Clinical implementation and error sensitivity of a 3D quality assurance protocol for prostate and thoracic IMRT.

This work aims at three goals: first, to define a set of statistical parameters and plan structures for a 3D pretreatment thoracic and prostate intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) quality assurance (QA) protocol; secondly, to test if the 3D QA protocol is able to detect certain clinical errors; and third, to compare the 3D QA method with QA performed with single ion chamber and 2D gamma test in detecting those errors. The 3D QA protocol measurements were performed on 13 prostate and 25 thoracic IMRT patients using IBA's COMPASS system. For each treatment planning structure included in the protocol, the following statistical parameters were evaluated: average absolute dose difference (AADD), percent structure volume with absolute dose difference greater than 6% (ADD6), and 3D gamma test.

Analysis of setup uncertainties for extremity sarcoma patients using surface imaging.

Purpose: Proper positioning of patients with extremity sarcoma tumors can be challenging. A surface imaging technique was utilized to quantify the setup uncertainties for sarcoma patients and to assess whether surface imaging could improve the accuracy of patient positioning.

Methods And Materials: Pretreatment and posttreatment 3-dimensional (3D) surface images were obtained for 16 patients and 236 treatments.

A voluntary breath-hold treatment technique for the left breast with unfavorable cardiac anatomy using surface imaging.

Purpose: Breath-hold (BH) treatments can be used to reduce cardiac dose for patients with left-sided breast cancer and unfavorable cardiac anatomy. A surface imaging technique was developed for accurate patient setup and reproducible real-time BH positioning.

Methods And Materials: Three-dimensional surface images were obtained for 20 patients.

Evaluation and commissioning of a surface based system for respiratory sensing in 4D CT.

The purpose of this study is to assess the temporal and reconstruction accuracy of a surface imaging system, the GateCT under ideal conditions, and compare the device with a commonly used respiratory surrogate: the Varian RPM. A clinical CT scanner, run in cine mode, was used with two optical devices, GateCT and RPM, to detect respiratory motion. A radiation detector, GM-10, triggers the X-ray on/off to GateCT system, while the RPM is directly synchronized with the CT scanner through an electronic connection.

Comparison of target registration errors for multiple image-guided techniques in accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Purpose: External beam accelerated partial breast irradiation requires accurate localization of the target volume for each treatment fraction. Using the concept of target registration error (TRE), the performance of several methods of target localization was compared.

Methods And Materials: Twelve patients who underwent external beam accelerated partial breast irradiation were included in this study.

Boron neutron capture therapy: cellular targeting of high linear energy transfer radiation.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the preferential targeting of tumor cells with (10)B and subsequent activation with thermal neutrons to produce a highly localized radiation. In theory, it is possible to selectively irradiate a tumor and the associated infiltrating tumor cells with large single doses of high-LET radiation while sparing the adjacent normal tissues. The mixture of high- and low-LET dose components created in tissue during neutron irradiation complicates the radiobiology of BNCT.