What are radiotherapy masks? Preparing for radiation therapy treatment Knowing what to expect can help patient prepare and reduce any anxiety may be feeling. The thermoplastic mask often used to immobilize patients in radiotherapy can cause varying levels of stress and anxiety. Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients commonly undergo radiation therapy requiring immobilisation by a mask. Some find the mask distressing, described as ‘mask anxiety’. and this can disrupt treatment sessions. Studys show that Mask anxiety impacted a quarter of participants undergoing radiotherapy for HNC（Head and Neck Canner). Some prospective examination of mask anxiety during radiotherapy identified a number of interventions that helped minimise mask anxiety include health professional intervention, self–taught strategies (breath regulation and meditation), music, visualisation and the use of medication. , and patient education to assist preparation for wearing the mask during RT are strategies that could improve current management of mask anxiety. The explanations provided…

Ways to deal with wearing a mask during radiation therapy treatment Radiation therapy masks are an essential part of radiation therapy treatment (radiotherapy) for many cancers of the head, neck and chest. It is normal to feel scared and anxious about wearing a mask every day of treatment – especially if it is your first time. How does wearing a radiation therapy mask feel? When you have to wear a mask for your radiation therapy treatment, this will be specially made to fit your head and neck exactly. Your radiation therapy team will make sure that you are as comfortable as possible while they create your mask. The first time you wear your radiation therapy mask may feel odd and limiting, but most people find the mask isn’t too bad once they get used to it. For some people, wearing a mask can be very hard, with the experience made…

Positioning and indexing vacuum bags for optimal immobilization Vacuum bags are an excellent tool for precise and comfortable patient immobilization during radiotherapy. Thanks to the strictly selected materials and high inspection standard, Meicen vacuum bags conform closely to the patient’s anatomy and offer a reliable, precise and reproducible immobilization. It is of vital importance that vacuum bags are positioned and indexed correctly to ensure optimal reproducibility. The bags should be remained in the right position throughout the duration of the treatment. This article shows all indexing options to get perfect use out of Meicen Vacuum Bags. Indexing a vacuum bag Vacuum bags should be properly secured to the treatment table to prevent them from moving. There are two different options to index the vacuum bag in a reproducible position: • Indexed vacuum bags can be indexed directly on the couch top with the use of indexing bars. The bags can…

The headrests help to comfortably maintain the patient’s head, when used with head and neck thermoplastic masks, radiation baseplates，it can provide a correct and repositionable patient fixation solution.

These tips to help select the most comfortable and supportive materials to meet your patient’s needs.

After a detailed comparison of the two different immobilization techniques (a. breast board immobilization; b. a combined immobilization of carnon fiber baseplate, vacuum bag and thermoplastic mask) used in radiotherapy for breast cancer, Clinic Data show that the two immobilization techniques doesn’t show any differences in X direction. In Y and Z directions, a sigle breast board is better than the other one in reducing the set-up errors. The reproducibility of using breast board for immobilization is relatively steady too. Detailed sources： http://dwz.win/JbK

If the doctor has recommended radiation treatment (or radiotherapy) for cancer of the head, neck or brain, patients will likely need a custom-made radiation mask to wear during their treatments. The purpose of the radiation mask is to hold your head and neck still and in exactly the right position during treatment. It helps us to deliver the radiation beam precisely to the tumor and limit damage to healthy tissues nearby. Now most of radiation masks are made with thermoplastic materials. Before the Mask is Made： It’s important to have a precise fit for each and every radiotherapy session. Once a mask is moulded, only slight adjustments can be made to it during the course of the treatment. Before the mask is fitted, patients should: Dental work Before the radiotherapy mask is made, you may need to see a dentist to have your mouth and teeth checked. If some of…

Moulding a radiotherapy mask has become a routine work for most technicians. However, problems may happen either during the moulding process or while useing the mask for the first treatment session. Renfumed has listed several skills to avoid these issues and to assure high precision, reproducibility and patient comfort based on years of clinical experience. 1. Make sure the temperature of the water bath is between 65 °C and 70 °C (149 °F -158 °F). The ideal temperature for an oven is 75 °C (165 °F). Too hot or too low temperature would cause operation time problems. 2. Stick closely to the heating times in the water bath, which is minimum 2 minutes for an meicen ordinary Mask before the thermoplastic Material fully softened（Hyaline）. When using an oven, the masks can be heated for at least 10 minutes. 3. After taking out the completely softened thermoplastic mask from the water tank, the operation…

According to the research，The open‐face mask is characterized for its immobilization capability and can immobilize patients sufficiently  during radiotherapy provides a clinical solution to the immobilization of patients with head and neck (HN) cancer undergoing radiotherapy, and is particularly beneficial for claustrophobic patients. This new open‐face mask is readily adopted in radiotherapy clinic as a superior alternative to the standard full‐head mask. CONCLUSIONS We have established and characterized a new precut open‐face thermoplastic mask for immobilization of patients with head and neck, cervical spine, and brain cancer during radiotherapy. Using real‐time OSI, absolute head motion during 15 minutes or more on the treatment couch was found to be approximately  for both healthy volunteers and patients with claustrophobia. Mask‐locking‐induced head shifts and rotations were quantified and accounted for as the uncertainty in conventional setup. The open‐face mask opening (with reinforced strips) does not reduce the strength of the mask, in comparison with the full‐head…

During daily radiation treatment, it isnecessary to ensure that you will be inexactly the same position. If you are getting radiation to the brainor head & neck area, you may need an immobilisation mask for daily treatment. Masks are used: to make it easier for you to staystill; to help keep your head frommoving so that you are in theexact same position for eachtreatment; so any markings that may be used to position you for the treatment can be drawn on the mask, not your skin. A radiation therapist makes the mask during your CT planning scan and the process usually takes around 30 minutes. The mask will be moulded to your face and secured to the table to gently hold your head in place during radiation treatment.  During the treatment, it may feel strange to have the mask on at first. Let the radiation therapists know if you feel…

For most types of radiotherapy to your brain, head or neck area, you wear a mask during each treatment.This is sometimes also called a mould, head shell or cast. The mask is made to hold your head and neck still and in exactly the right position.They use the thermoplastic marks to accurately line up the radiotherapy machine for each treatment.