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Relation of segmental wall motion to global left ventricular function in acute myocardial infarction.

The relation of left ventricular regional wall motion to global ventricular function was evaluated by radionuclide ventriculography in 127 patients within 18 hours of acute myocardial infarction. No patient had evidence of previous myocardial infarction. The following parameters were measured: (1) wall motion index; (2) percent of abnormally contracting segment; (3) ejection fraction (EF); (4) end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV); and (5) peak systolic cuff pressure/end-systolic volume ratio (PSP/ESV). The measurements of global function correlated well with wall motion index (r = 0.83, p less than 0.001 for EF; r = -0.69, p less than 0.001 for ESV; and r = 0.061, p less than 0.001 for PSP/ESV), but EDV correlated less well (r = -0.35, p less than 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that EF correlated best with wall motion index, and no other parameters of global left ventricular function added significantly to the regression. The correlation of motion in each segment with EF was determined by multiple linear regression analysis. Ejection fraction correlated best with motion in the anterobasal, then in order of correlation, in the apical-septal, inferoapical, anterolateral, and superlateral walls. The relation of EDV, ESV, and degree of percent abnormally contracting segments was as follows: EDV did not increase with a mild regional wall motion abnormality; however, ESV did increase and reduced stroke volume. As percent abnormally contracting segments worsened, enlargement of both EDV and ESV was seen and was associated with further reduction in systolic volume. These data suggest that EF is the best global left ventricular function correlate of the severity of the regional wall motion abnormality, and that abnormal motion in the territory of the left anterior descending coronary best predicts reduction in global left ventricular function. Radionuclide ventriculography is useful in characterizing global and regional left ventricular function in the early hours of acute myocardial infarction.

Aged↗

The envelope of passive knee joint motion.

The purpose of this study is to create an accurate experimental database for the passive (in vitro) freedom-of-motion characteristics of the human knee joint on a subject to subject basis, suitable for the verification and enhancement of mathematical knee-joint models. Knee-joint specimens in a six degree-of-freedom motion rig are moved through flexion under several combinations of external loads, including tibial torques, axial forces and AP-forces. Euler rotation angles and translation vectors, describing the relative, spatial motions of the joint are measured using an accurate Roentgen Stereo Photogrammetric system. Conceptually the joint is considered as a two degrees-of-freedom of motion mechanism (flexion-tibial rotation), whereby the limits of internal and external tibial rotation are defined at torques of +/- 3 Nm. The motion pathways along these limits are defined as the envelopes of passive knee joint motion. It is found that these envelope pathways are consistent and hardly influenced by additional axial forces up to 300 N and AP-forces of 30 N. Within the envelope of motion, however, the motion patterns are highly susceptible to small changes in the external load configuration. It is shown that the external tibial rotation during extension ('screw-home mechanism') is not an obligatory effect of the passive joint characteristics, but a direct result of the external loads. Anatomical differences notwithstanding, the inter-individual discrepancies in the motion patterns of the four specimens tested, showed to be relatively small in a qualitative sense. Quantitative differences can be explained by small differences in the alignment of the coordinate systems relative to the joint anatomy and by differences in rotatory laxity.

Adult↗

The timing of paradoxical wall motion in ventricular aneurysms and in asynergic ventricles.

The timing of paradoxical wall motion was investigated in the left ventricular cineangiograms of 15 patients in whom ventricular aneurysm was diagnosed or excluded at surgery. Eight had aneurysm and 7 had asynergic ventricles without aneurysm. Areas of paradoxical motion and inward motion were planimetered in each quarter of ejection. In both aneurysmal and asynergic ventricles paradoxical motion occurred within large akinetic areas. The extent of paradoxical motion was small, constituting only 3.4 and 2.6% of end-systolic areas. Over 80% of the maximal paradoxical motion occurred in the first half of ejection. In the latter half of ejection, further changes in paradoxical motion were small and inconsistent. There were no significant differences in the extent of quarterly paradoxical wall motion between the two patient groups. These data suggest that in the presence of marked left ventricular asynergy, the extent and timing of paradoxical wall motion from cineangiograms may not be useful in detection ventricular aneurysm.

