Nuclear Medicine & Radiation Therapy

Image Guided Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Shikha Goyal and Tejinder Kataria

With increasing emphasis on reducing the volume of radiation therapy fields while maintaining or improving precision of treatment and reducing radiation-related normal tissue toxicity, treatment position verification and correction before delivering radiotherapy had gained major importance. A variety of techniques have been developed that can accomplish this goal with aplomb, albeit each with its own set of limitations. The best method that eliminates uncertainties in treatment without a huge cost remains to be defined, but it is clear that carrying out “high precision radiotherapy” without periodic image guidance is as accurate as shooting in a dark room. This review discusses the concept of image guidance in radiotherapy, various techniques available along with expected benefits and pitfalls of these systems.