Session

Overview: Positioning the patient in an upright position has been investigated since the early beginnings of radiotherapy. Recently, it has enjoyed a surge in interest sparked by academic publications and commercial solutions for upright positioning systems and associated image guidance. The list of potential benefits is manifold: Reduced cost and more compact treatment facilities especially for proton therapy; for heavy ion therapy upright treatments would unlock flexibility in terms of available field angles; CT or eventually even MR imaging at the treatment isocenter would become possible; upright positioning could also improve patient comfort. In this session not only the potential benefits and the current status of Upright RT will be presented, but also its challenges and required real-world feasibility proof for clinical translation will be discussed. From the talks approaching the topic from different perspectives, you should be in a good position to appraise for yourself, if Upright RT is rather a hype or a hope.