title: CT-on-rails-guided HDR brachytherapy: single-room, rapid-workflow treatment delivery with integrated image guidance.
abstract: Brachytherapy is an important component of multidisciplinary cancer care for a variety of solid tumors. Most systems require moving the patient to multiple locations for treatment planning and delivery after the applicator is placed. A dedicated computed tomography (CT)-on-rails brachytherapy suite was installed at our institution to allow image-guided brachytherapy and a rapid scan-plan-treat workflow that is well suited to a busy quaternary care medical center. The suite consists of an OR couch with CT-compatible insert, a CT-on-rails imaging unit, a Varian Varisource iX HDR afterloader and full anesthesia capabilities. The explicit goal was to provide the ability to perform applicator placement, CT-guided treatment planning, and treatment delivery efficiently and without moving the patient. The dedicated CT-on-rails suite for high-dose-rate brachytherapy offers image-guided brachytherapy capabilities with a rapid workflow that lends itself well to efficient, high-quality care that can meet the demands of a large-volume referral center capable of high patient throughput.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine,1215 Lee Street, Box 800383, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Orcutt
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Libby
authors.forename: Lydia L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Handsfield
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moyer
authors.forename: Timothy N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Showalter
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods*; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D006272:Health Facility Environment; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D061089:Radiotherapy, Image-Guided; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed