COVID-19 and radiation oncology: the experience of a two-phase plan within a single institution in central Italy.

Background: COVID-19 in Italy has led to the need to reorganize hospital protocols with a significant risk of interruption to cancer treatment programs. In this report, we will focus on a management model covering the two phases of the COVID-19 emergency, namely lockdown-phase I and post-lockdown-phase II.

Methods: The following steps were taken in the two phases: workload during visits and radiotherapy planning, use of dedicated routes, measures for triage areas, management of suspected and positive COVID-19 cases, personal protective equipment, hospital environments and intra-institutional meetings and tumor board management.

Effects of high-energy photon beam radiation therapy on Jarvik 2000 LVAD: in vitro evaluation.

Purpose: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is considered a standard care for patients with advanced heart failure. The aim of this work was to study in vitro the effects of direct exposure of the Jarvik 2000 LVAD to 10-MV photon beams.

Methods: Jarvik 2000 pump was immersed in a siliconized box filled with deionized water.

A Feasibility Study for in vivo Dosimetry Procedure in Routine Clinical Practice.

Purpose: The aim of the in vivo dosimetry, during the fractionated radiation therapy, is the verification of the correct dose delivery to patient. Nowadays, in vivo dosimetry procedures for photon beams are based on the use of the electronic portal imaging device and dedicated software to elaborate electronic portal imaging device images.

Methods: In total, 8474 in vivo dosimetry tests were carried out for 386 patients treated with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and volumetric modulated arc therapy techniques, using the SOFTDISO.