Contouring of emerging organs-at-risk (OARS) of the female pelvis and interobserver variability: A study by the Italian association of radiotherapy and clinical oncology (AIRO).

Purpose: To provide straightforward instructions for daily practice in delineating emerging organs-at-risk (OARs) of the female pelvis and to discuss the interobserver variability in a two-step multicenter study.

Methods And Materials: A contouring atlas with anatomical boundaries for each emerging OAR was realized by radiation oncologists and radiologists who are experts in pelvic imaging, as per their knowledge and clinical practice. These contours were identified as quality benchmarks for the analysis subsequently carried out.

Clinical implementation of a log file-based machine and patient QA system for IMRT and VMAT treatment plans.

Purpose: To determine the error detection sensitivity of a commercial log file-based system (LINACWatch®, LW) for integration into clinical routine and to compare it with a measurement device (OCTAVIUS 4D, Oct4D) for IMRT and VMAT delivery QA.

Materials And Methods: 76 VMAT/IMRT plans (H&N, prostate, rectum and breast) preliminarily classified according to their Modulation Complexity Score (MCS) calculated by LW, were considered. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curves were used to establish gamma criteria for LW.

Atlas-based lung segmentation combined with automatic densitometry characterization in COVID-19 patients: Training, validation and first application in a longitudinal study.

Purpose: To develop and validate an automated segmentation tool for COVID-19 lung CTs. To combine it with densitometry information in identifying Aerated, Intermediate and Consolidated Volumes in admission (CT1) and follow up CT (CT3).

Materials And Methods: An Atlas was trained on manually segmented CT1 of 250 patients and validated on 10 CT1 of the training group, 10 new CT1 and 10 CT3, by comparing DICE index between automatic (AUTO), automatic-corrected (AUTOMAN) and manual (MAN) contours.

A semi-automatic planning technique for whole breast irradiation with tangential IMRT fields.

Purpose: To implement a semi-automatic planning technique for whole breast irradiation with two tangential IMRT fields and to test the produced dose distribution against clinical 3DCRT plans, for introducing the technique in clinical practice.

Methods: The Auto-Planning module of the Pinnacle (Philips) treatment planning system was used for generating a Treatment Technique on left-sided breast cancer patients treated in free breathing or in deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) and to right-sided breast cancer patients. The technique was evaluated against 3DCRT clinical plans in terms of dosimetric plan parameters.

Personalized Dosimetry in Targeted Radiation Therapy: A Look to Methods, Tools and Critical Aspects.

Targeted radiation therapy (TRT) is a strategy increasingly adopted for the treatment of different types of cancer. The urge for optimization, as stated by the European Council Directive (2013/59/EURATOM), requires the implementation of a personalized dosimetric approach, similar to what already happens in external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough introduction to the field of personalized dosimetry in TRT, explaining its rationale in the context of optimization and describing the currently available methodologies.

Efficacy of femoral intra-arterial administration of teicoplanin in gram-positive diabetic foot infections.

In this study the efficacy and safety femoral intra-arterial administration of teicoplanin in the treatment of diabetic foot infections caused by gram-positive bacteria were evaluated. Twenty-five hospitalized diabetic patients with foot ulcers or with foot ulcers and metatarsophalangeal osteomyelitis were included in the study. In the ulcers Staphylococcus aureus was present alone in 16 patients and was associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 2 patients, with Candida albicans in 2, and with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in 1 patient.

[Flowmetric, thermometric and rheologic studies in obliterating arterial diseases of the lower extremities treated with buflomedil].

Ten subjects with peripheral arterial occlusive disease were treated with buflomedil, analysing the effect of every single intravenous administration of the drug, and the effect of the administration repeated for a period of 5 days. This controlled study was aimed at evaluating the state of the peripheral blood flow, not just relating to the flowmetric parameters, but also to those more directly connected to the metabolic and functional conditions of the microcirculation. During every single administration, blood flow, skin and muscular temperatures were recorded.