title: Improving a scissor-action couch for conformal arc radiotherapy and radiosurgery.
abstract: We have developed a method to improve the setup accuracy of a Varian Clinac 6/100 couch for delivering conformal arc therapy using a tertiary micro multileaf collimator (MLC) system. Several immobilization devices have been developed to improve the mechanical stability and isocenter alignment of the couch: turn-knob harnesses, double-track alignment plates, and a drop-in rod that attaches the couch to the concrete floor. These add-on components minimize the intercomponent motion of the couch's scissor elevator, which allows consistent treatment setup. The accuracy of our isocenter couch alignment is an improvement over the above devices, within 1 mm of their accuracy. The couch has been used with over 15 patients and with over 50 modulated conformal arc treatment deliveries at our institution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 22 South Greene Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Kaile
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Cedric X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007103:Immobilization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009038:Motion; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods