Mitigating respiratory motion in radiotherapy: rapid, shallow, non-invasive mechanical ventilation for internal thoracic targets.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to measure internal anatomical motion using rapid shallow mechanical ventilation to regularise and minimise respiratory motion, over a period long enough to image and deliver radiotherapy. Rapid frequency, shallow, non-invasive ventilation generates large reductions in internal thoracic and abdominal motions, the clinical application of which could be profound; enabling dose escalation (increasing treatment efficacy) or high dose ablative radiotherapy.