Shrewsbury’s hand grips ease head and neck RT

With the Curve board are clinical technologist Claire Puzey, radiotherapy services manager Caroline Mansell, pre-treatment superintendent Stephanie Cockerill and lead dosimetrist Amanda Welsh.

Oncology Imaging Systems is to provide four Curve boards and Hand Grip Arrays to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.  The Curve board, which is used for head and neck treatments, is made of a carbon fibre skin construction that allows full 360° IMRT treatment with minimal attenuation.  It can be attached to any treatment couch tops using specific adapters.

The Hand Grip Array aids in reproducing the positioning of the patient’s shoulders to help ensure accurate patient alignment from treatment to treatment.

Pre-treatment superintendent Stephanie Cockerill said: “The design of the board makes moving and handling easier.  It has a very clever way of fixing onto the bed making it quick to position and can be overhung off the couch by a good margin, making treating with post oblique fields possible without the worry of treating through extra materials.”

See the full report on the back page of the September 2013 issue of RAD Magazine.