Recently published Medical Physics Practice Guideline 5.a. (MPPG 5.a.) by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) sets the minimum requirements for treatment planning system (TPS) dose algorithm commissi...Recently published Medical Physics Practice Guideline 5.a. (MPPG 5.a.) by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) sets the minimum requirements for treatment planning system (TPS) dose algorithm commissioning and quality assurance (QA). The guideline recommends some validation tests and tolerances based primarily on published AAPM task group reports and the criteria used by IROC Houston. We performed the commissioning and validation of the dose algorithms for both megavoltage photon and electron beams on three linacs following MPPG 5.a. We designed the validation experiments in an attempt to highlight the evaluation method and tolerance criteria recommended by the guideline. It seems that comparison of dose profiles using in-water scan is an effective technique for basic photon and electron validation. IMRT/VMAT dose calculation is recommended to be tested with some TG-119 and clinical cases, but no consensus of the tolerance exists. Extensive validation tests have provided the better understanding of the accuracy and limitation of a specific dose calculation algorithm. We believe that some tests and evaluation criteria given in the guideline can be further refined.展开更多
Purpose: Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (FSRS) can be given with at least three modalities: Gamma Knife, with the noninvasive frameless extend system (GKE);linear accelerator-based volumetric modulated arc the...Purpose: Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (FSRS) can be given with at least three modalities: Gamma Knife, with the noninvasive frameless extend system (GKE);linear accelerator-based volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT);and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT). We extracted treatment plans for patients who had received FSRS with GKE for recurrent skull base or intracranial tumors, created corresponding plans for VMAT and IMPT, and compared the quality of the three sets of plans. Methods and materials: Plans were extracted for 9 patients with recurrent malignant skull-base tumors (n = 6) or large intracranial tumors (n = 3) who had received FSRS with GKE (median dose 24 Gy in 3 fractions) in 2013 through 2015. Plans for VMAT were generated with a TrueBeam STx LINAC machine using 6-MV photons, and plans for IMPT were generated with multi-field optimization. The optimized VMAT and IMPT plans were normalized to achieve the best possible target coverage while meeting the same dose-volume constraints on organs at risk (OARs) as the GKE plans. Plans were evaluated on the basis of target coverage, conformity index, homogeneity index, gradient index, and treatment efficiency. Results: The median target volume was 10.2 cm3 (range 1.9 - 33.8 cm3). The VMAT and IMPT plans met all OAR constraints, and target coverage and conformity were comparable among all plans. VMAT and IMPT plans showed significantly better target uniformity and treatment delivery efficiency (P P Conclusion: FSRS for skull base and large intracranial lesions delivered by VMAT and IMPT can achieve comparable target coverage, conformity, and sparing of critical structure as the GKE while providing superior target uniformity and treatment delivery efficiency. The GKE had superior high-dose gradients outside the target and thus better protected surrounding normal structures.展开更多
Radionuclides naturally occurring in building materials may significantly contribute to the annual doses to the public. For instance, familiar building materials such as the concrete and gypsum board have been reporte...Radionuclides naturally occurring in building materials may significantly contribute to the annual doses to the public. For instance, familiar building materials such as the concrete and gypsum board have been reported to produce a dose of about 0.04 mSv per year for a typical person (NCRP 1987c). External as well as internal exposures are two pathways of radiation dose imparted to human beings from the building materials. As information on the radioactivity of such materials is lacking, the study of gypsum materials used in Egypt was carried out in order to estimate the annual dose to the Egyptian population due to natural radionuclides in building materials. During the study, 18 samples of commonly used gypsum raw materials were collected and measured. The activity concentrations were determined by gamma ray spectrometry. Their mean values were in the ranges of 499.29 ± 11.53 Bq·kg-1 for 40K, 91.97 ± 2.61 Bq·kg-1 for 226Ra, 37.62 ± 1.67 Bq·kg-1 for 238U and 42.27 ± 2.22 Bq·kg-1 for 232Th. The activity indexed Iγ for 18, different gypsum samples varied from 0.31 ± 0.03 to 2.3 ± 0.19 and the radium equivalent activity (Raeq), from 38.81 ± 1.68 to 324.7 ± 9.42. These values are lower than the limit of 370 Bq·kg-1 adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The average indoor annual effective gamma dose rate (DE) in (mSv/y) for the people, caused by the building materials of dwellings, was assessed for most commonly gypsum materials. It was estimated to be in the range from 0.10 ± 0.003 mSv/y to 0.74 ± 0.08 mSv/y. The internal and external hazard indices (Hin, Hex) and the absorbed dose rate in air D in each sample were evaluated to assess the radiation hazard for people living in dwelling made of the studied materials. The absorbed dose rate of indoor air in samples G1, G2, G11, G17 and G18 is less than the international recommended value which is 55 nGyh-1. While the absorbed dose rate for samples G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, G8, G9, G10, G12, G13, G14, G15 and G16 is higher than 55 nGyh-1, these samples are not acceptable for use as building materials.展开更多
Background: Magnetic resonance image-guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT) promises more precise and effective radiation treatments compared to conventional IGRT by using real-time on-board MR imaging. Under the influenc...Background: Magnetic resonance image-guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT) promises more precise and effective radiation treatments compared to conventional IGRT by using real-time on-board MR imaging. Under the influence of a magnetic field, however, secondary electrons exiting a surface can be forced in a circular path and re-enter the medium, resulting in dose increase at a beam-exit surface, called the electron return effect (ERE). The purpose of the study is to compare the exit skin dose computed by Monte Carlo dose calculation with measurements using an adult anthropomorphic phantom and to measure the effect of skin dose reduction by adding 1 cm-thick bolus. Method: The plan was compared with measurements using an adult anthropomorphic phantom combined with radiochromic films and thermoluminescent dosimeters. We also measured the skin dose reduction by adding 1 cm-thick bolus on the frontal surface of the phantom. Results: We found that 1 cm-thick bolus reduced the skin dose by up to 20% both in measurements and calculations. The plan was found to overestimate the measured skin dose by about 10% and there was no significant difference in the bolus effect between the breast skin and the skin (without breast attachment) doses. Conclusion: In conclusion, we confirmed the ERE effect on the anthropomorphic phantom under the magnetic field and the exit skin dose reduction by adding a bolus. Skin dose measurements using anthropomorphic phantom may be helpful to evaluate more realistic skin dose and the bolus effect in the magnetic field.展开更多
