SFS:
Shape from shading
Skin image reconstruction is achieved using the SFS technique, specially designed to minimise shading and optimise measurement accuracy.
Image reconstruction using this technique is applied in skin analysis, to determine wrinkle depth and widths, other lesions, and total skin roughness.
Unlike other skin analysis systems where only three colour channels (red, green, blue) are used, the Antera 3D system uses reflectance mapping of seven different light wavelengths, spanning the whole visible spectrum.
This allows for a more precise view and analysis of the colour features of the skin, which consists mainly of two chromophores, melanin and haemoglobin.
DIBH:
Breast and Deep Inspiration Breath Hold
Radiation therapy has been shown to be a highly effective treatment for breast cancer. But the proximity of the left breast to the heart leaves the heart vulnerable to radiation exposure. This has been shown, in some cases, to lead to serious long-term cardiac complications¹.
Many centers are beginning to have patients use Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) to move the heart away from the breast during therapy. However, achieving this can be challenging². Patients breathe in different ways at different times and may arch their back to simulate a deep breath in. These different movements can appear similar to a patient’s true breath hold, but do not necessarily separate the heart from the breast.
AlignRT® is commonly used during DIBH to ensure radiation is only activated when the patient is in the intended position.
During a recent study at the University of North Carolina, patients were treated using AlignRT for DIBH. Of these, 0% exhibited radiation-induced abnormalities in blood flow to the heart six months after treatment³.
There are 10 published papers covering the use of AlignRT for DIBH, and accessories are available to make DIBH with AlignRT even simpler for the patient and therapist.
SRS:
Fast treatment times and patient comfort with AlignRT
AlignRT’s stereotactic calibration module allows clinics to deliver the benefits of frameless, open-mask SRS and SBRT / SABR using SGRT. To deliver the accuracy required for SRS, both an open face mask (supplied by various companies) and the SRS calibration cube (supplied by Vision RT) are required. The Head Adjuster is an option to enable SRS for facilities with no couches with 6 degrees of freedom.
The module enables a range of quality assurance tests – TG142 (linear accelerator) and TG147 (non-radiographic imaging).
Tests include: End-to-end localisation assessment, hidden target testing, localisation displacement accuracy, imaging coordinate coincidence across modalities, imaging positioning / repositioning, laser alignment, Winston-Lutz, couch rotation isocenter accuracy
SBRT:
Tracking areas affected by respiratory motion.
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT, also known as SABR) requires high positional accuracy. AlignRT® can track motion with better than 1mm accuracy, and as a result is used for both standard and breath hold SBRT.
AlignRT has been shown to help treat SBRT patients with relatively little immobilization, which leads to enhanced comfort. In addition, patients may be treated without fiducial placement, while potentially avoiding repeat imaging during the procedure.
AlignRT can reduce setup time, including shifts after X-ray imaging, and allows users to set independent thresholds for breathing. The patient can be tracked in real time and radiation stopped if they are out of position, and using breath hold technique, planned treatment volume may be minimized and 4D planning eliminated.
Echotherapy:
How echotherapy works
Ultrasound waves are focused to generate thermal energy on a single point – called the focal point. As opposed to cutting and taking abnormal tissue out, the targeted body part is treated by this thermal energy “inside” the patient. There will be no scars on the breast tissue and the milk ducts can be preserved.
