Image guidance and positioning accuracy in clinical practice: influence of positioning errors and imaging dose on the real dose distribution for head and neck cancer treatment

Abstract

Modern radiotherapy offers the possibility of highly accurate tumor treatment. To benefit from this precision at its best, regular positioning verification is necessary. By the use of image-guided radiotherapy and the application of safety margins the influence of positioning inaccuracies can be counteracted. In this study the effect of additional imaging dose by set-up verification is compared with the effect of dose smearing by positioning inaccuracies for a collective of head-and-neck cancer patients.