Objective To evaluate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)from low-endemic regions of China who received definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT).Me...Objective To evaluate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)from low-endemic regions of China who received definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT).Methods The clinical data from 608 patients with newly-diagnosed non-metastatic NPC who have received initial treatment at our cancer center from January,2008 to December,2013 were retrospectively reviewed.All patients received definitive IMRT,and 87.7%received platinum-based chemotherapy.Results The median follow-up duration was 51 months(follow-up rate,98.5%;range,10–106 months)for the entire cohort.The 5-year overall survival rate was 79.7%.The 5-year local relapse-free survival rate,regional relapse-free survival rate,distant metastasis-free survival rate and progression-free survival rate were 92.4%,93.3%,79.2%and 74.3%,respectively.A total of 153 patients had experienced treatment failure,with distant metastasis as the primary cause in 77.1%(118/153).Patients with T4 or N3 diseases had a significantly poorer prognosis than other subcategories.Stage T4 and N3 were closely associated with distant metastasis,with the metastatic rate of 29.3%and 45.5%,respectively.Conclusion IMRT provides patients with non-metastatic NPC with satisfactory long-term survival.Both T stage and N stage are important prognostic factors for NPC patients.Patients with T4 or N3 diseases have significantly increased distant metastatic rates and poor survival time.展开更多
The objectives of this study are to evaluate the dosimetric impact of hip prosthesis using ELEKTA linac X-rays and compare the dose perturbations of metallic and nonmetallic hip prostheses. The local dose distribution...The objectives of this study are to evaluate the dosimetric impact of hip prosthesis using ELEKTA linac X-rays and compare the dose perturbations of metallic and nonmetallic hip prostheses. The local dose distributions of typical hip prostheses were calculated for 4, 8, and 15 MV beams by Geant4. Three prosthesis materials were selected in calculation to reveal the relation between material type and local dose perturbations of prostheses. Furthermore,the effect of nominal energy on prosthesis perturbation was also discussed and analyzed. Taking the calculated dose to the hip joint as reference, considerable differences were observed between prostheses and hip joints. In the prosthesis shadow region, the relative dose decreasing was up to 36, 21, and 16 % for the Co–Cr–Mo alloy, titanium alloy, and ceramic prostheses, respectively. In backscattering region, the relative dose increasing was about1–7 %. Overall, the results show that the dose perturbation effect of prostheses was mainly determined by material type, nominal energy, and density. Among these typical hip prostheses, ceramic prosthesis introduces the lowest dose perturbations.展开更多
The lead and barium contents in sixteen archaeological bone samples from 10 persons buried in Dalsby, Sweden, were determined by means of X- ray fluorescence analysis using two "Co sources for excitation and a pl...The lead and barium contents in sixteen archaeological bone samples from 10 persons buried in Dalsby, Sweden, were determined by means of X- ray fluorescence analysis using two "Co sources for excitation and a planar Ge detector for registration of the X- rays. The lead concentrations were found to be less than 168μ g/g, and the barium concentrations were in the range of 15- 97μg/g.展开更多
Acute limb ischemia is a urgent condition which occurs when there is an abrupt interruption of blood flow into an extremity usually because of either embolic or thrombotic vascular occlusion. Restoration of perfusion ...Acute limb ischemia is a urgent condition which occurs when there is an abrupt interruption of blood flow into an extremity usually because of either embolic or thrombotic vascular occlusion. Restoration of perfusion through early intervention can decrease amputation and mortality. Contemporary treatment includes both surgery and endovascular techniques. There is a rapid progress in endovascular intervention therapy. This article aims to make a comprehensive review of the endovascular intervention options of acute limb ischemia.展开更多
We proposed the use of a hybrid deformable image registration approach that combines compact-support radial basis functions (CSRBF) spline registration with intensity-based image registration. The proposed method firs...We proposed the use of a hybrid deformable image registration approach that combines compact-support radial basis functions (CSRBF) spline registration with intensity-based image registration. The proposed method first uses the pre-viously developed image intensity-based method to achieve voxel-by-voxel correspondences over the entire image re-gion. Next, for those areas of inaccurate registration, a sparse set of landmark correspondences was defined for local deformable image registration using a multi-step CSRBF approach. This hybrid registration takes advantage of both intensity-based method for automatic processing of entire images and the CSRBF spline method for fine adjustment over specific regions. The goal of using this hybrid registration is to locally control the quality of registration results in specific regions of interest with minimal human intervention. The major applications of this approach in radiation ther-apy are for the corrections of registration failures caused by various imaging artifacts resulting in, low image contrast, and non-correspondence situations where an object may not be imaged in both target and source images. Both synthetic and real patient data have been used to evaluate this hybrid method. We used contours mapping to validate the accuracy of this method on real patient image. Our studies demonstrated that this hybrid method could improve overall registra-tion accuracy with moderate overhead. In addition, we have also shown that the multi-step CSRBF registration proved to be more effective in handling large deformations while maintaining the smoothness of the transformation than origi-nal CSRBF.展开更多
Objective: This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the 2-dimensional (2D) conventional technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues. Methods: We conducted a ...Objective: This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the 2-dimensional (2D) conventional technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues. Methods: We conducted a single institutional prospective comparative dosimetric analysis of 15 patients who received radical radiation therapy for bladder cancer presented to Radiotherapy Department in National Cancer Institute, Cairo (Egypt), in period between November 2011 to July 2012 using 3-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy technique for each patient, a second 2D conventional radiotherapy treatment plan was done, the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis. Results: Comparing different DVHs, it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both (3D & 2D) plans while it was demonstrated that this multiple field conformal technique produced superior distribution compared to 2D technique, with considerable sparing of rectum and to lesser extent for the head of both femora. Conclusion: From the present study, it is recommended to use 3D planning for cases of bladder cancer especially in elderly patients as it produces good coverage of the target volume as well as good sparing of the surrounding critical organs.展开更多
