Radiation shielding is crucial for protecting healthcare professionals from scatter radiation during x-ray procedures. Conventional lead aprons, although effective, are limited by their high weight, low flexibility, and potential toxicity. Recent developments in composite materials using elements such as tungsten (W), bismuth (Bi), tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), and barium (Ba) offer promising nonlead alternatives with comparable radiation protection, while significantly improving both weight reduction and flexibility.

Sexual dysfunction is a significant toxicity of pelvic radiation therapy (RT) for female rectal cancer patients and may be more common with intensity-modulated techniques compared to three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). However, limited research has evaluated dose sparing of female sexual organs at risk (OARs), particularly erectile tissues that are critical for sexual function.

Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) as measured by diffusion weighted imaging is known to negatively correlate with prostate tumor aggressiveness. Heterogeneity in system and protocol performance causes potential variability in ADC acquired across a large scanner network, prompting a need to evaluate quantitative ADC from a prostate-specific MR diffusion protocol as part of quality assurance (QA). Due to the temperature dependence of ADC, repeatability and reproducibility assessments typically require phantoms to maintain a temperature of 0°C, imposing a considerable burden when assessing large numbers of scanners.

Linear accelerators (LINACs) are critical components of modern radiation therapy, requiring consistent operational performance to ensure uninterrupted patient care. Unplanned downtime not only disrupts clinical workflows but can significantly impact treatment efficacy. Traditional approaches to LINAC reliability analysis have often focused on specific components rather than comprehensive performance patterns. The advent of artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) offers new opportunities for analyzing complex, unstructured maintenance data to extract meaningful insights that can inform maintenance strategies and improve clinical operations.

Recently, the Enhanced Leaf Modeling (ELM) was developed to improve the multileaf collimator (MLC) model in the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS). This multi-institutional study evaluated the dose calculation accuracy and clinical feasibility of the ELM for TrueBeam linear accelerators (linacs) equipped with Millennium 120 and High-Definition 120 MLCs. In addition, to facilitate broader clinical adoption, the feasibility of using machine-averaged ELMs (ELM) for both MLC types was evaluated.

Radiochromic films (RCFs) are ubiquitous in radiation oncology clinical and research settings to measure the radiation dose over a two-dimensional (2D) area due to their high spatial resolution, water-equivalency, and relative ease-of-use. Upon irradiation, the constituent monomers of the active layer of RCFs undergo polymerization, leading to a visible darkening that enables quantitative dosimetry. Quantitative RCF dosimetry requires film calibration against a reference dosimeter. Film darkening depends on various radiation-field and environmental parameters that need to be carefully considered to ensure the highest accuracy in film dosimetry. Several commercially available RCF models offer distinct dynamic dose ranges, allowing users to select appropriate options based on specific dosimetric needs. Here, we provide a review on the progress and practice of RCF dosimetry.

Currently, ocular disease is primarily managed with COMS plaque brachytherapy. Various stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) platforms have also been employed, yet widespread access remains a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate the feasibility of using the HyperArc SRS system to provide an additional platform for the treatment of ocular malignancies.

Accurate Hounsfield units (HU) are critical for dose calculation and anatomical visualization, but are often affected by dental artifacts in head and neck (H&N) cancer patients. The HyperSight cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) platform provides improved image quality over previous CBCT platforms and offers metal artifact reduction (iCBCT MAR) reconstruction.

To evaluate the fitting accuracy and dose influence of 3D-printed bolus (3DPB) during postmastectomy radiotherapy.

To compare dosimetric characteristics and treatment efficiency between the high-definition multileaf collimator (HD-MLC) system and robotic radiosurgery (RRS) for brain metastases, with stratified analysis by lesion count.

The RefleXion X1 (RefleXion Medical, Inc., Hayward, CA) is a unique radiotherapy platform integrating kVCT and PET as on-board imaging guidance. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and treatment planning quality of RefleXion X1 treatment planning system (TPS) for spinal stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

The most used instruments for small-field dosimetry have notable limitations, including the need for correction of output factors, limited scanning speeds, and challenges in alignment for percentage depth dose (PDD) measurements, particularly for extremely small fields. However, plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) are an attractive alternative for small-field dosimetry due to their correction-free nature, linear dose response, and fast response time.

Dermoscopic lesion segmentation is crucial for dermatology, yet existing methods struggle to integrate global context with local details under the efficiency constraints required for clinical use.

Two-dimensional (2D) cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), available with a MR-linear accelerator (MR-Linac), allows real-time visualization of anatomical information during irradiation. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate a deep learning model that can estimate the organ-at-risk (OAR) dose constraints (mainly bladder V37Gy) from 2D cine MRI.

The Harrison-Anderson-Mick (HAM) applicator is a high-dose-rate intraoperative radiotherapy (HDR-IORT) applicator used to position Ir-192 brachytherapy sources over surgically-accessed tumor volumes or post-resection tumor beds. Because of the lack of a 3D imaging system, dwell times are optimized pre-surgery by a TG-43-based treatment planning system (TPS) that assumes a perfectly flat applicator surface surrounded by an infinite water phantom. These assumed conditions are disparate from typical treatment conditions, especially in the pelvic regions, which often involve uneven patient surfaces and superficial irradiations with little to no backscatter material.

Accurate target delineation is essential for precise delivery of proton therapy. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-only radiotherapy workflow may improve delineations, and thus improve proton therapy, but requires reliable synthetic computed tomography (sCT) for accurate dose calculations.

Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) is a treatment technique used for patients with left-sided breast cancer to move the heart further from the treatment area and thus reduce cardiac toxicity. Active participation of the patient plays a vital role in the success and efficiency of DIBH. The purpose of this study was to investigate various clinical factors that can influence breath-hold performance.

Although it is not clear how the heterogeneous intratumor irradiation pattern affects the biological effect, investigations of the biological effect dependence on the dose and size of the peak region are essential in the current preclinical research.

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is widely used in image-guided positioning for patients with brain metastases during stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). A major issue with CBCT is the decrease in image quality due to scatter, especially when the isocenter is off-centered for treating peripheral-metastases. This affects image clarity and CT numbers in skull-reconstruction. The study aims to measure the scatter-to-primary ratio in projection-images based on gantry-angle for off-centered isocenter. It also examines the effects of scatter on CBCT image quality and alignment-accuracy for off-centered isocenter.

Prior to the development of the IMRT and VMAT treatment techniques the quality assurance (QA) paradigm was one of routine linac QA supplemented by plan specific independent Monitor Unit checks and manual checks of data transfer. With the introduction of IMRT/VMAT treatment techniques the paradigm changed to include a patient specific measurement (PSQA) to ensure acceptable plan deliverability.