Cineangiography↗

Analysis of prostate and seminal vesicle motion: implications for treatment planning.

PURPOSE: To quantify prostate and seminal vesicle positional changes (target motion) between treatment planning and delivery, and to identify the factors contributing to target motion. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate were prospectively evaluated by analyzing two sequential planning computerized tomography (CT) scans (S1, obtained prior to treatment, and S2, obtained during the fourth week of treatment) for each patient. All anatomical volumes of interest (soft tissue and bony) were reconstructed from transverse CT images and projected onto anterior and lateral beam's-eye view projections. Positional changes between S1 and S2 were eliminated by applying a rigid body translation and rotation. Target motion was then measured by recording the positional change between S1 and S2 at the edges (right, left, superior, inferior). Potential correlation of target motion with bladder volume, rectal volume, and rectal diameter changes were evaluated by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Neither the prostate nor seminal vesicles remained fixed with respect to bony anatomy between S1 and S2. The distribution of positional changes were generally small (< 0.5 cm), but maximum displacements of 1.5-2.2 cm did occur, particularly in the lateral view. In this study, bladder volume changes between the scans were small and did not correlate with target motion (P = 0.67). Both rectal volume and rectal diameter changes correlated with target motion for both the prostate (p = 0.004 and 0.005, respectively) and seminal vesicles (p < 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively). However, neither the initial rectal volume nor the initial rectal diameter could be used to predict subsequent target motion when evaluated either singly or as part of a multiple regression model. CONCLUSIONS: Target motion occurs during the course of treatment planning and delivery and should be considered when designing conformal radiation fields. Although the target position at the time of planning CT may differ substantially from the mean treatment position, target motion cannot be predicted by evaluating simply measured parameters from a single scan, or double scan sequence.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Use of a regional wall motion score to enhance risk stratification of patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

OBJECTIVES: We postulated that preoperative assessment of both regional wall motion and left ventricular ejection fraction would serve as an accurate prognostic indicator of long-term cardiac mortality and functional outcome in patients treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. BACKGROUND: Long-term cardiac mortality has remained high in patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. The ability to risk stratify patients before defibrillator implantation is becoming increasingly important from a medical and economic standpoint. METHODS: The hypothesis was retrospectively tested in 74 patients who had received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. Left ventricular ejection fraction and regional wall motion score, derived from centerline chord motion analysis, were calculated for each patient from the preoperative right anterior oblique contrast ventriculogram. Wall motion score was the only significant independent predictor of long-term cardiac mortality and functional status by multivariate analysis because of its enhanced prognostic capability in patients with an ejection fraction in the critical range of 30% to 40%. RESULTS: Patients with an ejection fraction > 40% had a 3-year cardiac mortality rate of 0% compared with 25% for those with an ejection fraction of 30% to 40% and 48% for those with an ejection fraction < 30% (p < 0.05). Similarly, 75% of patients with an ejection fraction > 40% were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II during long-term follow-up compared with 59% of those with an ejection fraction 30% to 40% and 29% of those with an ejection fraction < 30%. Among patients with an ejection fraction of 30% to 40%, those with a wall motion score > 16% had a 3-year cardiac mortality rate of 0% compared with 71% of those with a wall motion score < or = 16% (p = 0.002). In addition, 86% of patients with a wall motion score > 16% were in functional class I or II during long-term follow-up compared with 13% of those with a wall motion score < or = 16% (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term cardiac mortality and functional outcome in patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator can be predicted if the left ventricular ejection fraction and regional wall motion score are measured preoperatively.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Cardiac motion analysis to improve pacing site selection in CRT.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to build cardiac wall motion models to characterize mechanical dyssynchrony and predict pacing sites for the left ventricle of the heart in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging data from 20 patients are used, in which half have heart failure problems. We propose two spatio-temporal ventricular motion models to analyze the mechanical dyssynchrony of heart: radial motion series and wall motion series (a time series of radial length or wall thickness change). The hierarchical agglomerative clustering technique is applied to the motion series to find candidate pacing sites. All experiments are performed separately on each ventricular motion model to facilitate performance comparison among models. RESULTS: The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods perform as well as we expect. Our techniques not only effectively generate the candidate pacing sites list that can help guide CRT, but also derive clustering results that can distinguish the heart conditions between patients and normals perfectly to help medical diagnosis and prognosis. After comparing the results between two different ventricular motion models, the wall motion series model shows a better performance. CONCLUSION: In a traditional CRT device deployment, pacing sites are selected without efficient prediction, which runs the risk of suboptimal benefits. Our techniques can extract useful wall motion information from ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony and identify the candidate pacing sites with maximum contraction delay to assist pacemaker implantation in CRT.

