Medical Dosimetry Presented by (Add Hospital name) in conjunction with The American Association of Medical Dosimetrists

We invite you to join us in celebrating ‘National Medical Dosimetrist’s Day’ by allowing us to describe our role in your care.

So…you might be thinking - What is medical dosimetry?

Medical Dosimetry, also known as treatment planning, is the process where the radiation oncologist (doctor) and the medical dosimetrist work together to create and calculate your treatment plan. This determines where the radiation will be targeted while minimizing the radiation dose to the surrounding healthy organs and tissue.

So…you might be thinking – When does this happen?

This happens behind the scenes after your CT Simulation and before the start of your radiation treatments. Treatment Planning Treatment Delivery Consultation CT Simulation Quality Assurance

So…you might be thinking – How is this done?

When the CT Simulation is complete, the CT images are sent to a special treatment planning computer. From the computer, the radiation oncologist contours or maps on the CT images the target area that will be treated with radiation.

Occasionally, a diagnostic CT, MRI, or PET scan is also used to aid the radiation oncologist with visualizing and defining the target area. CT Simulation MRI Image Fusion

Prior to developing the plan, the medical dosimetrist identifies all organs near the target so the doses of radiation to those organs are monitored. The radiation oncologist communicates the prescription of how much radiation will be needed to the medical dosimetrist.

So…you might be thinking – How do you know when my plan is complete?

The process of creating the optimal plan to deliver the prescription dose to the target while minimizing the surrounding dose varies from patient to patient in treatment plan type and complexity. The medical dosimetrist communicates with the radiation oncologist to provide the best plan based on your medical history and diagnosis.

So…you might be thinking – How is my plan evaluated?

Many medical dosimetrists began as radiation therapists and with additional training have specialized in the machine characteristics and clinical knowledge to provide the best plan possible. Specialized computer systems and tools aid in monitoring dose to the target and normal tissue. They assist in evaluating how the radiation is distributed. The radiation oncologist approves every treatment plan prior to the first radiation treatment. Several quality assurance checks are done on each treatment plan to verify all parameters are correct and ensure patient safety.

So…we are thinking – How did we get so fortunate to be involved in your care plan?

Thank you and we sincerely wish you the best Thank you and we sincerely wish you the best. It is our pleasure to take this journey along side each of you. For more information on medical dosimetry www.medicaldosimetry.org www.mdcb.org