Welcome to the future of radiotherapy bolus! For those interested, there is a form at the bottom of this page to learn more.

Introduction

The radiotherapy bolus, an old but true friend …

Modern manufacturing methods have given the bolus a massive upgrade: they can now be custom-made per patient to ensure proper fit, patient comfort, and accuracy in terms of dose planned vs. dose delivered. Our very own FlexiBol® is testament to that.

However, bolus design techniques are stuck in the era of 3D planning. The status quo is to use whatever tools the TPS offers to create a uniform thickness of material abutting the patient’s skin to act as a dosimetric buildup region for targets near the surface.

This raises a basic question: If we can manufacture highly complex and customized boluses, why should we limit ourselves to the basic uniform-thickness method of yesteryear? Or, phrased differently:

Why don’t we automate the bolus design process and optimize the bolus shape to maximize plan quality and improve treatment planning efficiency!

Project and Goals

We have been on a mission dubbed “OptiBol,” a project focused on automated, optimized design of variable thickness boluses. We are working in collaboration with our long-time partner Ben Nelms, who is now seeking motivated dosimetrists or physicists to join a small team for treatment plan studies. Participating co-authors will generate plans for approximately 3-5 datasets, and take part in a few group discussions with Dr. Nelms to share your experiences, ask questions, and offer ideas.

These focused studies will compare plan quality of conventional bolus plans vs. those created with optimized, variable thickness boluses. The ProKnow ® plan study system will be used to share and collect data, and to calculate and store the metrics of interest and plan scores.

Primary Goals

1.1  Analyze plan quality – calculated from a set of target coverage and OAR sparing metrics, plus plan complexity indicators – comparing conventional (i.e., uniform thickness) bolus vs. optimized (variable thickness) bolus

1.2  Observe differences in treatment planning efficiency when optimized boluses are used

1.3  Investigate the use of variable-thickness boluses for traditionally un-bolused cases

1.4  Publish findings in a peer-reviewed journal

Secondary Goals

2.1  Revisit, in depth, the dosimetric reasons for radiotherapy boluses

2.2  Refresh our knowledge of potential limitations in dose calculation accuracy in buildup regions and at shallow depths near “tangential” incidence, for megavoltage photons.

2.3  Understand the strengths and weaknesses — per TPS model — of built-in bolus creation tools, with the aim to share summaries and suggestions with TPS companies for consideration in future versions

Who Can Participate

We are looking for professional medical dosimetrists and/or medical physicists with a passion for (maybe even a slight obsession with) treatment planning, and interest in contributing to hands-on, practical research in radiation oncology.

Why Participate?

We know your time is valuable, but there are potential benefits to support your career and provide a challenge. Consider these perks:

—  You will be co-author on a study that will be submitted for publication.

—  You will have the option to submit findings for presentation, e.g., at AAMD annual or regional meetings.

—  You will get to add your experience and hopefully a new publication to your resumé.

—  You will make new connections with peers in the industry.

—  You will receive a special, custom-made “thank you” gift designed and manufactured by .decimal!

Want to Learn More?

Simply fill out the form below so we contact you and get the ball rolling.

Please note: By completing this form, you are not committing to anything! We will contact you to give you more information about the project, and afterward you can decide on your participation.

OptiBol™ Plan Studies Interest Form

Gather information from treatment planners interested in advanced bolus studies and publication(s)

• Name(Required)
  Enter your first and last name
• Email Address(Required)
  Enter your preferred email address
• Institution(Required)
  Enter the hospital, clinic, or company for whom you work
• Location(Required)
  Enter the city, state (or province, etc.), and country in which you work
• Your Role(Required)
  • Medical Dosimetrist (USA)
  • Radiation Therapist / Dosimetrist (Outside USA)
  • Medical Physicist
  • Physician
  Enter your primary role at work
• Treatment Planning System(Required)
  • Eclipse (Varian)
  • Raystation (Raysearch)
  • Monaco (Elekta)
  Enter the TPS you use and have access to for IMRT/VMAT plan studies
• Phone
  This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.