LOCALIZATION AND IMAGE QUALITY OF SPIRAL GOLD MARKERS USING DIFFERENT X-RAY IMAGING MODALITIES IN RADIATION THERAPY
Abstract
It is important to deliver radiation to treatment targets with accuracy. Typically, patients are positioned using marks on the surface of the skin. However, without imaging procedures, there is no information about the location of mobile internal organs and targets. The use of implanted radiopaque markers can help localize internal target organs using imaging modalities. Quality assurance procedures have been performed on commercially available spiral gold markers to determine their location and image quality. The results obtained from different, least essential imaging modalities employed in radiation therapy showed that these markers are not as clearly visible on radiographs as compared to the modalities with electronic output formats. The image quality was also poorer on megavoltage as compared to kilovoltage X-ray imaging modalities.
