Prospective observer and software-based assessment of magnetic resonance imaging quality in head and neck cancer: Should standard positioning and immobilization be required for radiation therapy applications?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of a head and neck magnetic resonance simulation and immobilization protocol on reducing motion-induced artifacts and improving positional variance for radiation therapy applications.Two groups (group 1, 17 patients; group 2, 14 patients) of patients with head and neck cancer were included under a prospective, institutional review board-approved protocol and signed informed consent. A...