Figure 3.

The two main approaches of dose painting: by contour (DPBC) or by number (DPBN). For DPBC, added to the standard clinical dose level (in pink), the radiation oncologist manually delineates a uniform HTV (in black) corresponding to a subjective PET-uptake level threshold (dashed line). Note that both methods use PET images, but DPBN requires a mathematical data pre-processing step (^*) that computes PET image into a “dose modulation map.” When performed, dose painting allows RT dosimetric simulation for optimal dose escalation.