Objective:This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the AP-PA technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues.Methods:We conducted a single institutional prospect...Objective:This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the AP-PA technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues.Methods:We conducted a single institutional prospective comparative dosimetric analysis of 22 patients who received neoadjuvant radiation therapy for rectal cancer presented to radiotherapy department in National Cancer Institute,Cairo in period between June 2010 to September 2011 using 3D conformal radiotherapy technique for each patient,a second radiotherapy treatment plan was done using an anteroposterior (AP-PA) fields,the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis.Results:Comparing different DVHs,it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both (3D & 2D) plans while it was demonstrates that this multiple field conformal technique produces superior distribution compared to 2D technique,with considerable sparing of bladder,ovaries and head of both femora.Conclusion:From the present study,it shows that it is recommended to use 3D planning for preoperative cases of cancer rectum so far it produces good coverage of the target as well as good sparing of the surrounding critical organs.展开更多
Background: Distortion of the Leksell stereotactic frame can occur during surgical and radiosurgical frame-based procedures. The targeting accuracies of surgical procedures such as DBS surgery or frame-based biopsy, o...Background: Distortion of the Leksell stereotactic frame can occur during surgical and radiosurgical frame-based procedures. The targeting accuracies of surgical procedures such as DBS surgery or frame-based biopsy, or Gamma Knife radiosurgical procedures, are related to the stereotactic frame that is commonly referred to a non-deformable referential system. Objective: To evaluate the clinical impact of frame distortion on accuracy of targeting in various stereotactic procedures. Methods: We studied the influence of increasing levels of distortion of the Leksell frame both on surgical procedures using the stereotactic arch, and on radiosurgical procedures with the Gamma Knife. For surgical procedures we applied the Target Simulator of Elekta to a frame submitted to different levels of frame distortion, and we measured the modifications of accuracy of targeting. For radiosurgical procedures the Leksell frame was applied on an anthropomorphic phantom and modifications of target coordinates were measured by an imaging method using the stereotactic CBCT of the Gamma Knife ICON. Results: For surgical procedures, we found a linear relation between the amount of the frame distortion and the extent of the deviation from the stereotactic target using the stereotactic arch (R2 = 0.99709). The level of bending of the frame is also linearly related to the level of inaccuracy of stereotactic targeting based on acquisition of MRI and CTscan with the Elekta imaging boxes (R2 = 0.96825). The inaccuracy of targeting related to frame bending can be avoided by a systematic control at the end of frame placement and by the use of the CBCT of the Gamma Knife Icon. Conclusion: Distortion of the frame is a significant source of clinical inaccuracy of targeting for stereotactic procedures. Frame bending must be checked after each frame placement and corrected if needed to avoid targeting inaccuracy during stereotactic surgery and radio-surgery procedures.展开更多
Water exchange between the different compartments of a heterogeneous specimen can be characterized via diffusion magnetic resonance imaging(dMRI).Many analysis frameworks using dMRI data have been proposed to describe...Water exchange between the different compartments of a heterogeneous specimen can be characterized via diffusion magnetic resonance imaging(dMRI).Many analysis frameworks using dMRI data have been proposed to describe exchange,often using a double diffusion encoding(DDE)stimulated echo sequence.Techniques such as diffusion exchange weighted imaging(DEWI)and the filter exchange and rapid exchange models,use a specific subset of the full space DDE signal.In this work,a general representation of the DDE signal was employed with different sampling schemes(namely constant b1,diagonal and anti-diagonal)from the data reduction models to estimate exchange.A near-uniform sampling scheme was proposed and compared with the other sampling schemes.The filter exchange and rapid exchange models were also applied to estimate exchange with their own subsampling schemes.These subsampling schemes and models were compared on both simulated data and experimental data acquired with a benchtop MR scanner.In synthetic data,the diagonal and near-uniform sampling schemes performed the best due to the consistency of their estimates with the ground truth.In experimental data,the shifted diagonal and near-uniform sampling schemes outperformed the others,yielding the most consistent estimates with the full space estimation.The results suggest the feasibility of measuring exchange using a general representation of the DDE signal along with variable sampling schemes.In future studies,algorithms could be further developed for the optimization of sampling schemes,as well as incorporating additional properties,such as geometry and diffusion anisotropy,into exchange frameworks.展开更多
Capecitabine (Xeloda) is an oral fluoropyrimidine which is produced as a pro-drug of fluorouracil, and shows improved tolerability and intratumor drug concentrations following its tumor-specif ic conversion to the a...Capecitabine (Xeloda) is an oral fluoropyrimidine which is produced as a pro-drug of fluorouracil, and shows improved tolerability and intratumor drug concentrations following its tumor-specif ic conversion to the active drug. We have searched the Pubmed and Cochrane databases from 1980 to 2009 with the purpose of reviewing all available information on Capecitabine, focusing on its clinical effectiveness against colorectal cancer. Special attention has been paid to trials that compared Capecitabine with standard folinic acid (leucovorin, LV)-modulated intravenous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus regimens in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Moreover the efficacy of Capecitabine on metastatic colorectal cancer, either alone or in various combinations with other active drugs such as Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin was also assessed. Finally, neoadjuvant therapy con- sisting of Capecitabine plus radiation therapy, for locally advanced rectal cancer was analysed. This combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy has a special role in tumor down staging and in sphincter preservation for lower rectal tumors. Comparative trials have shown that Capecitabine is at least equivalent to the standard LV-5-FU combination in relation to progression-free and overall survival whilst showing a better tolerability prof ile with a much lower incidence of stomatitis. It is now known that Capecitabine can be combined with other active drugs such as Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin. The combination of Oxaliplatin with Capecitabine represents a new standard of care for metastatic colorectal cancer. Combinating the Capecitabine-Oxaliplatin regimen with promising new biological drugs such as Bevacizumab seems to give a realistic prospect of further improvement in time to progression of metastatic disease. Moreover, preoperative chemo-radiation using oral capecitabine is better tolerated than bolus 5-FU and is more effective in the promotion of both down-staging and sphincter preservation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Finally, the outcomes of recently published trials suggest that capecitabine seems to be more cost effective than other standard treatments for the management of patients with colorectal cancer.展开更多
