Already in 2012 the smartIMRT was designed as simple, modular and multifuctional RW3 phantom with huge number of features.
With cylindrical shape as body sized phantom, and flat for many different QA tasks. And with the big box in the middle.
And other segments in different shapes for different applications.
The conversion from round to flat is one in less than one minute. The big red screws center and fix the segments, you don't need tools. And the screws are big, they can't roll away and are easy find, even when the room light is switched off.
All connected to robust acrylic wheels, standing on 4 oversized and precise ball bearings. The balls are made of glass, so the entire smartIMRT is metal free and can be used in MRI scanners.
The big sized carbon fibre tubes between the strong acrylic consoles have lowest possible X-ray absorption and are strong enough to carry the smartIMRT, even when it is with maximum configuration and over 40 kg.
Still easy to carry by 2 people but not neccessary and not healty. Of course we have the RT-smartCART with lifting mechanism, suitable also for phantoms from other manufacturers.
With precise scales at the front and rear consoles you can manually rotate the phantom body to any angle you want. The smartIMRT goes 360º, of course.
And with motor to rotate with the gantry? Of course not! There are a number of arguments for not doing this!
The Linac is strong as a horse and can easily rotate a small phantom. As both segments, top and bottom, are installed or removed, the center of mass is always close to rotational axis. The torque needed for rotation is very small. So a simple mechanical solution is just right. Some carbon fibre tubes and a piece of velcro. That's it! Aligned and attached to the gantry in a few seconds.
If you take a motor you need an inclinometer. This requires calibration and cables and electronics and software and time. Not good for every day use. And with the motor a gear box is needed, and when you just remove the upper side of the phantom the center of mass is far off axis and the requird torque high. So strong gearbox, and still, if it fails, who can repair this? Finally a lot of technical equipment for a function you get almost for free.
Because if you are interested in perfect synchronicity with Gantry, a simple direct mechanical connection is the good solution. No needless complexity, all smart and simple.
Question: can you do IMRT with RT-smartIMRT with any 2D-Array? Of course, smartIMRT accommodates any 2D-Array on the market and is suitable for all IMRT techniques up to ARC and fff beams.
3D/4D dose reconstruction needed? No, the modern TPS and independent MU software are good enough for this, another 'Virtual Reality' based on complex calculations is more time consuming and might be confusing.
RT-smartIMRT is supporting patient plan verification based on the the precise measurements a 2D-Array or film is capable of. The smartIMRT rotates with the gantry, beam incidence always from the same direction. Two planar dose distributions are compared using standard verification software, the results need to be interpreted carefully as you do anyway. Finally the simple method is proven accurate and saves a lot of time and headaches. And the system is so simple that you do not need an extra QA tool.
But you convert the smartIMRT in a perfect QA tool in a minute, just by removing the 2 segments.
And QA is the discipline which demonstrate the versatility best. The big box allows to position most of all QA devices on the market correctly into ISO center. As RT goes ARC you go rotational with your QA and check the Linac performance at any gantry angle. Very simple and effective, for Therapy and kV-Imaging beams single and combined.
So the RT-smartIMRT as the original of modular RT phantoms offers a wide range of applications easy and effortless. Due to its simplicity you always know what is going on.
The combination with other dose.point products allow to use RT-smartIMRT effectively as device for Process RT. Which means that the phantom as virtual patient goes through the entire RT chain starting from Imager to TPS and finally dosimetry during irradiation.
Read more in the section 'RT-smartTOOLs'