Published in MPW, 15 Jul 2015
The time taken to calculate a treatment plan for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) could be slashed by a factor of 10, thanks to an algorithm that draws on the power of multiple computer processors. The algorithm, which has been developed by researchers in the US, could allow users of VMAT to spend more time reviewing and fine-tuning difficult cases (Med. Phys. 42 2841).
VMAT is an advanced radiation therapy technique in which radiation is delivered from a rotating accelerator. As the accelerator swings around a patient in an arc, a collimator changes the outline and intensity of the radiation beam, so that the final dose has a 3D profile that matches the shape of the tumour. In this way VMAT can attack a tumour more precisely, and reduce the exposure received by surrounding healthy tissue. […]
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