Rammohan N, Randall JW, Yadav P. History of Technological Advancements towards MR-Linac: The Future of Image-Guided Radiotherapy.
J Clin Med 2022;
11:jcm11164730. [PMID:
36012969 PMCID:
PMC9409689 DOI:
10.3390/jcm11164730]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) enables optimal tumor targeting and sparing of organs-at-risk, which ultimately results in improved outcomes for patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revolutionized diagnostic imaging with its superior soft tissue contrast, high spatiotemporal resolution, and freedom from ionizing radiation exposure. Over the past few years there has been burgeoning interest in MR-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) to overcome current challenges in X-ray-based IGRT, including but not limited to, suboptimal soft tissue contrast, lack of efficient daily adaptation, and incremental exposure to ionizing radiation. In this review, we present an overview of the technologic advancements in IGRT that led to MRI-linear accelerator (MRL) integration. Our report is organized in three parts: (1) a historical timeline tracing the origins of radiotherapy and evolution of IGRT, (2) currently available MRL technology, and (3) future directions and aspirations for MRL applications.
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