When radiotherapy beams are small in size (typically below about 1.4 cm in width) the characteristics of the beam changes, and thus planning a radiotherapy treatment can be challenging.
The challenges arise because of several reasons including (but not limited to) lateral electron disequilibrium (i.e. electrons ‘fall out’ of the beam due to it’s small size), changes in the spectrum of the radiation beam, and difficulties in physically measuring the beam because of its small size relative to the size of measuring devices. Additionally, the beam can be dominated by the penumbra, which is the edge of the beam (if you look closely at the edge of a shadow of light, there is always some fuzziness, no matter how sharp the shadow appears – this fuzzy region is the penumbra).
Current specific projects underway in this area include applications to cones, arc therapy, surface doses, and implementation in non-water equivalent tissues, and development of detection techniques.
The impact of this research has recently been recognised by the Australia Research Council Engagement and Impact Assessment with a rating of High.
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