Impact of abdominal compression on heart and stomach motion for stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of abdominal compression (AC) as a respiratory motion management method for the heart and stomach during stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR).

Methods: 4D computed tomography (4DCT) scans of patients imaged with AC or without AC (free-breathing: FB) were obtained from ventricular-tachycardia (VT) (n = 3), lung cancer (n = 18), and liver cancer (n = 18) patients. Patients treated for VT were imaged both FB and with AC.