Copenhagen, Denmark
Onsite/Online

ESTRO 2022

Session Item

Sunday
May 08
08:00 - 08:40
Auditorium 11
Artificial intelligence and brachytherapy: Current reality and perspectives
Marisol De Brabandere, Belgium
2040
Teaching lecture
Brachytherapy
08:00 - 08:20
The physician point of view
Luca Tagliaferri, Italy
SP-0341

Abstract

The physician point of view
Authors:

Luca Tagliaferri1

1Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS , Gemelli ART (Advanced Radiation Therapy), Rome, Italy

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Abstract Text

Since Radiotherapy is a discipline strongly based on technological improvement, it can’t disregard a specific training and a precise quality assurance especially in the field of brachytherapy (Interventional Radiotherapy, BT, IRT). To offer the best treatment to the patient, the introduction of the Intelligence Artificial Guided Procedure (IAGP) and automation in clinical practice could be very useful.  The impact of this introduction will not be negligible and could improve all phases of the interventional radiotherapy workflow: 1) first consultation of the patient with indication for BT 2) implant 3) delineation 4) planning 5) treatment 6) follow-up and other therapeutic indications. The utility of AI is mostly based on the support of big data , deep learning , algorithmic innovation and powerful neural network models, whereas automation using artificial intelligence has already proved its use speeding up the “contouring process” through autosegmentation in many fields of cancer care. In interventional radiotherapy (IRT), AI could be an important upgrade in the optimization of implant geometry, applicators location in treatment planning and source position in targets, avoiding organs at risks (OAR’S). Physicians and physicists can find a real benefit in obtaining an adequate target coverage and optimal OARs avoidance, using machine learning and effective algorithms. It also allows to perform the adaptive re-planning procedure during treatment. AI may also find an important role in treatment planning, by sparing a great amount of time, which depends especially on the physicist’s and physician’s knowledge and expertise. The field of treatment planning can be very different, not only across centers, but even in the same center because of the presence of different planners; this also explains the need of systems integrated with AI. Thanks to an increasing spread of Decision Support Systems (DSS), based on large database and radiomics, physicians can be provided with a huge amount of data that can improve clinical practice, using predictive models and leading to a personalized cancer care. This talk will aim to present and discuss how the introduction of Intelligence Artificial Guided Procedure (IAGP) and Automation could change the clinical practice and the interventional radiotherapy workflow.