This study aimed to exploit a new virtual block method to spare normal lung tissue in VMAT planning for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer(LA-NSCLC).The previous method was used to manually rest...This study aimed to exploit a new virtual block method to spare normal lung tissue in VMAT planning for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer(LA-NSCLC).The previous method was used to manually restrict the angle of the beam passing through,which ignored the location and shape of large targets that varied between different slices and did not block the beamlets precisely.Unlike the previous method,this new virtual block method was used to block the beamlets when necessary by closing the multi-leaf collimator(MLC)at prerequisite angles.The algorithm for closing the MLC depended on the thickness of the beamlets passing through the lungs and avoided only the entrance radiation beamlet.Moreover,this block can be automatically contoured.A retrospective study was performed to compare the VMAT plans with and without the virtual block method for 17 LANSCLC patients,named the block plan(B-plan)/non-block plan(N-plan).All cases were selected in this study because of the large tumor size and unmet dose constraints of the lungs.In addition to the maximum dose constraint for the virtual block,B-plans adopted identical optimization parameters to N-plans for each patient.These two types of plans were compared in terms of dosimetric indices and plan scores.The results were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon nonparametric signed-rank test.B-plans have advantages in the following dosimetric metrics that have statistical significance(p<0.05):(1)lower V_(5)/V_(10)/D_(mean)/normal tissue complication probability(NTCP)of total lungs;(2)reductions in V_(5)/V_(10)for the contralateral lung;(3)decrease in Dmean/V_(40)of the heart;(4)decrease in esophagus V_(40);(5)reductions in Dmean,V_(5)/V_(10) of normal tissue.B-plans(82.51±7.07)achieved higher-quality scores than N-plans(80.74±7.22).The new virtual block spared the lungs as well as other normal structures in VMAT planning for LA-NSCLC.Thus,the block method may decrease the risk of radiation-related toxicity in patients.展开更多
Inspired by total variation(TV), this paper represents a new iterative algorithm based on diagonal total variation(DTV) to address the computed tomography image reconstruction problem. To improve the quality of a reco...Inspired by total variation(TV), this paper represents a new iterative algorithm based on diagonal total variation(DTV) to address the computed tomography image reconstruction problem. To improve the quality of a reconstructed image, we used DTV to sparsely represent images when iterative convergence of the reconstructed algorithm with TV-constraint had no effect during the reconstruction process. To investigate our proposed algorithm, the numerical and experimental studies were performed, and rootmean-square error(RMSE) and structure similarity(SSIM)were used to evaluate the reconstructed image quality. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could effectively reduce noise, suppress artifacts, and reconstruct highquality image from incomplete projection data.展开更多
The purpose of our study was to compare interfractional bony setup variations in pelvic anatomy with two immobilization devices, the patient-specific Vac-Lok and the generic Dual Leg Positioner system (both Civco Medi...The purpose of our study was to compare interfractional bony setup variations in pelvic anatomy with two immobilization devices, the patient-specific Vac-Lok and the generic Dual Leg Positioner system (both Civco Medical Solutions, Kalona, IA), for bilateral proton radiotherapy of the prostate. Two groups of 10 patients were studied. Computed tomography (CT) was performed three times a week, yielding 233 CT image sets for the vacuum system group and 252 for the other group. The translational shifts of the pelvic bone and prostate and rotation of the upper femurs of the femoral heads with respect to the simulation CT images were analyzed. Along the anterior-posterior and lateral axes, mean and systematic translational variations of the pelvic bone and prostate, relative to skin fiducials, were significantly lower in the Vac-Lok group (all p 0.01) than in the Dual Leg Positioner group. Abduction of the upper femur, the dominant rotation, had random rotational variations of 1.9° and 2.0° and systematic rotations of 3.1° and 2.9° for the vacuum and generic system groups, respectively. Femoral abduction was highly correlated with anterior prostate displacement for both femurs in both groups (p tion introduced during simulation CT, particularly with the generic immobilization system. High degrees of femoral rotation may introduce prostate translation and distal misalignment of lateral proton beams with the prostate.展开更多
The purpose of this study was to grasp current potential problems of dose error in intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans. We were interested in dose differences of the Varian Eclipse treatment planning syste...The purpose of this study was to grasp current potential problems of dose error in intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans. We were interested in dose differences of the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) and the fast dose calculation method (FDC) for single-field optimization (SFO) and multi-field optimization (MFO) IMPT plans. In addition, because some authors have reported dosimetric benefit of a proton arc therapy with ultimate multi-fields in recent years, we wanted to evaluate how the number of fields and beam angles affect the differences for IMPT plans. Therefore, for one brain cancer patient with a large heterogeneity, SFO and MFO IMPT plans with various multi-angle beams were planned by the TPS. Dose distributions for each IMPT plan were calculated by both the TPS’s conventional pencil beam algorithm and the FDC. The dosimetric parameters were compared between the two algorithms. The TPS overestimated 400 - 500 cGy (RBE) for minimum dose to the CTV relative to the dose calculated by the FDC. These differences indicate clinically relevant effect on clinical results. In addition, we observed that the maximum difference in dose calculated between the TPS and the FDC was about 900 cGy (RBE) for the right optic nerve, and this quantity also has a possibility to have a clinical effect. The major difference was not seen in calculations for SFO IMPT planning and those for MFO IMPT planning. Differences between the TPS and the FDC in SFO and MFO IMPT plans depend strongly on beam arrangement and the presence of a heterogeneous body. We advocate use of a Monte Carlo method in proton treatment planning to deliver the most precise proton dose in IMPT.展开更多
Objective:This study was to compare 5 field conformal technique to the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) 8 fields technique in boosting locally advanced cancer cervix cases after external beam radiotherapy with ...Objective:This study was to compare 5 field conformal technique to the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) 8 fields technique in boosting locally advanced cancer cervix cases after external beam radiotherapy with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues. Methods:We conducted a single institutional comparative dosimetric analysis of 10 patients with cancer cervix who was presented to radiotherapy department in National Cancer Institute, Cairo in period between June 2012 to September 2012 and received a CRT boost in the place of planned brachytherapy after large field pelvic radiotherapy (PRT) with concurrent chemotherapy were retrospectively identified. All tumors were situated in the low central pelvis. Two plans were done for every patient; one using the 8 fields IMRT and the second one using 5 fields' 3DCRT the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis for the PTV, bladder, rectum and both femoral heads. Results:Comparing different DVHs, it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both plans while it was demonstrates that the 8 fields IMRT technique carried less doses reaching OARs (rectum, bladder, both femoral heads). Conclusion:From the present study, it is concluded that IMRT technique spared more efficiently OARs than CRT technique but both techniques covered the PTV adequately so whenever possible IMRT technique should be used.展开更多
IMPT plans with various multi-angle beams were planned by the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system for one case of brain cancer. Dose distributions for each plan, along with the associated linear energy transfer d...IMPT plans with various multi-angle beams were planned by the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system for one case of brain cancer. Dose distributions for each plan, along with the associated linear energy transfer distributions, were recomputed using an in-house fast Monte Carlo dose calculator with a FRBE of 1.1 or with a previously published VRBE model. We then compared dosimetric parameters obtained by the VRBE with those obtained by the FRBE. Biological doses obtained by the VRBE for the clinical target volume in all plans were 1% - 2% larger than those obtained by the FRBE. The minimum dose obtained by the VRBE for the right optic nerve in the MFO IMPT with 4 fields was 70% larger than that obtained by the FRBE, but the difference was only 18.1 cGy (RBE). The difference in maximum dose for the right optic nerve in the MFO IMPT with 5 fields was less than 10.4%, but the difference was 131.8 cGy (RBE). The mean difference in maximum dose was less than 2% for all other organs at risk. We found that biological dose with the FRBE had any dose errors in IMPT with various multi-angle beams.展开更多
文摘Recently published Medical Physics Practice Guideline 5.a. (MPPG 5.a.) by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) sets the minimum requirements for treatment planning system (TPS) dose algorithm commissioning and quality assurance (QA). The guideline recommends some validation tests and tolerances based primarily on published AAPM task group reports and the criteria used by IROC Houston. We performed the commissioning and validation of the dose algorithms for both megavoltage photon and electron beams on three linacs following MPPG 5.a. We designed the validation experiments in an attempt to highlight the evaluation method and tolerance criteria recommended by the guideline. It seems that comparison of dose profiles using in-water scan is an effective technique for basic photon and electron validation. IMRT/VMAT dose calculation is recommended to be tested with some TG-119 and clinical cases, but no consensus of the tolerance exists. Extensive validation tests have provided the better understanding of the accuracy and limitation of a specific dose calculation algorithm. We believe that some tests and evaluation criteria given in the guideline can be further refined.
文摘Purpose: Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (FSRS) can be given with at least three modalities: Gamma Knife, with the noninvasive frameless extend system (GKE);linear accelerator-based volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT);and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT). We extracted treatment plans for patients who had received FSRS with GKE for recurrent skull base or intracranial tumors, created corresponding plans for VMAT and IMPT, and compared the quality of the three sets of plans. Methods and materials: Plans were extracted for 9 patients with recurrent malignant skull-base tumors (n = 6) or large intracranial tumors (n = 3) who had received FSRS with GKE (median dose 24 Gy in 3 fractions) in 2013 through 2015. Plans for VMAT were generated with a TrueBeam STx LINAC machine using 6-MV photons, and plans for IMPT were generated with multi-field optimization. The optimized VMAT and IMPT plans were normalized to achieve the best possible target coverage while meeting the same dose-volume constraints on organs at risk (OARs) as the GKE plans. Plans were evaluated on the basis of target coverage, conformity index, homogeneity index, gradient index, and treatment efficiency. Results: The median target volume was 10.2 cm3 (range 1.9 - 33.8 cm3). The VMAT and IMPT plans met all OAR constraints, and target coverage and conformity were comparable among all plans. VMAT and IMPT plans showed significantly better target uniformity and treatment delivery efficiency (P P Conclusion: FSRS for skull base and large intracranial lesions delivered by VMAT and IMPT can achieve comparable target coverage, conformity, and sparing of critical structure as the GKE while providing superior target uniformity and treatment delivery efficiency. The GKE had superior high-dose gradients outside the target and thus better protected surrounding normal structures.
文摘Radionuclides naturally occurring in building materials may significantly contribute to the annual doses to the public. For instance, familiar building materials such as the concrete and gypsum board have been reported to produce a dose of about 0.04 mSv per year for a typical person (NCRP 1987c). External as well as internal exposures are two pathways of radiation dose imparted to human beings from the building materials. As information on the radioactivity of such materials is lacking, the study of gypsum materials used in Egypt was carried out in order to estimate the annual dose to the Egyptian population due to natural radionuclides in building materials. During the study, 18 samples of commonly used gypsum raw materials were collected and measured. The activity concentrations were determined by gamma ray spectrometry. Their mean values were in the ranges of 499.29 ± 11.53 Bq·kg-1 for 40K, 91.97 ± 2.61 Bq·kg-1 for 226Ra, 37.62 ± 1.67 Bq·kg-1 for 238U and 42.27 ± 2.22 Bq·kg-1 for 232Th. The activity indexed Iγ for 18, different gypsum samples varied from 0.31 ± 0.03 to 2.3 ± 0.19 and the radium equivalent activity (Raeq), from 38.81 ± 1.68 to 324.7 ± 9.42. These values are lower than the limit of 370 Bq·kg-1 adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The average indoor annual effective gamma dose rate (DE) in (mSv/y) for the people, caused by the building materials of dwellings, was assessed for most commonly gypsum materials. It was estimated to be in the range from 0.10 ± 0.003 mSv/y to 0.74 ± 0.08 mSv/y. The internal and external hazard indices (Hin, Hex) and the absorbed dose rate in air D in each sample were evaluated to assess the radiation hazard for people living in dwelling made of the studied materials. The absorbed dose rate of indoor air in samples G1, G2, G11, G17 and G18 is less than the international recommended value which is 55 nGyh-1. While the absorbed dose rate for samples G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, G8, G9, G10, G12, G13, G14, G15 and G16 is higher than 55 nGyh-1, these samples are not acceptable for use as building materials.
文摘Background: Magnetic resonance image-guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT) promises more precise and effective radiation treatments compared to conventional IGRT by using real-time on-board MR imaging. Under the influence of a magnetic field, however, secondary electrons exiting a surface can be forced in a circular path and re-enter the medium, resulting in dose increase at a beam-exit surface, called the electron return effect (ERE). The purpose of the study is to compare the exit skin dose computed by Monte Carlo dose calculation with measurements using an adult anthropomorphic phantom and to measure the effect of skin dose reduction by adding 1 cm-thick bolus. Method: The plan was compared with measurements using an adult anthropomorphic phantom combined with radiochromic films and thermoluminescent dosimeters. We also measured the skin dose reduction by adding 1 cm-thick bolus on the frontal surface of the phantom. Results: We found that 1 cm-thick bolus reduced the skin dose by up to 20% both in measurements and calculations. The plan was found to overestimate the measured skin dose by about 10% and there was no significant difference in the bolus effect between the breast skin and the skin (without breast attachment) doses. Conclusion: In conclusion, we confirmed the ERE effect on the anthropomorphic phantom under the magnetic field and the exit skin dose reduction by adding a bolus. Skin dose measurements using anthropomorphic phantom may be helpful to evaluate more realistic skin dose and the bolus effect in the magnetic field.
