Monte Carlo modelling for the in vivo lung monitoring of enriched uranium: Results of an international comparison

In order to assess the reliability of Monte Carlo (MC)-based numerical calibration of in vivo counting systems the EURADOS network supported a comparison of MC simulation of well-defined experiments. This action also provided training for the use of voxel phantoms. In vivo measurements of enriched uranium in a thoracic phantom have been carried out and the needed information to simulate these measurements was distributed to 17 participants. About half of the participants managed to simulate the measured counting efficiency without support from the organisers. Following additional support all participants managed to simulate the counting efficiencies within a typical agreement of ±5% with experiment.     

A miniature X‐ray tube approach to measuring lead in bone using L‐XRF

Using a miniature X‐ray tube and silicon PiN diode detector, an approach to measuring lead (Pb) in bone phantoms was tested. The X‐ray tube was used to excite L‐line X‐ray fluorescence (L‐XRF) of lead in bone phantoms. The bone phantoms were made from plaster of Paris and dosed with varying quantities of lead. Phantoms were made in two sets with different shapes to model different bone surfaces. One set of bone phantoms was circular in cross‐section (2.5‐cm diameter), the other square in cross‐section (2.2 cm × 2.2 cm). Using an irradiation time of 180 s (real time), five trials were run for each bone phantom. Analysis was performed for both Lα and Lβ lead X‐rays. Based on these calibration trials, (3σ₀/slope) minimum detection limits of 7.4 ± 0.3 µg Pb g^?1 (circular cross‐section) and 8.6 ± 0.6 µg Pb g^?1 (square cross‐section) were determined for the bare bone phantoms. To simulate a more realistic in vivo scenario with soft tissue overlying bone, further trials were performed with a resin material placed between the experimental system and the bone phantom. For the square cross‐section bone phantoms, a layer of resin with a thickness of 1.2 mm was used, and a minimum detection limit of 17 ± 3 µg Pb g^?1 determined. For the circular cross‐section phantoms, a layer of resin with an average thickness of 2.7 mm was used. From these, a more realistic minimum detection limit for in vivo applications (43 ± 7 µg Pb g^?1) was determined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of L‐shell X‐ray fluorescence detection of lead in bone phantoms using synchrotron radiation

Closely related toxicity and retention mechanisms of lead (Pb) in the human body involve the bone tissues where Pb can accumulate and reside on a time scale ranging from years to tens of years. In vivo measurements of bone Pb can, therefore, play an important role in a comprehensive health risk assessment of Pb exposure. In vivo L‐shell X‐ray fluorescence (LXRF) measurement of bone Pb was first demonstrated over 4 decades ago. Implementation of the method, however, encountered challenges associated with low sensitivity and calibration procedure. In this study, the LXRF measurement was optimized by varying the incident photon energy and the excitation‐detection geometry. The Canadian Light Source synchrotron radiation was used to compare 2 different excitation‐detection geometries of 90^° and 135^° using 3 different X‐ray photon energies: 15.8, 16.6, and 17.5 keV. These energies optimized excitation of the L₃ subshell of Pb and simulated the most intense K‐shell emissions of zirconium, niobium, and molybdenum, respectively. Five rectangular plaster‐of‐Paris bone phantoms with Pb concentrations of 0, 7, 17, 26, and 34 μg/g, and one rectangular 3.1‐mm‐thick resin phantom mimicked the X‐ray attenuation properties of human bone and soft tissue, respectively. Optimal LXRF detection was obtained by the 15.8‐keV energy and the 90^° and 135^° geometries for the bare bone and the bone and soft tissue phantoms, respectively.     

