A Great Fiducial Marker

MR-only

MRI T2: Visibility of one ball-shaped 0.28×10 mm Gold Anchor MR+ in T2 2D

Enhanced MRI-visibility

MR-only workflow for radiotherapy refers to utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the sole imaging modality for the treatment planning in radiation therapy.
Traditionally, computed tomography (CT) has been the primary imaging modality used in radiotherapy for treatment planning due to its availability, speed, and ability to provide electron density information for dose calculation. However, MR imaging offers several advantages over CT, such as improved spatial accuracy, cost savings and reduced radiation dose*.

Gold Anchor MR+ is ideal for use with MR-only workflow with its unique marker material for enhanced MRI-visibility.

Download the white paper from Tampere University Hospital to learn more about how Gold Anchor can be used for MR-only workflow for prostate SBRT.

Download the white paper

*Jonsson J, Nyholm T, Soderkvist K. The rationale for MR-only treatment planning for external radiotherapy. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 2019;18:60 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctro.2019.03.005

Gold Anchor enabling MR-only planning at UTSW through reliable MRI visibility and automated fiducial detection

In a recently published study from UT Southwestern, Gold Anchor fiducials were used to clinically implement an MR-only planning workflow for prostate radiotherapy.

Gold Anchors’ enhanced MRI visibility enabled very high fiducial detection rate using both QSM-based and manual identification. This demonstrates how Gold Anchor supports the transition toward streamlined MR-only treatment pathways.

Article from Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics

T2-weighted MRI of ball shaped 0.4×10 mm Gold Anchor MR+ in prostate.

Line shaped 0.4×10 mm Gold Anchor marker with 0.5% iron can be visualized with Balanced Fast Field Echo (bFFE) MR sequences. Image courtesy of the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Turku University Hospital.

MR-only workflow for prostate patients

The Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy at Turku University Hospital in Finland is using the 0.4×10 mm Gold Anchor marker with 0.5% iron implanted with a line shape in prostate (two markers per patient).

They have a 1.5 T Philips Ingenia MR-RT system and use a Balanced Fast Field Echo (bFFE) sequence with the following specifications to visualize the Gold

Anchor markers:

  • Voxel size is 1*1*3 mm, 3mm is the head-feet resolution.
  • TE 4.6 ms and TR 194 ms
  • MRI has been taken with flat tabletop and anterior RT-coil system.

Here is a link presenting their MR-only workflow for prostate patients.