Radiation therapy is one way to treat certain types of cancer. The treatment involves directing a radiation beam or inserting radioactive seeds into or near a cancerous tumor. Radiation therapy can help shrink the tumor, but it also can damage healthy tissues and organs. It is the medical dosimetrist’s job to ensure that radiation treatment does the most good with the least harm to the patient.
The medical dosimetrist thus plays a vital role on the radiation oncology team, which may include a radiation oncologist, medical physicist, nurses and radiation therapists. When a cancer patient is prescribed radiation therapy, a medical dosimetrist determines exactly how to deliver the prescribed radiation dose.
The medical dosimetrist first employs a 3-dimensional computer model to calculate exactly where and how to distribute the radiation. To minimize damage to surrounding tissues, the medical dosimetrist may decide to use beam modification devices to better target the radiation. Specialized equipment may be required to cover or immobilize parts of the patient’s body to further protect against exposure.
Before the patient receives treatment, the medical dosimetrist runs computer simulations and makes necessary adaptations to make sure the plan will work as designed. Then the medical dosimetrist supervises the radiation therapist in implementing the treatment plan. Radiation treatment can require one dose or several treatments scheduled over days or weeks.
In addition to planning radiation treatment, medical dosimetrists may help calibrate radiation oncology machinery, educate medical dosimetry students, and work on research teams to help improve the effectiveness of radiation therapies.
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Dosimetrist 14 Sep 2009 [pdf, 207 KB]