On the influence of two coexisting species of susceptibility-producing structures on the R21 relaxation rate

PurposeTissue microstructure can influence quantitative magnetic resonance imaging such as relaxation rate measurements. Consequently, relaxation rate mapping can provide useful information on tissue microstructure. In this work, the theory on relaxation mechanisms of the change of the relaxation rate ∆R₂^⁎ in the presence of spherical susceptibility sources in a spin bearing medium is validated in simulations and phantom experiments for the coexistence of two species of susceptibility sources.MethodsThe influence of coexisting spherical perturbers with magnetic susceptibilitys of different signs was evaluated in Monte Carlo simulations including diffusion effects in the surrounding medium. Simulations were compared with relaxometry measurements at 1.5 Tesla and at 3 Tesla. The phantoms used to validate the simulations were built from agarose gel containing calcium carbonate and tungsten carbide particles of different size and concentration.ResultsThe Monte Carlo simulations showed, that the change in relaxation rate only depends on the overall amount of susceptibility producing structures in the simulation volume and no difference was found, if mixtures of positive and negative particles were simulated. Phantom measurements within the static dephasing regime showed linear additivity of the effects from positive and negative susceptibility sources that were present within the same voxel.ConclusionsIn summary, both the simulations and the phantom measurements showed that changes in the relaxation rate ΔR₂^⁎ add up linearly for spherical particles with different susceptibilities within the same voxel if the conditions for the static dephasing regime are fulfilled. If particles with different susceptibilities have both different sizes and violate the conditions of the static dephasing regime, effects on relaxation rates might no longer be linear.     

Evaluation of TL response and intrinsic efficiency of TL dosimeters irradiated using different phantoms in clinical electron beam dosimetry

The TL response of LiF:Mg,Ti microdosimeters and CaSO₄:Dy dosimeters were studied for 12 MeV electron beams using PMMA, liquid water and solid water (SW) phantoms. The different phantom materials affect the electron spectrum incident on the detector and it can alter the response of dosimeters to different radiation types, so this fact should be considered in clinical dosimetry. The dosimeters were irradiated with doses ranging from 0.1 up to 5 Gy using a Varian Clinac 2100C linear accelerator of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein – HIAE using a 10 × 10 cm² field size and 100 cm source-phantom surface distance, with the dosimeters positioned at the depth of maximum dose. The TL readings were carried out 24 h after irradiation using a Harshaw 3500 TL reader. This paper aims to compare the TL response relative to ⁶⁰Co of the dosimeters for different phantoms used in radiotherapy dosimetry. CaSO₄:Dy dosimeters presented higher TL sensitivity relative to ⁶⁰Co and intrinsic efficiency than microLiF:Mg,Ti dosimeters for all phantoms.     

Use of a modified polysaccharide gel in developing a realistic breast phantom for MRI

A polysaccharide material, TX-151, has been used together with water, NaCl, and Al powder to create a tissue equivalent gel to make a realistic, inexpensive, conveniently moldable, temporally stable tissue equivalent MRI phantom. Various phantom compositions were studied for variations in gelling time and relaxation times. Gd-DTPA added as a T₁ (and T₂) modifier and aluminum powder added to decrease T₂ permitted phantoms to be made with a range of relaxation times comparable to human tissues. We have used this polysaccharide gel to create breast phantoms for testing breast coils and evaluating different MRI imaging sequences available for diagnosis. The breast phantoms consisted of a layer of Crisco, a good model for adipose tissue, surrounding the TX-151 gel. Some of these phantoms were created with a silicone implant encapsulated in the gel to simulate an augmented breast. More sophisticated phantoms can easily be developed by additions of other materials to this polysaccharide gel.     

MRI phantom for tissue simulation with respect to diffusion coefficient and kurtosis - Validation with injection of liposomal theranostics

This study presents gelatine-based and agar-based phantoms with an addition of glycerol, safflower oil, silicone oil and cellulose microcrystalline with a potential to cover the entire range of tissue diffusion coefficients and kurtosis values. Forty types of phantoms were prepared and examined for NMR relaxation times T₁ and T₂ and diffusional metrics D, K and ADC. Wide ranges of values of D (0.0003–0.0031 mm²s⁻¹), K (0.00–7.24) and ADC (0.0002–0.0031 mm²s⁻¹) were observed. Two of the phantoms closely mimic muscle and cortical gray matter with respect to water diffusion parameters. Although many of the presented phantoms display both D and K values within the range of human tissues, they match different tissues with respect to D and K. The imaging results for the gray matter simulating phantom injected with the liposomal solution, bear a resemblance to the particle size effect described in the literature. The phantoms presented in this work are simple in preparation and affordable tissue-simulating materials to be used primarily in development of diffusion kurtosis-based MRI methods and possibly in a preliminary assessment of MRI contrast agents. Further adjustments of the chemical compositions could potentially lead to development of new types of phantoms mimicking diffusional properties of more kinds of soft tissues.     