Algorithms↗

Graft-bone motion and tensile properties of hamstring and patellar tendon anterior cruciate ligament femoral graft fixation under cyclic loading.

PURPOSE: To assess longitudinal graft-bone motion and tensile properties of the femur-anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft fixation-ACL graft complex based on the hypothesis that there is little difference in graft-bone motion between suspensory and aperture hamstring ACL femoral graft fixation techniques, and between hamstring and patellar tendon ACL femoral graft fixation techniques. TYPE OF STUDY: In vitro biomechanical study using human cadavers. METHODS: The distal femur-ACL graft fixation-ACL graft complex was cyclically loaded between 50 and 250 N at 1 Hz for 1,000 cycles with the direction of the load applied parallel to the axis of the femoral bone tunnel. Graft-bone motion was measured indirectly using retroreflective markers and a video motion-analysis system. Tensile testing to failure was performed at 1 mm/sec for fixation techniques completing 1,000 cycles without fixation failure. RESULTS: Among the hamstring fixation techniques, 4 of 13 Bio-Interference screws (Arthrex, Naples, FL), 2 of 12 LinX HT fasteners (DePuy Mitek, Norwood, MA), and 1 of 11 TransFix cross-pins (Arthrex) failed before completing 1,000 cycles. Five of 13 patellar tendon grafts fixed with metal interference screws, and 2 of 12 patellar tendon grafts fixed with a plastic button and No. 5 sutures failed before completing 1,000 cycles. Suture/button fixation of patellar tendon grafts resulted in significantly more graft-bone motion than hamstring tendon grafts fixed using the Bone Mulch Screw (Arthrotek, Warsaw, IN), or interference screw fixation of patellar tendon and hamstring grafts. Otherwise, there was no significant difference in graft-bone motion among the various hamstring fixation techniques or the various hamstring fixation techniques and interference screw fixation of patellar tendon grafts. Maximum graft-bone displacement after cyclic loading was significantly greater for hamstring grafts fixed with the EndoButton and EndoButton Tape (Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, Andover, MA) compared with the other hamstring fixation techniques and interference screw fixation of patellar tendon grafts. All fixation techniques except hamstring tendon grafts fixed with the Bio-Interference screw achieved at least 59% of maximum graft-bone displacement after 20 cycles. Hamstring tendon grafts fixed with the EndoButton CL were significantly stronger than all other hamstring and patellar tendon fixation methods. Patellar tendon grafts fixed with interference screws and hamstring tendon grafts fixed with interference screws and the Bone Mulch Screw and TransFix were significantly stiffer than hamstring tendon grafts fixed with the EndoButton CL. CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant difference in graft-bone motion between aperture and suspensory femoral fixation methods when the stiffness of the femur-ACL graft fixation-ACL graft complex is similar. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The small differences in graft-bone motion reported in our study provide further evidence that graft-tunnel motion or the so-called bungee effect is unlikely to be the primary cause of radiographic bone tunnel enlargement following ACL reconstruction.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament↗

Investigating myocardial motion by MRI using tissue phase mapping.

OBJECTIVE: Velocity-encoded phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a tool to quantify regional myocardial wall motion of the entire heart. It allows the acquisition of three-directional velocity vector fields with high spatial resolution that reflect the temporal evolution of myocardial velocities over the cardiac cycle. In contrast to other imaging modalities such as echocardiography left ventricular performance can be assessed without limited anatomical or functional coverage. METHODS: Compared to other techniques that quantify local myocardial contractility (e.g. implanted ultrasonic crystals) by means of regional displacement, phase contrast MRI provides information about local and global left ventricular velocities (i.e. motion) by utilizing the intrinsic motion sensitivity of MRI. The resultant motion components of contraction, expansion, rotation, lengthening, and shortening of the left ventricle are described in high spatial and temporal detail. Phase contrast measurements were performed in 12 healthy volunteers with a respiratory-gated technique in order to achieve a high temporal resolution of 13.8ms to demonstrate the detailed assessment of global and regional myocardial motion. RESULTS: Data revealed details in left ventricular motion patterns that were previously not seen in phase contrast measurements and are only known from echocardiography. For all volunteers, characteristic myocardial motion patterns and locally different radial (i.e. contraction and expansion), rotational (i.e. twisting and untwisting) and longitudinal (i.e. lengthening and shortening) motion components could be detected with high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The phase contrast MRI technique for high temporal resolution velocity mapping is therefore very promising for the investigation and better understanding of the myocardial motion in normal subjects and patients with disturbed left ventricular performance and may validate further testing of different models of cardiac structure.

Heart↗

Evaluation of internal lung motion for respiratory-gated radiotherapy using MRI: Part II-margin reduction of internal target volume.

PURPOSE: To analyze the relationship between lung motion and skin surface motion during respiration, determine the uncertainties and variability of such a relationship, and assess the potential of reducing internal target margin for gated radiotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Three healthy volunteers and four lung cancer patients were recruited in a prospective imaging study using MRI to track the internal lung and external skin motion during breathing. The relationship between the lung and skin motion was modeled using linear regression analysis. The slope of the linear fit and its confidence interval were analyzed for different lung locations, skin surface locations, and breathing patterns from separate imaging sessions. The margins of the internal target volume were calculated based on the residual lung motion during gating and its uncertainties from multiple treatment fractions for the gated treatment. RESULTS: The slope and confidence interval of the linear regression from the motion analysis were uniquely defined by the locations of the lung, skin surface, and breathing patterns. Statistically significant differences were observed among individuals and between different times of measurement. The normal free-breathing motion averaged from all volunteer and patient data was 13.4 +/- 7.4 mm along the superior-inferior (SI) direction and 6.9 +/- 2.6 mm along the anterior-posterior (AP) direction. With simulated respiratory gating, the average margin reduction was 5.5 +/- 4.8 mm and 1.6 +/- 1.0 mm, respectively, along the SI and AP directions (or 36% +/- 15% and 25% +/- 14%, respectively, relative to free-breathing motion). CONCLUSION: Because respiratory movement is rather complex, the relationship between the lung and skin surface motion is affected by many anatomic and physiologic factors. The reduction of internal target margin and efficacy of the free-breathing gating technique should be assessed for individual cases.

Adult↗

Slide track analysis of the relative motion between femoral head and acetabular cup in walking and in hip simulators.

Joint simulators are important tools in wear studies of prosthetic joint materials. The type of motion in a joint simulator is crucial with respect to the wear produced. It is widely accepted that only multidirectional motion yields realistic wear for polyethylene acetabular cups. Multidirectionality, however, is a wide concept. The type of multidirectional motion varies considerably between simulators, which may explain the large differences in observed wear rates. At present, little is known about the relationship between the type of multidirectional motion and wear. One illustrative way to compare the motions of various hip simulators is to compute tracks made on the counterface by selected points of the surface of the femoral head and acetabular cup due to the cyclic relative motion. A new computation method, based on Euler angles, was developed, and used to compute slide tracks for the three-axis motion of the hip joint in walking, and for two hip simulators, the HUT-3 and the biaxial rocking motion. The slide track patterns resulting from the gait waveforms were found to be similar to those produced by the HUT-3 simulator. This paper is the first to include a verification of the computed simulator tracks. The tracks were verified in the two simulators using sharp pins, embedded in acetabular cups, engraving distinct grooves onto the femoral heads. The engravings were identical to the computed tracks. The results clearly differed from earlier computations by another research group. This study is intended to start a thorough investigation of the relationship between the type of multidirectional motion and wear.

Acetabulum↗

Luminance mechanisms mediate the motion of red-green isoluminant gratings: the role of "temporal chromatic aberration".

In this paper we use a dynamic noise-masking paradigm to explore the nature of the mechanisms mediating the motion perception of drifting isoluminant red-green gratings. We compare contrast thresholds for the detection and direction discrimination of drifting gratings (1.5 cpd), over a range of temporal frequencies (0.5-9 Hz) in the presence of variable luminance or chromatic noise. In the first experiment, we used dynamic luminance noise to show that direction thresholds for red-green grating motion are masked by luminance noise over the entire temporal range tested, whereas detection thresholds are unaffected. This result indicates that the motion of nominally isoluminant red-green gratings is mediated by luminance signals. We suggest that stimulus-based luminance artifacts are not responsible for this effect because there is no masking of the detection thresholds. Instead we propose that chromatic motion thresholds for red-green isoluminant gratings are mediated by dynamic luminance artifacts that have an internal, physiological origin. We have termed these "temporal chromatic aberration". In the second experiment, we used dynamic chromatic noise masking to test for a chromatic contribution to red-green grating motion. We were unable to find conclusive evidence for a contribution of chromatic mechanisms to the chromatic grating motion, although a contribution at very high chromatic contrasts cannot be ruled out. Our results add to a growing body of evidence indicating the presence of dynamic, internal luminance artifacts in the motion of chromatic stimuli and we show that these occur even at very low temporal rates. Our results are compatible with our previous work indicating the absence of a chromatic mechanism for first order (quasi-linear) apparent motion [Vision Res. 40 (2000) 1993]. We conclude that previous conclusions based on the motion of chromatic red-green gratings should be reassessed to determine the contribution of dynamic luminance artifacts.

Color Perception↗

Positioning errors and prostate motion during conformal prostate radiotherapy using on-line isocentre set-up verification and implanted prostate markers.

PURPOSE: To evaluate treatment errors from set-up and inter-fraction prostatic motion with port films and implanted prostate fiducial markers during conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. METHODS: Errors from isocentre positioning and inter-fraction prostate motion were investigated in 13 men treated with escalated dose conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. To limit the effect of inter-fraction prostate motion, patients were planned and treated with an empty rectum and a comfortably full bladder, and were instructed regarding dietary management, fluid intake and laxative use. Field placement was determined and corrected with daily on-line portal imaging. A lateral portal film was taken three times weekly over the course of therapy. From these films, random and systematic placement errors were measured by matching corresponding bony landmarks to the simulator film. Superior-inferior and anterior-posterior prostate motion was measured from the displacement of three gold pins implanted into the prostate before planning. A planning target volume (PTV) was derived to account for the measured prostate motion and field placement errors. RESULTS: From 272 port films the random and systematic isocentre positioning error was 2.2 mm (range 0.2-7.3 mm) and 1.4 mm (range 0.2-3.3 mm), respectively. Prostate motion was largest at the base compared to the apex. Base: anterior, standard deviation (SD) 2.9 mm; superior, SD 2.1 mm. Apex: anterior, SD 2.1 mm; superior, SD 2.1 mm. The margin of PTV required to give a 99% probability of the gland remaining within the 95% isodose line during the course of therapy is superior 5.8 mm, and inferior 5.6 mm. In the anterior and posterior direction, this margin is 7.2 mm at the base, 6.5 mm at the mid-gland and 6.0 mm at the apex. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic set-up errors were small using real-time isocentre placement corrections. Patient instruction to help control variation in bladder and rectal distension during therapy may explain the observed small SD for prostate motion in this group of patients. Inter-fraction prostate motion remained the largest source of treatment error, and observed motion was greatest at the gland base. In the absence of real-time pre-treatment imaging of prostate position, sequential portal films of implanted prostatic markers should improve quality assurance by confirming organ position within the treatment field over the course of therapy.

Humans↗

Moving targets: detection and tracking of internal organ motion for treatment planning and patient set-up.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clinical target volumes of the thorax and abdomen are typically expanded to account for inter- and intrafractional organ motion. Usually, such expansions are based on clinical experience and planar observations of target motion during simulation. More precise, 4-dimensional motion margins for a specific patient may improve dose coverage of mobile targets and yet limit unnecessarily large field expansions. We are studying approaches to targeting moving tumors throughout the entire treatment process, from treatment planning to beam delivery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Radio-opaque markers were implanted under CT guidance in the liver at the gross tumor periphery. Organ motion during light respiration was volumetrically imaged by 4D Computed Tomography. Marker motion was also acquired by fluoroscopy and compared with 4DCT data. During treatment, daily diagnostic x-ray images were captured at end-exhale and -inhale for patient setup and target localization. RESULTS: Based on the time-resolved CT data, target volumes can be designed to account for respiratory motion during treatment. Motion of the tumor as derived from 4DCT was consistent with fluoroscopic motion analysis. Radiographs acquired in the treatment room enabled millimeter-level patient set-up and assessment of target position relative to bony anatomy. Daily positional variations between bony anatomy and implanted markers were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Image guided therapy, based on 4DCT imaging, fluoroscopic imaging studies, and daily gated diagonstic energy set-up radiographs is being developed to improve beam delivery precision. Monitoring internal target motion throughout the entire treatment process will ensure adequate dose coverage of the target while sparing the maximum healthy tissue.

Humans↗

Visual feedback induces opposite effects on elementary centre of gravity and centre of pressure minus centre of gravity motions in undisturbed upright stance.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the instantaneous effects of visual feedback on undisturbed stance control mechanisms. DESIGN: The controlling variable, the centre of pressure trajectories, recorded using a force platform, were decomposed into two elementary motions: (1) the horizontal displacements of the centre of gravity and (2) the vertical projection of the difference between centre of pressure and the centre of gravity. These motions were processed through frequential analysis and modelled as fractional Brownian motion. BACKGROUND: Even though visual feedback protocols are advantageously used for rehabilitation purposes, their immediate effects from biomechanical and motor control points of view need to be assessed. METHODS: Twelve healthy adult subjects were tested through eyes open and visual feedback conditions. RESULTS: A significant amplitude increase in the difference between the centre of pressure and the centre of gravity motions and a decrease in the centre of gravity motions are observed during visual feedback. The fractional Brownian motion modelling analysis reveals an enhanced control of these elementary motions. The point at which the corrective process is initiated is increased with visual feedback whereas the time delay remains the same. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease of the centre of pressure displacements classically observed through visual feedback protocol initially results in a reduction of the centre of gravity motions and an augmentation of the difference between centre of pressure and centre of gravity motions, hence suggesting increased muscular activity. RELEVANCE: Precise knowledge of the effects generated by such feedback protocol should allow to optimise it as a rehabilitation tool.

Adult↗

Effects of a lumbar support on spine posture and motion assessed by electrogoniometer and continuous recording.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether belt wearing causes changes in lumbar posture and motion during standing and work-related activities. DESIGN: The lumbar spine sagittal kinematics of healthy subjects were assessed with an electrogoniometer during a dynamic test and continuous recording with and without a lumbar support. Correlation between data from electrogoniometer and X-ray was established in preliminary experiments. BACKGROUND: The effects of a lumbar support were previously investigated in few patients using radiological or invasive techniques under laboratory conditions, with special regard to the restriction of global motion in flexion and extension. Whether lumbar posture may also be involved during belt wearing remains unclear. There is also no evidence that these changes affecting lumbar motion and posture persist during prolonged activities. METHODS: The correlation between electrogoniometer and radiographic data was assessed in 12 subjects. Lumbar curve angles were evaluated in 15 healthy subjects, with and without one type of lumbar support, during standing in orthostatic, fully-flexed and fully-extended positions and during work-related activities with a portable computer. Lumbar motion parameters were flexion, extension and total range of motion. Lumbar posture parameters were lumbar curve angle in orthostatic position and mean lumbar curve angle during continuous recording. RESULTS: Electrogoniometric and radiographic data from lumbar curve angles and motion changes during flexion/extension of the spine were slightly different but reasonably well correlated (r = 0.58-0.77). The lumbar support decreased the mean total range of motion of the lumbar spine during a single flexion/extension movement by 17% and during continuous recording by 22%. The lumbar curve angle in the orthostatic position was reduced by 3 degrees and the mean lumbar curve (assessed by continuous recording) was reduced by 4 degrees (mean for 15 subjects). There were major individual changes in these two parameters and the reduction in lumbar curvature was correlated with the initial (r = 0.66-0.72). CONCLUSION: Electrogoniometer data on lumbar motion are reasonably well correlated with X-ray data. The comparative values registered during flexion/extension tests and continuous recording confirm that a support belt limits slightly global lumbar motion. As changes affecting postural parameters (orthostatic or mean values during continuous recording) depend on subject morphometry, individual parameters should be taken in account when evaluating and using a lumbar support.

Journal Article↗

Respiratory-driven lung tumor motion is independent of tumor size, tumor location, and pulmonary function.

PURPOSE: To determine whether superior-inferior lung tumor motion is predictable by tumor size or location, or pulmonary function test results. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Superior-inferior tumor motion was measured on orthogonal radiographs taken during simulation of 22 patients with inoperable lung cancer diagnosed by orthogonal radiographs. RESULTS: The tumor size averaged 5.5 +/- 3.1 cm (range 1.5-12 cm). Seven of 11 central tumors demonstrated some motion compared with 5 of 11 peripheral tumors. Four of 5 upper lobe tumors moved compared with 8 of 17 tumors that were either middle or lower lobe lesions. The mean fourth rib motion was 7.3 +/- 3.2 mm (range 2-15). The mean FeV(1) was 1.8 +/- 1.2 (range 0.55-5.33. The mean diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was 14.0 +/- 6.5 (range 7.8-21.9). The mean total lung capacity was 6.5 +/- 1.2 (range 3.3-8.4). None of these parameters correlated with tumor motion. Although lateral tumor motion could not be consistently determined, 1 tumor moved 10 mm anterior-posteriorly. CONCLUSIONS: Lung tumors often move significantly during respiration. Tumor motion is not predictable by tumor size or location, or pulmonary function test results. Therefore, tumor motion must be measured in all patients. Measurement in three dimensions will likely be necessary to maximize the irradiated lung volumes or choose beam arrangements parallel to the major axis of motion.

Adult↗

Intrafraction motions of the larynx during radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To quantify the intrafraction motions of the larynx during radiotherapy of laryngeal cancer. Depending on the magnitude, duration, and incidence, these motions may have clinical consequences for the choice of margins around the clinical target volume. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The intrafraction motions were analyzed for 10 patients, treated in 33 or 35 fractions. The intrafraction motions of the larynx were visualized using an a-Si flat panel imager. Images were obtained every 200 ms, resulting in a movie of images for each beam. In addition to visual analysis of all movies, the tip of the epiglottis was delineated and used as a landmark, the coordinates of which were followed in time. RESULTS: Movies were obtained during 79% of the total number of radiotherapy fractions. The total duration of swallowing was on average 0.45% (range 0.0-1.5) of the total irradiation time. Deviations of motions other than swallowing ranged between 0.3 and 11.5 mm. Some of these motions were more sudden, and others were probably related to breathing, because the frequency of these motions was 8-20/min. CONCLUSION: The incidence and total duration of swallowing is low. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply an internal margin to take into account these displacements. Other motions, however, occur more often. In 95% of the irradiation time, the tip of the epiglottis moves within a range of 7.1 mm. A margin should be applied to the clinical target volume to take into account these motions.

Deglutition↗

The use of active breathing control (ABC) to reduce margin for breathing motion.

PURPOSE: For tumors in the thorax and abdomen, reducing the treatment margin for organ motion due to breathing reduces the volume of normal tissues that will be irradiated. A higher dose can be delivered to the target, provided that the risk of marginal misses is not increased. To ensure safe margin reduction, we investigated the feasibility of using active breathing control (ABC) to temporarily immobilize the patient's breathing. Treatment planning and delivery can then be performed at identical ABC conditions with minimal margin for breathing motion. METHODS AND MATERIALS: An ABC apparatus is constructed consisting of 2 pairs of flow monitor and scissor valve, 1 each to control the inspiration and expiration paths to the patient. The patient breathes through a mouth-piece connected to the ABC apparatus. The respiratory signal is processed continuously, using a personal computer that displays the changing lung volume in real-time. After the patient's breathing pattern becomes stable, the operator activates ABC at a preselected phase in the breathing cycle. Both valves are then closed to immobilize breathing motion. Breathing motion of 12 patients were held with ABC to examine their acceptance of the procedure. The feasibility of applying ABC for treatment was tested in 5 patients by acquiring volumetric scans with a spiral computed tomography (CT) scanner during active breath-hold. Two patients had Hodgkin's disease, 2 had metastatic liver cancer, and 1 had lung cancer. Two intrafraction ABC scans were acquired at the same respiratory phase near the end of normal or deep inspiration. An additional ABC scan near the end of normal expiration was acquired for 2 patients. The ABC scans were also repeated 1 week later for a Hodgkin's patient. In 1 liver patient, ABC scans were acquired at 7 different phases of the breathing cycle to facilitate examination of the liver motion associated with ventilation. Contours of the lungs and livers were outlined when applicable. The variation of the organ positions and volumes for the different scans were quantified and compared. RESULTS: The ABC procedure was well tolerated in the 12 patients. When ABC was applied near the end of normal expiration, the minimal duration of active breath-hold was 15 s for 1 patient with lung cancer, and 20 s or more for all other patients. The duration was greater than 40 s for 2 patients with Hodgkin's disease when ABC was applied during deep inspiration. Scan artifacts associated with normal breathing motion were not observed in the ABC scans. The analysis of the small set of intrafraction scan data indicated that with ABC, the liver volumes were reproducible at about 1%, and lung volumes to within 6 %. The excursions of a "center of target" parameter for the livers were less than 1 mm at the same respiratory phase, but were larger than 4 mm at the extremes of the breathing cycle. The inter-fraction scan study indicated that daily setup variation contributed to the uncertainty in assessing the reproducibility of organ immobilization with ABC between treatment fractions. CONCLUSION: The results were encouraging; ABC provides a simple means to minimize breathing motion. When applied for CT scanning and treatment, the ABC procedure requires no more than standard operation of the CT scanner or the medical accelerator. The ABC scans are void of motion artifacts commonly seen on fast spiral CT scans. When acquired at different points in the breathing cycle, these ABC scans show organ motion in three-dimension (3D) that can be used to enhance treatment planning. Reproducibility of organ immobilization with ABC throughout the course of treatment must be quantified before the procedure can be applied to reduce margin for conformal treatment.

Feasibility Studies↗