Abstract

Radiation therapy is a widely-used cancer treatment method in which lethal doses of ionizing radiation are delivered to cancerous cells. Given the high dose requirements and the risk of associated complications, it is essential that radiation be targeted to cancerous cells while minimizing the dose to surrounding tissue. While current technology allows for accurate targeting of radiation dose, there is one major hurdle: Respiratory motion causes movement of up to a few centimeters of tumors in the abdomen and thorax, rendering even the most accurate radiation delivery machine highly inaccurate. Imaging devices integrated with the treatment machines allow us to visualize the moving tumors, either indirectly through x-ray imaging of nearby implanted fiducial markers, or directly through magnetic resonance imaging. The research presented here investigates two new methods of tracking the tumor motion on these modalities.

Committee Chair

Parag Parikh

Committee Members

Mark Anastasio, Sasa Mutic, Robert Pless, Lihong Wan,

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K76T0JX3

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Biomedical Engineering

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2016

Language

English (en)

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