Simulator

The simulator is a machine that can mimic all the movements of the treatment machines. What you see on the simulator is what you would see on the treatment machines, if they could produce a decent picture which, usually, they can't. The simulator has an x-ray television as well as the ability to take still x-ray pictures. The television is used to assess any likely movement during treatment, for example the voice box moving when a patient swallows. The still pictures are used as a permanent record of what was treated, and what was not. The simulator is therefore part of a vital checking system: treat what needs to be treated, no more, no less. Some modern treatment machines have additional equipment attached that enables the radiographers to see what is being treated at the time of the actual treatment itself. This is called portal imaging. The pictures from the simulator are still crucial: the radiographers need a standard of comparison, provided by the images from the simulator.