A Prospective Evaluation of the utility of Dual-Energy CT for Anatomical Delineation and Dose Calculation in Head and Neck Radiotherapy

Current practice for Head and Neck radiotherapy in in this centre is to contour the treatment target and nearby organs-at-risk (OARs) on a standard 120kV CT scan, fused with a recent diagnostic MRI. The limitations of this method include poor contrast resolution on the CT, particularly in determining the boundary between tumour and healthy tissue, and sub-optimal CT-MRI image fusion due to anatomical changes, or the fact that the MRI is not acquired in the treatment position.

This project aims to evaluate the clinical benefits of incorporating a Dual-Energy CT (DECT) scan into the radiotherapy treatment planning workflow for patients undergoing radical treatment for head and neck cancers. Specifically, the study will assess whether DECT improves the accuracy and consistency of target and OAR delineation, and examine the sensitivity of dose calculation compared to conventional single-energy CT (SECT).