) CDM effect with performance generally best in the relaxing-relaxing condition. There was also some overall benefit of having learned under relaxed conditions. CONCLUSION: A relaxed learning environment can provide effective retrieval cues, as well as improve learning. COMMENT: For both primary school children and university students, the educational implication of these findings is that learning can be improved in a relaxed state. For this benefit to be fully manifest, the assessment of learning should also take place under relaxed conditions.