文摘Objective To evaluate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)from low-endemic regions of China who received definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT).Methods The clinical data from 608 patients with newly-diagnosed non-metastatic NPC who have received initial treatment at our cancer center from January,2008 to December,2013 were retrospectively reviewed.All patients received definitive IMRT,and 87.7%received platinum-based chemotherapy.Results The median follow-up duration was 51 months(follow-up rate,98.5%;range,10–106 months)for the entire cohort.The 5-year overall survival rate was 79.7%.The 5-year local relapse-free survival rate,regional relapse-free survival rate,distant metastasis-free survival rate and progression-free survival rate were 92.4%,93.3%,79.2%and 74.3%,respectively.A total of 153 patients had experienced treatment failure,with distant metastasis as the primary cause in 77.1%(118/153).Patients with T4 or N3 diseases had a significantly poorer prognosis than other subcategories.Stage T4 and N3 were closely associated with distant metastasis,with the metastatic rate of 29.3%and 45.5%,respectively.Conclusion IMRT provides patients with non-metastatic NPC with satisfactory long-term survival.Both T stage and N stage are important prognostic factors for NPC patients.Patients with T4 or N3 diseases have significantly increased distant metastatic rates and poor survival time.
基金supported by Heilongjiang Province Natural Science Foundation (No. A200805)the Education Department of Heilongjiang Province (No. 12521425)the postdoctoral research start-up funds of Heilongjiang Province (No. LBHQ11013)
文摘The objectives of this study are to evaluate the dosimetric impact of hip prosthesis using ELEKTA linac X-rays and compare the dose perturbations of metallic and nonmetallic hip prostheses. The local dose distributions of typical hip prostheses were calculated for 4, 8, and 15 MV beams by Geant4. Three prosthesis materials were selected in calculation to reveal the relation between material type and local dose perturbations of prostheses. Furthermore,the effect of nominal energy on prosthesis perturbation was also discussed and analyzed. Taking the calculated dose to the hip joint as reference, considerable differences were observed between prostheses and hip joints. In the prosthesis shadow region, the relative dose decreasing was up to 36, 21, and 16 % for the Co–Cr–Mo alloy, titanium alloy, and ceramic prostheses, respectively. In backscattering region, the relative dose increasing was about1–7 %. Overall, the results show that the dose perturbation effect of prostheses was mainly determined by material type, nominal energy, and density. Among these typical hip prostheses, ceramic prosthesis introduces the lowest dose perturbations.
文摘The lead and barium contents in sixteen archaeological bone samples from 10 persons buried in Dalsby, Sweden, were determined by means of X- ray fluorescence analysis using two "Co sources for excitation and a planar Ge detector for registration of the X- rays. The lead concentrations were found to be less than 168μ g/g, and the barium concentrations were in the range of 15- 97μg/g.
文摘Acute limb ischemia is a urgent condition which occurs when there is an abrupt interruption of blood flow into an extremity usually because of either embolic or thrombotic vascular occlusion. Restoration of perfusion through early intervention can decrease amputation and mortality. Contemporary treatment includes both surgery and endovascular techniques. There is a rapid progress in endovascular intervention therapy. This article aims to make a comprehensive review of the endovascular intervention options of acute limb ischemia.
文摘We proposed the use of a hybrid deformable image registration approach that combines compact-support radial basis functions (CSRBF) spline registration with intensity-based image registration. The proposed method first uses the pre-viously developed image intensity-based method to achieve voxel-by-voxel correspondences over the entire image re-gion. Next, for those areas of inaccurate registration, a sparse set of landmark correspondences was defined for local deformable image registration using a multi-step CSRBF approach. This hybrid registration takes advantage of both intensity-based method for automatic processing of entire images and the CSRBF spline method for fine adjustment over specific regions. The goal of using this hybrid registration is to locally control the quality of registration results in specific regions of interest with minimal human intervention. The major applications of this approach in radiation ther-apy are for the corrections of registration failures caused by various imaging artifacts resulting in, low image contrast, and non-correspondence situations where an object may not be imaged in both target and source images. Both synthetic and real patient data have been used to evaluate this hybrid method. We used contours mapping to validate the accuracy of this method on real patient image. Our studies demonstrated that this hybrid method could improve overall registra-tion accuracy with moderate overhead. In addition, we have also shown that the multi-step CSRBF registration proved to be more effective in handling large deformations while maintaining the smoothness of the transformation than origi-nal CSRBF.
文摘Objective: This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the 2-dimensional (2D) conventional technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues. Methods: We conducted a single institutional prospective comparative dosimetric analysis of 15 patients who received radical radiation therapy for bladder cancer presented to Radiotherapy Department in National Cancer Institute, Cairo (Egypt), in period between November 2011 to July 2012 using 3-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy technique for each patient, a second 2D conventional radiotherapy treatment plan was done, the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis. Results: Comparing different DVHs, it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both (3D & 2D) plans while it was demonstrated that this multiple field conformal technique produced superior distribution compared to 2D technique, with considerable sparing of rectum and to lesser extent for the head of both femora. Conclusion: From the present study, it is recommended to use 3D planning for cases of bladder cancer especially in elderly patients as it produces good coverage of the target volume as well as good sparing of the surrounding critical organs.
文摘Objective:This study was to compare this multiple-field conformal technique to the AP-PA technique with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues.Methods:We conducted a single institutional prospective comparative dosimetric analysis of 22 patients who received neoadjuvant radiation therapy for rectal cancer presented to radiotherapy department in National Cancer Institute,Cairo in period between June 2010 to September 2011 using 3D conformal radiotherapy technique for each patient,a second radiotherapy treatment plan was done using an anteroposterior (AP-PA) fields,the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis.Results:Comparing different DVHs,it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both (3D & 2D) plans while it was demonstrates that this multiple field conformal technique produces superior distribution compared to 2D technique,with considerable sparing of bladder,ovaries and head of both femora.Conclusion:From the present study,it shows that it is recommended to use 3D planning for preoperative cases of cancer rectum so far it produces good coverage of the target as well as good sparing of the surrounding critical organs.
