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What are the current and future requirements for magnetic resonance imaging interpretation skills in radiotherapy? A critical review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2016

Aston M. Midon ,
Pete Bridge  and
Mark Warren
Aston M. Midon
Affiliation:
Directorate of Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, UK
Pete Bridge*
Affiliation:
Directorate of Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, UK
Mark Warren
Affiliation:
Directorate of Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, UK
*
Correspondence to: Pete Bridge, School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 3GB, United Kingdom. Tel: 44 0 151 795 8366. E-mail: pete.bridge@liverpool.ac.uk
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Abstract

Purpose

Increasing usage of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in radiotherapy (RT) and the advent of MRI-based image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) suggests a need for additional training within the RT profession. This critical review aimed to identify potential gaps in knowledge by evaluating the current skill base in MRI among therapeutic radiographers as evidenced by published research.

Methods

Papers related to MRI usage were retrieved. Topic areas included outlining, planning and IGRT; diagnosis, follow-up and staging-related papers were excluded. After selection and further text analysis, papers were grouped by tumour site and year of publication.

Results

The literature search and filtering resulted in a total of 123 papers, of which 66 were related to ‘outlining’, 37 to ‘planning’ and 20 to ‘IGRT’. The main sites of existing MRI expertise in RT were brain, central nervous system, prostate, and head and neck tumours. Expertise was clearly related to regions where MRI offered improved soft-tissue contrast. MRI studies within RT have been published from 2007 onwards at a steadily increasing rate.

Conclusion

Current use of MRI in RT is mainly restricted to sites where MRI offers a considerable imaging advantage over computed tomography. Given the changing use of MRI for image guidance, emerging therapeutic radiographers will require training in MRI interpretation across a wider range of anatomical regions.

Keywords

image-guided radiotherapymagnetic resonance imagingplanningradiotherapytraining
Type
Literature Reviews
Information
Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 79 - 84
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2016 

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