Anthropomorphic Phantoms

The recent proliferation of clinical trials using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and dynamic therapies has created a need for the IROC Houston QA Center to remotely evaluate the planning and dose delivery of these treatments. IROC Houston has developed several heterogeneous, anthropomorphic phantoms as a quality assurance tool for tumor dose delivery verification.

The IROC Houston currently has eight phantom designs, which include: a stereotactic radiosurgery head phantom, a proton head phantom, an IMRT head-and-neck phantom, a photon spine phantom, a proton spine phantom, a thorax-lung phantom,  a liver phantom and a pelvic-prostate phantom.

The phantoms’ basic design consists of an outer plastic shell in the appropriate anatomical shape.  The shell can be filled with water and has a compartment that houses the imaging insert or the dosimetry insert.  The imaging inserts include target geometry and critical structures that can be seen with CT or MRI.  The phantom can be imaged with the insert and the image can be transferred to the treatment planning system for target volume definition. The dosimetry insert, designed to hold radiochromic film and TLD, are inserted into the phantom for the treatment. Details about each phantom can be found by clicking any of the top buttons.

Helpful links and videos:

1. Opening phantom locks video, click here.

2. Lung Proton Assembly video, click here.

3. Motion table information, click here.

4. TPS (Treatment Planning Systems) approved for calculation of dose with heterogeneities