The mould ensures the patient.
Mould room in radiotherapy.
The process of making a mask can vary slightly between hospitals.
Radiotherapy treatment is extremely accurate and it is therefore essential that the patient is able to lie in a position that is comfortable but also easy to reproduce every day and most importantly that they are very still.
External beam radiotherapy is delivered by a machine which has a shaping device within the linear accelerator head rather than on the patient.
The mould room staff don t just make masks.
Moulds are also known as bds beam directional shells or thermoplastic shells and they can be referred to as a mask.
Head and neck cancer patients may be positioned and immobilised in dedicated mould rooms or more frequently in the ct room.
In some people their tumour is very close to the skin surface.
The mould room at the beatson west of scotland cancer centre provides a clinical and technical service for patients that require a course of radiotherapy treatment to the head and neck and in some cases the chest area and limbs.
As part of pre treatment planning some patients may require a mould to be made for example patients requiring treatment to the head and neck region.
To achieve this immobilisation devices are used.
In either instance it is a pre requisite that the same laser alignment system and couch top are present as at the simulator ct mri pet and linear accelerator.
A mould technician or radiographer makes the mask in the mould room of the radiotherapy department or during your ct planning scan.
Mould room the first part of the radiotherapy planning involves a visit to the mould room.
More information about the mould room can be found here.
You may be referred to our mould room at the time of planning or during your treatment course.
This mask ensures that you keep as still as possibly while the treatment is underway.
If this is the case you may need some wax to be shaped for you to allow for the radiotherapy treatment to be given evenly over your tumour.
Our mould room team make other equipment needed for radiotherapy as well as masks.
Mould room patients having radiotherapy for cancers of the head and neck will need to visit the mould room before treatment can commence in order to have a mask made.
Radiotherapy treatment planning radiotherapy needs to be planned for each individual and there are several planning sessions needed before treatment can start.
Clinical technologists physicists engineers and scientists.
This equipment is specific to superficial and orthovoltage radiation.
Most often they use a special kind of plastic heated in warm water so that it becomes soft and pliable.
