Repositioning accuracy of a noninvasive head fixation system for stereotactic radiotherapy

We report on the repositioning accuracy of patient setup achieved with a noninvasive head fixation device for stereotactic radiotherapy. A custom head mask which attaches to our stereotactic radiosurgery head ring assembly is fabricated for each patient. The position and orientation of a patient in the stereotactic space at the time of treatment are determined from analyzing portal films containing images of radio-opaque spheres embedded in a custom mouthpiece. From analysis of 104 setups of 12 patients, we find that the average distance between the treated isocenter and its mean position is 1.8 mm, and that the standard deviations of the position of the treated isocenter in stereotactic coordinate space about its mean position are less than 1.4 mm in translation in any direction and less than 1 degrees of rotation about any axis. (C) 1996 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.