Improving accuracy, sensitivity, and localization of radiation

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 61, No. 5, June 2019, Page 221 News

Researchers have developed a system they say may improve the ability to maximize radiation doses to cancer tissues while minimizing exposure to healthy ones. This new system, described in a study from UBC Okanagan and Duke University, may lead to improvements in dose accuracy, sensitivity, and localization during therapy.

Andrew Jirasek, UBC Okanagan physics professor and senior author of the study, explains that the solution is to make it easier to see exactly which tissues are getting a radiation dose and how much. The new system uses a specialized polymer gel to assess both the 3D location and the treatment dose. The team’s first step was to validate the spatial accuracy of the gel, known as a dosimeter. They compared the dosimeter readings with traditional radiation treatment–planning algorithms and found that the gel dosimeter was accurate in mapping the spatial location of the delivered radiation. Measurements of the radiation dose were also validated and visualized with the dosimeter. The new system also allows for direct visualization of the radiation dose immediately after therapy, which results in efficient and accurate testing.

Jirasek worked with colleagues from Duke University to take advantage of positioning systems already in place on most linear accelerators that deliver a radiation beam to the patient, which allowed for a new adjustment to be implemented without significant changes to the equipment. Next steps are to improve the process so it can move into the clinic setting.

The research was published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics. The article, “Delivered dose distribution visualized directly with onboard kV-CBCT: Proof of principle,” is available at www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(18)34189-0/fulltext.

. Improving accuracy, sensitivity, and localization of radiation. BCMJ, Vol. 61, No. 5, June, 2019, Page(s) 221 - News.



Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply