Lung phantoms are dynamic systems that simulate lung motion to predict tumor position for lung radiotherapy
These predictions make cancer radiotherapy more precise, as lung tumors move during breathing
Unfortunately, current lung motion phantoms don’t account for complex motion and deformation of surrounding organs
Now, researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, have developed a lung phantom that can produce complex and irregular motions
by using a motion platform with two independently programmable linear actuators
The phantom provides reliable measurements of the tumor as well as surrounding organs at risk
and can simulate variation in abdominal and thoracic engagement
While the new lung phantom can’t fully reproduce human breathing, it comes pretty close
It is a valuable tool for evaluating motion management strategies in lung radiotherapy
Ranjbar et al. "A novel deformable lung phantom with programably variable external and internal correlation." Medical Physics (2019)