CLINICAL USE OF A CONCOMITANT BOOST TECHNIQUE USING A GYPSUM COMPENSATOR

Purpose: To develop a clinical procedure to treat field within a field (concomitant boost) portals with a single compensated field. Methods and Materials: An ordinary manual cerrobend block former was used to p roduce styrofoam molds from simulator film data. A special gypsum comp ound was poured into the molds. The compensator block is independently mounted to the treatment machine via a custom-made compensator holder . Results: Measurements confirm that the inhomogeneous dose distributi on has been reliably delivered via this technique. The accuracy of pla cement of the high dose region is sufficient for clinical use. Conclus ion: The procedure enables the concomitant boost effect to be easily i mplemented in the clinic without increasing clinical setup time.