Automated testing platform for radiotherapy treatment planning scripts.

Realizing the potential of user-developed automation software interacting with a treatment planning system (TPS) requires rigorous testing to ensure patient safety and data integrity. We developed an automated test platform to allow comparison of the treatment planning database before and after the execution of a write-enabled script interacting with a commercial TPS (Eclipse, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) using the vendor-provided Eclipse Scripting Application Programming Interface (ESAPI). The C#-application known as Write-Enable Script Testing Engine (WESTE) serializes the treatment planning objects (Patient, Structure Set, PlanSetup) accessible through ESAPI, and then compares the serialization acquired before and after the execution of the script being tested, documenting identified differences to highlight the changes made to the treatment planning data.

Ablative radiotherapy for ultracentral lung cancers: Dosimetric, geometric, and volumetric predictors of outcomes and toxicity.

Background: Ultracentral lung cancers arise near the proximal bronchial tree (PBT), trachea, or esophagus, and have been associated with worse outcomes and increased toxicity after radiotherapy. We sought to associate dosimetric and anatomic factors with oncologic outcomes and toxicities.

Methods: One-hundred ten patients treated with ablative, curative-intent radiotherapy for ultracentral, node-negative, non-small cell lung cancer were included.

Implementation of an in-house visual feedback system for motion management during radiation therapy.

In this Technical Note, we describe an in-house video goggles feedback system assembled using several commercially available products. This goggle video feed-back system is currently being used at University of Louisville and Mayo Clinic for both CT simulation and linac treatment delivery. The setup details, including specific recommendations, are provided, along with an alternative option for using the video goggles system.