文摘Background: Distortion of the Leksell stereotactic frame can occur during surgical and radiosurgical frame-based procedures. The targeting accuracies of surgical procedures such as DBS surgery or frame-based biopsy, or Gamma Knife radiosurgical procedures, are related to the stereotactic frame that is commonly referred to a non-deformable referential system. Objective: To evaluate the clinical impact of frame distortion on accuracy of targeting in various stereotactic procedures. Methods: We studied the influence of increasing levels of distortion of the Leksell frame both on surgical procedures using the stereotactic arch, and on radiosurgical procedures with the Gamma Knife. For surgical procedures we applied the Target Simulator of Elekta to a frame submitted to different levels of frame distortion, and we measured the modifications of accuracy of targeting. For radiosurgical procedures the Leksell frame was applied on an anthropomorphic phantom and modifications of target coordinates were measured by an imaging method using the stereotactic CBCT of the Gamma Knife ICON. Results: For surgical procedures, we found a linear relation between the amount of the frame distortion and the extent of the deviation from the stereotactic target using the stereotactic arch (R2 = 0.99709). The level of bending of the frame is also linearly related to the level of inaccuracy of stereotactic targeting based on acquisition of MRI and CTscan with the Elekta imaging boxes (R2 = 0.96825). The inaccuracy of targeting related to frame bending can be avoided by a systematic control at the end of frame placement and by the use of the CBCT of the Gamma Knife Icon. Conclusion: Distortion of the frame is a significant source of clinical inaccuracy of targeting for stereotactic procedures. Frame bending must be checked after each frame placement and corrected if needed to avoid targeting inaccuracy during stereotactic surgery and radio-surgery procedures.
基金the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education(STINT),and the Swedish Research Council(Dnr 2022e04715).
文摘Water exchange between the different compartments of a heterogeneous specimen can be characterized via diffusion magnetic resonance imaging(dMRI).Many analysis frameworks using dMRI data have been proposed to describe exchange,often using a double diffusion encoding(DDE)stimulated echo sequence.Techniques such as diffusion exchange weighted imaging(DEWI)and the filter exchange and rapid exchange models,use a specific subset of the full space DDE signal.In this work,a general representation of the DDE signal was employed with different sampling schemes(namely constant b1,diagonal and anti-diagonal)from the data reduction models to estimate exchange.A near-uniform sampling scheme was proposed and compared with the other sampling schemes.The filter exchange and rapid exchange models were also applied to estimate exchange with their own subsampling schemes.These subsampling schemes and models were compared on both simulated data and experimental data acquired with a benchtop MR scanner.In synthetic data,the diagonal and near-uniform sampling schemes performed the best due to the consistency of their estimates with the ground truth.In experimental data,the shifted diagonal and near-uniform sampling schemes outperformed the others,yielding the most consistent estimates with the full space estimation.The results suggest the feasibility of measuring exchange using a general representation of the DDE signal along with variable sampling schemes.In future studies,algorithms could be further developed for the optimization of sampling schemes,as well as incorporating additional properties,such as geometry and diffusion anisotropy,into exchange frameworks.
文摘Capecitabine (Xeloda) is an oral fluoropyrimidine which is produced as a pro-drug of fluorouracil, and shows improved tolerability and intratumor drug concentrations following its tumor-specif ic conversion to the active drug. We have searched the Pubmed and Cochrane databases from 1980 to 2009 with the purpose of reviewing all available information on Capecitabine, focusing on its clinical effectiveness against colorectal cancer. Special attention has been paid to trials that compared Capecitabine with standard folinic acid (leucovorin, LV)-modulated intravenous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus regimens in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Moreover the efficacy of Capecitabine on metastatic colorectal cancer, either alone or in various combinations with other active drugs such as Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin was also assessed. Finally, neoadjuvant therapy con- sisting of Capecitabine plus radiation therapy, for locally advanced rectal cancer was analysed. This combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy has a special role in tumor down staging and in sphincter preservation for lower rectal tumors. Comparative trials have shown that Capecitabine is at least equivalent to the standard LV-5-FU combination in relation to progression-free and overall survival whilst showing a better tolerability prof ile with a much lower incidence of stomatitis. It is now known that Capecitabine can be combined with other active drugs such as Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin. The combination of Oxaliplatin with Capecitabine represents a new standard of care for metastatic colorectal cancer. Combinating the Capecitabine-Oxaliplatin regimen with promising new biological drugs such as Bevacizumab seems to give a realistic prospect of further improvement in time to progression of metastatic disease. Moreover, preoperative chemo-radiation using oral capecitabine is better tolerated than bolus 5-FU and is more effective in the promotion of both down-staging and sphincter preservation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Finally, the outcomes of recently published trials suggest that capecitabine seems to be more cost effective than other standard treatments for the management of patients with colorectal cancer.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12105368).
