Brown Elizabeth, Barry Tamara, Mai Tao, Harvey Jennifer
Radiation Oncology Princess Alexandra Hospital - Ipswich Road, Brisbane, Australia.
School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2024 May 11;30:100254. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2024.100254. eCollection 2024 Jun.
The use of tattoos for radiation therapy (RT) treatment is common practice. The Comfort Marker 2.0 (CQ Medical, Iowa, USA) has been designed to apply tattoos with a controlled depth injection, potentially resulting in tattoos that fade over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical implementation of the Comfort Marker 2.0 tattoo device including the patient experience and clinical workflow.
Patients undergoing RT treatment for breast cancer were invited to participate in this prospective pilot study. Patients completed a questionnaire after the planning session rating the level of pain experienced during tattoo application. Staff rated ease of use after each patient recording any feedback regarding the device. To evaluate tattoo fading, patients were followed up at 6 and 12 months after treatment to assess if tattoos could be visualised.
Between August and December 2021, 50 breast cancer patients were recruited to the study. All patients received at least 3 tattoos. The majority of patients (80%) rated their pain between not hurting or hurting a little. More than 85% of staff indicated the device was easy or very easy to use. The three most common areas staff identified for improvement were: cordless device (39.1%), pen size (20.3%) and consumable rubbish (13.0%). All tattoos remained visible at the final follow up appointment.
Clinical implementation of the Comfort Marker tattoo device has been successful. Overall, patients found the process reasonably painless and staff found the device easy to use, providing a consistent result.
使用纹身进行放射治疗（RT）是常见的做法。Comfort Marker 2.0（CQ Medical，美国爱荷华州）旨在通过控制深度注射来施加纹身，这可能会使纹身随着时间的推移而褪色。本研究的目的是调查Comfort Marker 2.0纹身设备的临床应用情况，包括患者体验和临床工作流程。
邀请接受乳腺癌RT治疗的患者参加这项前瞻性试点研究。患者在计划会议后完成一份问卷，对纹身施加过程中所经历的疼痛程度进行评分。在每个患者记录有关该设备的任何反馈后，工作人员对其易用性进行评分。为了评估纹身褪色情况，在治疗后6个月和12个月对患者进行随访，以评估纹身是否仍可看见。
在2021年8月至12月期间，50名乳腺癌患者被纳入该研究。所有患者至少接受了3次纹身。大多数患者（80%）将他们的疼痛程度评为不疼或有点疼。超过85%的工作人员表示该设备易于使用或非常易于使用。工作人员确定的三个最常见的改进方面是：无绳设备（39.1%）、笔的尺寸（20.3%）和耗材垃圾（13.0%）。在最后一次随访预约时，所有纹身仍然可见。
Comfort Marker纹身设备的临床应用取得了成功。总体而言，患者认为该过程相当无痛，工作人员认为该设备易于使用，结果一致。
