Implementation and Use of Motion Management Systems for Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy must always contend with the challenges posed by the intrinsic motion of a patient's anatomy during treatment. This issue is further magnified by the shift towards hypofractionation, prompting enhanced needs for precision in targeting tumors that may shift or change during sessions. Traditionally, external surfaces and fiducial markers have been utilized to track tumors indirectly, but the advent of advanced imaging technologies like kV, ultrasound, and MRI has revolutionized direct tumor visualization and intra-fractional motion monitoring. Despite these technological advancements, there is a gap in comprehensive, standardized information regarding the effective implementation and use of these newer systems.

This Research Topic aims to fill the existing knowledge void by providing comprehensive guidance on the implementation, latency requirements, accuracy needs, and quality assurance of modern motion management systems (MMS). It seeks to offer actionable recommendations for medical physicists and radiotherapy departments to help optimize the adoption and integration of these cutting-edge systems into clinical practice.

The focus is on assessing current technologies and their clinical applications within controlled radiotherapy settings. Articles submitted should primarily cover the following themes:

- Overview of MMS currently available
- Implementation, commissioning, and quality assurance of MMS
- Initial clinical experiences with new motion management systems
- Guidelines for using MMS, particularly distinguishing between respiratory and non-respiratory motion management.

Please note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.

Keywords: Motion management, gating, respiratory motion, intrafraction motion, surface guided, radiotherapy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.