An Augmented Reality Tool to aid Radiotherapy Set Up implemented on a Tablet Device

Abstract

The accurate daily set up of patients for radiotherapy treatment remains a challenge for which the development of new strategies and solutions continues to be an area of active research. We have developed an augmented reality tool to view the real world scene, i.e. the patient on a treatment couch, combined with computer graphics content, such as planning image data and any defined outlines of organ structures. We have built this on widely available hand held consumer tablet devices and describe here the implementation and initial experience. We suggest that, in contrast to other augmented reality tools explored for radiotherapy[1], due to the wide availability and low cost of the hardware platform the application has further potential as a tool for patients to visualize their treatment and demonstrate to patients e.g. the importance of compliance with instructions around bladder filling and rectal suppositories.