XRF analysis of arsenic‐doped skin phantoms

Chronic arsenic poisoning can lead to serious health problems including vascular disorders and cancer. Therefore, the development of a system to measure arsenic in vivo would be useful in monitoring exposure. In particular, as skin is one of the tissues in which arsenic has health consequences and is stored for a prolonged period of time, an in vivo measure of skin arsenic content would be a clinically useful measure of chronic exposure. The preliminary development of an x‐ray fluorescence system to measure arsenic in vivo is reported. Standard addition arsenic‐ doped polyester resin phantoms were prepared, and the fluorescence induced by silver K x‐rays from a ¹⁰⁹Cd source was measured. Preliminary estimates of detection limits for an 8 mm thick phantom and an effective dose of ～0.3 µSv are 3.5 ± 0.2 and 10.3 ± 0.5 ppm in 90 and 180° measurement geometries, respectively, for a measurement time of 30 min. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gamma Knife® 3-D Dose Distribution Mapping by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

In medical processes where ionizing radiation is used, dose planning and dose delivery are the key elements to patient safety and treatment success, particularly, when the delivered dose in a single session of treatment can be an order of magnitude higher than the regular doses of radiotherapy. Therefore, the radiation dose should be well defined and precisely delivered to the target while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding normal tissues [1]. Several methods have been proposed to obtain three-dimensional (3-D) dose distribution [2, 3]. In this paper, we propose an alternative method, which can be easily implemented in any stereotactic radiosurgery center with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facility. A phantom with or without scattering centers filled with Fricke gel solution is irradiated with Gamma Knife^® system at a chosen spot. The phantom can be a replica of a human organ such as head, breast or any other organ. It can even be constructed from a real 3-D MR image of an organ of a patient using a computer-aided construction and irradiated at a specific region corresponding to the tumor position determined by MRI. The spin–lattice relaxation time T ₁ of different parts of the irradiated phantom is determined by localized spectroscopy. The T ₁-weighted phantom images are used to correlate the image pixels intensity to the absorbed dose and consequently a 3-D dose distribution with a high resolution is obtained.     

Determination of Very Slow Diffusion of Paramagnetic Ions by NMR Spectroscopy

In this paper, we propose a new method of measuring the very slow paramagnetic ion diffusion coefficient using a commercial high-resolution spectrometer. If there are distinct paramagnetic ions influencing the hydrogen nuclear magnetic relaxation time differently, their diffusion coefficients can be measured separately. A cylindrical phantom filled with Fricke xylenol gel solution and irradiated with gamma rays was used to validate the method. The Fricke xylenol gel solution was prepared with 270 Bloom porcine gelatin, the phantom was irradiated with gamma rays originated from a ⁶⁰Co source and a high-resolution 200 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer was used to obtain the phantom ¹H profile in the presence of a linear magnetic field gradient. By observing the temporal evolution of the phantom NMR profile, an apparent ferric ion diffusion coefficient of 0.50 μm²/ms due to ferric ions diffusion was obtained. In any medical process where the ionizing radiation is used, the dose planning and the dose delivery are the key elements for the patient safety and success of treatment. These points become even more important in modern conformal radio therapy techniques, such as stereotactic radiosurgery, where the delivered dose in a single session of treatment can be an order of magnitude higher than the regular doses of radiotherapy. Several methods have been proposed to obtain the three-dimensional (3-D) dose distribution. Recently, we proposed an alternative method for the 3-D radiation dose mapping, where the ionizing radiation modifies the local relative concentration of Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ in a phantom containing Fricke gel and this variation is associated to the MR image intensity. The smearing of the intensity gradient is proportional to the diffusion coefficient of the Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ in the phantom. There are several methods for measurement of the ionic diffusion using NMR, however, they are applicable when the diffusion is not very slow.     

