July 29, 2008 - Lung cancer presents a special challenge to clinicians attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of radiation treatment and determine the total dose of radiation received by the tumor and surrounding tissues.

The reason is simple: lung tumors change position as an individual breathes during medical scans. This unavoidable movement of the lungs makes it difficult to accurately assess tumor volume (particularly in the very small malignant nodules that are more treatable if detected early) and track any changes in size that may have resulted from treatment.

July 29, 2008 - Currently, the X-rays used for diagnostic tests and cancer radiotherapy are composed of what is known as broadband radiation, consisting of a wide range of energies.

A more efficient technique using lower doses of narrow-band radiation that can be specifically focused on cancerous tissue has been developed by a team of researchers from Harvard University, Ohio State University, and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

July 29, 2008 - Not all parts of a tumor respond to radiation therapy in the same way.

Treatments in the future may target the most resistant tumor regions, but measuring this resistance is far from straightforward, a new analysis shows.

Common radiation therapy prescribes a uniform radiation dose to the entire tumor, even though it is commonly known that some regions resist radiation more than others. Researchers are therefore experimenting with ways to tailor the treatment, with so-called "dose painting," so that more radiation falls on the radio-resistant parts.

July 29, 2008 - For several years, doctors have known that certain stem cells migrate to the heart after a heart attack, but exactly how they get there and what purpose they serve remained uncertain.

July 29, 2008 – Taking a new leap in QA systems, Unfors Instruments Inc. showcased the Unfors Xi Survey detector at AAPM 2008.

A new feature of the Unfors Xi Platinum edition, the detector is the addition of the Unfors Xi Survey detector for measurements of leakage and scatter radiation.