simulator - is used to assist the physician and other members of the radiation therapy team in the treatment planning process

simulation - a process carried out by the radiation therapist under the supervision of the radiation oncologist.   It is the mockup procedure of a patient treatment with radiographic documentation of the treatment portals.

conventional simulator - is a radiographic x-ray unit that mimics all of the   movements and parameters of the treatment units.   They are used for imaging the target volume during treatment planning.

CT simulator - a compuited tomography scanner equipped with software that can provide information needed to design the patients treatment parameters.   CT based planning allows more spatial orientation information required for 3-dimensional treatment planning.

treatment planning - consists of tumor localization, computation of dose distribution, and fabrication of treatment aids.

foward planning - you generate the treatment plan and then you see if the plan is acceptable.

inverse planning - treatment planning in which the clinical objectives are specified mathematically and computer software is used to determine the best beam parameters that will lead to the desired dose distributions.

vertebral regions - there are 5, the cervical(7), thoracic(12), lumbar(5), sacral and the coccyx

kyphosis - abnormal rearward curvature of the spine, resulting in a protuberance of the upper back; hunchback

lordosis - an abnormal foward curvature of the spine in the lunbar region

scoliosis - abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

illiac crest - upper border for full pelvic field

symphasis pubis - lower border for full pelvic field

ishial tuberosity - lower border for a prosatate field

PIC - prophilactic irradiiation of the cranium.  Luekemia patients

spheniod sinus - house the pituitary gland

outer canthus - point on the orbit of the eye where rhe outer lids meet.   It represents the point where the anterior 1/3 of the orbit is out of the field.

inner canthus - where the inner lids meet

commisure of the mouth - the outer edges of the mouth

philitrum - middle of the anterior portion of upper lip, used to cut body in half with sagittal laser

mucocutaneous junction (MCJ) - located at the junction of the vermillion border of the lip and the skin of the face

pinna - earlobe

manubrium - sits between the clavicals and the body of the sternum

angle of Loius - where the manubrium meets the body of the sternum

sternoclediomastoid muscle - is the medial borderfor a superclav field.  When use it prevents the larynx from being in the field.

Grenz rays - a form of light that is between UV and ionizing radiation on the elctromagnetic spectrum.   Is used to treat moles, keloids, ringworms and acne

Superficial Units - low energy x-rays units that are used to treat superficial lesions

Orthovoltage (deep therapy) - high energy x-rays units used to treat tumors inside the body

Half value Layer (HVL, HVT) - is that thickness of absorbing material which reduces the beam intensity by 1/2.   (by lowering the quantity of the beam it improves the quality)

intensity - quantity of the beam, how much

energy - quality of the beam

Cobalt 60 - is produced when cobalt 59 is placed into a cyclotron where it is bombarded with nuetrons and it gains 1 extra nuetron making it unstable.   Since it becomes unstable; in an attempt to become stable again it releases ionizing radiation.