3-D portal image analysis in clinical practice: an evaluation of 2-D and 3-D analysis techniques as applied to 30 prostate cancer patients.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical importance and feasibility of a 3-D portal image analysis method in comparison with a standard 2-D portal image analysis method for pelvic irradiation techniques.

Methods And Materials: In this study, images of 30 patients who were treated for prostate cancer were used. A total of 837 imaged fields were analyzed by a single technologist, using automatic 2-D and 3-D techniques independently.