文摘This study aimed to exploit a new virtual block method to spare normal lung tissue in VMAT planning for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer(LA-NSCLC).The previous method was used to manually restrict the angle of the beam passing through,which ignored the location and shape of large targets that varied between different slices and did not block the beamlets precisely.Unlike the previous method,this new virtual block method was used to block the beamlets when necessary by closing the multi-leaf collimator(MLC)at prerequisite angles.The algorithm for closing the MLC depended on the thickness of the beamlets passing through the lungs and avoided only the entrance radiation beamlet.Moreover,this block can be automatically contoured.A retrospective study was performed to compare the VMAT plans with and without the virtual block method for 17 LANSCLC patients,named the block plan(B-plan)/non-block plan(N-plan).All cases were selected in this study because of the large tumor size and unmet dose constraints of the lungs.In addition to the maximum dose constraint for the virtual block,B-plans adopted identical optimization parameters to N-plans for each patient.These two types of plans were compared in terms of dosimetric indices and plan scores.The results were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon nonparametric signed-rank test.B-plans have advantages in the following dosimetric metrics that have statistical significance(p<0.05):(1)lower V_(5)/V_(10)/D_(mean)/normal tissue complication probability(NTCP)of total lungs;(2)reductions in V_(5)/V_(10)for the contralateral lung;(3)decrease in Dmean/V_(40)of the heart;(4)decrease in esophagus V_(40);(5)reductions in Dmean,V_(5)/V_(10) of normal tissue.B-plans(82.51±7.07)achieved higher-quality scores than N-plans(80.74±7.22).The new virtual block spared the lungs as well as other normal structures in VMAT planning for LA-NSCLC.Thus,the block method may decrease the risk of radiation-related toxicity in patients.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.61401049)the Chongqing Foundation and Frontier Research Project(Nos.cstc2016jcyjA0473,cstc2013jcyjA0763)+3 种基金the Graduate Scientific Research and Innovation Foundation of Chongqing,China(No.CYB16044)the Strategic Industry Key Generic Technology Innovation Project of Chongqing(No.cstc2015zdcy-ztzxX0002)China Scholarship Councilthe Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities Nos.CDJZR14125501,106112016CDJXY120003,10611CDJXZ238826
文摘Inspired by total variation(TV), this paper represents a new iterative algorithm based on diagonal total variation(DTV) to address the computed tomography image reconstruction problem. To improve the quality of a reconstructed image, we used DTV to sparsely represent images when iterative convergence of the reconstructed algorithm with TV-constraint had no effect during the reconstruction process. To investigate our proposed algorithm, the numerical and experimental studies were performed, and rootmean-square error(RMSE) and structure similarity(SSIM)were used to evaluate the reconstructed image quality. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could effectively reduce noise, suppress artifacts, and reconstruct highquality image from incomplete projection data.
文摘The purpose of our study was to compare interfractional bony setup variations in pelvic anatomy with two immobilization devices, the patient-specific Vac-Lok and the generic Dual Leg Positioner system (both Civco Medical Solutions, Kalona, IA), for bilateral proton radiotherapy of the prostate. Two groups of 10 patients were studied. Computed tomography (CT) was performed three times a week, yielding 233 CT image sets for the vacuum system group and 252 for the other group. The translational shifts of the pelvic bone and prostate and rotation of the upper femurs of the femoral heads with respect to the simulation CT images were analyzed. Along the anterior-posterior and lateral axes, mean and systematic translational variations of the pelvic bone and prostate, relative to skin fiducials, were significantly lower in the Vac-Lok group (all p 0.01) than in the Dual Leg Positioner group. Abduction of the upper femur, the dominant rotation, had random rotational variations of 1.9° and 2.0° and systematic rotations of 3.1° and 2.9° for the vacuum and generic system groups, respectively. Femoral abduction was highly correlated with anterior prostate displacement for both femurs in both groups (p tion introduced during simulation CT, particularly with the generic immobilization system. High degrees of femoral rotation may introduce prostate translation and distal misalignment of lateral proton beams with the prostate.
文摘The purpose of this study was to grasp current potential problems of dose error in intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans. We were interested in dose differences of the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) and the fast dose calculation method (FDC) for single-field optimization (SFO) and multi-field optimization (MFO) IMPT plans. In addition, because some authors have reported dosimetric benefit of a proton arc therapy with ultimate multi-fields in recent years, we wanted to evaluate how the number of fields and beam angles affect the differences for IMPT plans. Therefore, for one brain cancer patient with a large heterogeneity, SFO and MFO IMPT plans with various multi-angle beams were planned by the TPS. Dose distributions for each IMPT plan were calculated by both the TPS’s conventional pencil beam algorithm and the FDC. The dosimetric parameters were compared between the two algorithms. The TPS overestimated 400 - 500 cGy (RBE) for minimum dose to the CTV relative to the dose calculated by the FDC. These differences indicate clinically relevant effect on clinical results. In addition, we observed that the maximum difference in dose calculated between the TPS and the FDC was about 900 cGy (RBE) for the right optic nerve, and this quantity also has a possibility to have a clinical effect. The major difference was not seen in calculations for SFO IMPT planning and those for MFO IMPT planning. Differences between the TPS and the FDC in SFO and MFO IMPT plans depend strongly on beam arrangement and the presence of a heterogeneous body. We advocate use of a Monte Carlo method in proton treatment planning to deliver the most precise proton dose in IMPT.
文摘Objective:This study was to compare 5 field conformal technique to the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) 8 fields technique in boosting locally advanced cancer cervix cases after external beam radiotherapy with respect to target volume coverage and dose to normal tissues. Methods:We conducted a single institutional comparative dosimetric analysis of 10 patients with cancer cervix who was presented to radiotherapy department in National Cancer Institute, Cairo in period between June 2012 to September 2012 and received a CRT boost in the place of planned brachytherapy after large field pelvic radiotherapy (PRT) with concurrent chemotherapy were retrospectively identified. All tumors were situated in the low central pelvis. Two plans were done for every patient; one using the 8 fields IMRT and the second one using 5 fields' 3DCRT the two techniques were then compared using dose volume histogram (DVH) analysis for the PTV, bladder, rectum and both femoral heads. Results:Comparing different DVHs, it was found that the planning target volume (PTV) was adequately covered in both plans while it was demonstrates that the 8 fields IMRT technique carried less doses reaching OARs (rectum, bladder, both femoral heads). Conclusion:From the present study, it is concluded that IMRT technique spared more efficiently OARs than CRT technique but both techniques covered the PTV adequately so whenever possible IMRT technique should be used.
文摘IMPT plans with various multi-angle beams were planned by the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system for one case of brain cancer. Dose distributions for each plan, along with the associated linear energy transfer distributions, were recomputed using an in-house fast Monte Carlo dose calculator with a FRBE of 1.1 or with a previously published VRBE model. We then compared dosimetric parameters obtained by the VRBE with those obtained by the FRBE. Biological doses obtained by the VRBE for the clinical target volume in all plans were 1% - 2% larger than those obtained by the FRBE. The minimum dose obtained by the VRBE for the right optic nerve in the MFO IMPT with 4 fields was 70% larger than that obtained by the FRBE, but the difference was only 18.1 cGy (RBE). The difference in maximum dose for the right optic nerve in the MFO IMPT with 5 fields was less than 10.4%, but the difference was 131.8 cGy (RBE). The mean difference in maximum dose was less than 2% for all other organs at risk. We found that biological dose with the FRBE had any dose errors in IMPT with various multi-angle beams.
