Detecting Intra-Fraction Motion in Patients Undergoing Radiation Treatment Using a Low-Cost Wireless Accelerometer

Sensors

Farid Farahmand¹  Kevin O. Khadivi² 

[1] Department of Engineering Science, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA; E-Mail:;Austin Cancer Center, 2600 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Austin, Texas 78702, USA;E-Mail:

关键词: sensor networks;    accelerometer;    e-health;    medical applications;    medical systems;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s90906715

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The utility of a novel, high-precision, non-intrusive, wireless, accelerometer-based patient orientation monitoring system (APOMS) in determining orientation change in patients undergoing radiation treatment is reported here. Using this system a small wireless accelerometer sensor is placed on a patient’s skin, broadcasting its orientation to the receiving station connected to a PC in the control area. A threshold-based algorithm is developed to identify the exact amount of the patient’s head orientation change. Through real-time measurements, an audible alarm can alert the radiation therapist if the user-defined orientation threshold is violated. Our results indicate that, in spite of its low-cost and simplicity, the APOMS is highly sensitive and offers accurate measurements. Furthermore, the APOMS is patient friendly, vendor neutral, and requires minimal user training. The versatile architecture of the APOMS makes it potentially suitable for variety of applications, including study of correlation between external and internal markers during Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), with no major changes in hardware setup or algorithm.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland