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Emerging technologies in brachytherapy
Virginia Commonwealth Univ, VA 23284 USA.
Dalhousie Univ, Canada.
Linköping University, Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7191-5206
Linköping University, Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2094-7376
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2021 (English)In: Physics in Medicine and Biology, ISSN 0031-9155, E-ISSN 1361-6560, Vol. 66, no 23, article id 23TR01Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Brachytherapy is a mature treatment modality. The literature is abundant in terms of review articles and comprehensive books on the latest established as well as evolving clinical practices. The intent of this article is to part ways and look beyond the current state-of-the-art and review emerging technologies that are noteworthy and perhaps may drive the future innovations in the field. There are plenty of candidate topics that deserve a deeper look, of course, but with practical limits in this communicative platform, we explore four topics that perhaps is worthwhile to review in detail at this time. First, intensity modulated brachytherapy (IMBT) is reviewed. The IMBT takes advantage of anisotropic radiation profile generated through intelligent high-density shielding designs incorporated onto sources and applicators such to achieve high quality plans. Second, emerging applications of 3D printing (i.e. additive manufacturing) in brachytherapy are reviewed. With the advent of 3D printing, interest in this technology in brachytherapy has been immense and translation swift due to their potential to tailor applicators and treatments customizable to each individual patient. This is followed by, in third, innovations in treatment planning concerning catheter placement and dwell times where new modelling approaches, solution algorithms, and technological advances are reviewed. And, fourth and lastly, applications of a new machine learning technique, called deep learning, which has the potential to improve and automate all aspects of brachytherapy workflow, are reviewed. We do not expect that all ideas and innovations reviewed in this article will ultimately reach clinic but, nonetheless, this review provides a decent glimpse of what is to come. It would be exciting to monitor as IMBT, 3D printing, novel optimization algorithms, and deep learning technologies evolve over time and translate into pilot testing and sensibly phased clinical trials, and ultimately make a difference for cancer patients. Todays fancy is tomorrows reality. The future is bright for brachytherapy.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
IOP Publishing Ltd , 2021. Vol. 66, no 23, article id 23TR01
Keywords [en]
emerging technologies in brachytherapy; intensity modulated brachytherapy; 3D printing; plan optimization; deep learning
National Category
Medical Laboratory and Measurements Technologies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-181460DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac344dISI: 000721060300001PubMedID: 34710856OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-181460DiVA, id: diva2:1615153
Note

Funding Agencies|Varian Medical Systems; VETAR grant fromVCUHealth System; Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Commission [VR-NT 2015-04543]; Swedish Cancer SocietySwedish Cancer Society [CAN2017/618, CAN2018/622]; ViewRay, Inc.

Available from: 2021-11-29 Created: 2021-11-29 Last updated: 2024-05-17

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Morén, Björn

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Morén, BjörnLarsson, TorbjörnCarlsson Tedgren, Åsa
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