ABSTRACT
The benefits of visualizing a patient's anatomy during the treatment position led to the development of image-guided radiation therapy. The feasibility of using magnetic resonance imaging for radiation therapy treatment simulation, position verification, and response assessment is currently being investigated, leading to the development of MR-image-guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT). For MR-IGRT treatments, where the magnetic field is expected to change the delivered dose distribution in a complicated fashion over the irradiated volume, the need for a more thorough means of measuring the dose to perform a detailed comparison is apparent. In an effort to improve upon the small number of sampling points available with 2D dosimetry, 3D dosimeters were developed to provide volumetric dose information. The emerging field of MR-IGRT requires the presence of strong magnetic fields that can affect the performance of most conventional dosimetry systems. 3D dosimetry techniques are valuable to enable acquisition of volumetric information with a single irradiation.
