Medical Dosimetry

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Medical Dosimetry
Presented by (Add Hospital name) in conjunction
with The American Association of Medical
Dosimetrists
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• We invite you to join us in celebrating National
  Medical Dosimetrists Day by allowing us to
  describe our role in your care.

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Soyou might be thinking - What is medical
dosimetry?
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• Medical Dosimetry, also known as treatment
  planning, is the process where the radiation
  oncologist (doctor) and the medical dosimetrist
  work together to create and calculate your
  treatment plan. This determines where the
  radiation will be targeted while minimizing the
  radiation dose to the surrounding healthy organs
  and tissue.

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Soyou might be thinking When does this happen?
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• This happens behind the scenes after your CT
  Simulation and before the start of your radiation
  treatments.

Treatment Delivery
Treatment Planning
Consultation
CT Simulation
Quality Assurance
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Soyou might be thinking How is this done?
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• When the CT Simulation is complete, the CT images
  are sent to a special treatment planning
  computer. From the computer, the radiation
  oncologist contours or maps on the CT images the
  target area that will be treated with radiation.

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• Occasionally, a diagnostic CT, MRI, or PET scan
  is also used to aid the radiation oncologist with
  visualizing and defining the target area.

CT Simulation
MRI
Image Fusion
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• Prior to developing the plan, the medical
  dosimetrist identifies all organs near the target
  so the doses of radiation to those organs are
  monitored.
• The radiation oncologist communicates the
  prescription of how much radiation will be needed
  to the medical dosimetrist.

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Soyou might be thinking How do you know when
my plan is complete?
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• The process of creating the optimal plan to
  deliver the prescription dose to the target while
  minimizing the surrounding dose varies from
  patient to patient in treatment plan type and
  complexity.
• The medical dosimetrist communicates with the
  radiation oncologist to provide the best plan
  based on your medical history and diagnosis.

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Soyou might be thinking How is my plan
evaluated?
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• Many medical dosimetrists began as radiation
  therapists and with additional training have
  specialized in the machine characteristics and
  clinical knowledge to provide the best plan
  possible.
• Specialized computer systems and tools aid in
  monitoring dose to the target and normal tissue.
  They assist in evaluating how the radiation is
  distributed.
• The radiation oncologist approves every treatment
  plan prior to the first radiation treatment.
• Several quality assurance checks are done on each
  treatment plan to verify all parameters are
  correct and ensure patient safety.

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Sowe are thinking How did we get so fortunate
to be involved in your care plan?
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• Thank you and we sincerely wish you the best. It
  is our pleasure to take this journey along side
  each of you.
• For more information on medical dosimetry
• www.medicaldosimetry.org
• www.mdcb.org