Accelerated electron paramagnetic resonance imaging using partial Fourier compressed sensing reconstruction

PurposeElectron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging has evolved as a promising tool to provide non-invasive assessment of tissue oxygenation levels. Due to the extremely short T₂ relaxation time of electrons, single point imaging (SPI) is used in EPRI, limiting achievable spatial and temporal resolution. This presents a problem when attempting to measure changes in hypoxic state. In order to capture oxygen variation in hypoxic tissues and localize cycling hypoxia regions, an accelerated EPRI imaging method with minimal loss of information is needed.MethodsWe present an image acceleration technique, partial Fourier compressed sensing (PFCS), that combines compressed sensing (CS) and partial Fourier reconstruction. PFCS augments the original CS equation using conjugate symmetry information for missing measurements. To further improve image quality in order to reconstruct low-resolution EPRI images, a projection onto convex sets (POCS)-based phase map and a spherical-sampling mask are used in the reconstruction process. The PFCS technique was used in phantoms and in vivo SCC7 tumor mice to evaluate image quality and accuracy in estimating O₂ concentration.ResultsIn both phantom and in vivo experiments, PFCS demonstrated the ability to reconstruct images more accurately with at least a 4-fold acceleration compared to traditional CS. Meanwhile, PFCS is able to better preserve the distinct spatial pattern in a phantom with a spatial resolution of 0.6 mm. On phantoms containing Oxo63 solution with different oxygen concentrations, PFCS reconstructed linewidth maps that were discriminative of different O₂ concentrations. Moreover, PFCS reconstruction of partially sampled data provided a better discrimination of hypoxic and oxygenated regions in a leg tumor compared to traditional CS reconstructed images.ConclusionsEPR images with an acceleration factor of four are feasible using PFCS with reasonable assessment of tissue oxygenation. The technique can greatly enhance EPR applications and improve our understanding cycling hypoxia. Moreover this technique can be easily extended to various MRI applications.     

Directly detected Mn MRI: Application to phantoms for human hyperpolarized C MRI development

In this work we demonstrate for the first time directly detected manganese-55 (⁵⁵Mn) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a clinical 3 T MRI scanner designed for human hyperpolarized ¹³C clinical studies with no additional hardware modifications. Due to the similar frequency of the ⁵⁵Mn and ¹³C resonances, the use of aqueous permanganate for large, signal-dense, and cost-effective “¹³C” MRI phantoms was investigated, addressing the clear need for new phantoms for these studies. Due to 100% natural abundance, higher intrinsic sensitivity, and favorable relaxation properties, ⁵⁵Mn MRI of aqueous permanganate demonstrates dramatically increased sensitivity over typical ¹³C phantom MRI, at greatly reduced cost as compared with large ¹³C-enriched phantoms. A large sensitivity advantage (22-fold) was demonstrated. A cylindrical phantom (d = 8 cm) containing concentrated aqueous sodium permanganate (2.7 M) was scanned rapidly by ⁵⁵Mn MRI in a human head coil tuned for ¹³C, using a balanced steady state free precession acquisition. The requisite penetration of radiofrequency magnetic fields into concentrated permanganate was investigated by experiments and high frequency electromagnetic simulations, and found to be sufficient for ⁵⁵Mn MRI with reasonably sized phantoms. A sub-second slice-selective acquisition yielded mean image signal-to-noise ratio of ~ 60 at 0.5 cm³ spatial resolution, distributed with minimum central signal ~ 40% of the maximum edge signal. We anticipate that permanganate phantoms will be very useful for testing HP ¹³C coils and methods designed for human studies.     

Characterization of a Ce3+ doped SiO2 optical dosimeter for dose measurements in HDR brachytherapy

Aim of this work was to study the application of a new miniaturized Ce³⁺ doped SiO₂ scintillation detector to in vivo dosimetry in high dose rate brachytherapy. Energy, dose-rate, temperature and angular dependences of the detector response to ¹⁹²Ir HDR brachytherapy fields were investigated, as well as sensitivity reproducibility and linearity. To this aim, two ad hoc phantoms were designed and developed to perform measurements in water. Intra-session reproducibility resulted to be very high, however inter-session reproducibility showed too high statistical variation. Detector response resulted to increase linearly with dose (R² = 0.997), with no evidence of energy and dose-rate dependence. Sensitivity resulted to increase linearly with temperature (R² = 0.995), with a 0.2% increase each °C. Finally, no significant angular dependence for the source moving around a circle in the azimuthal plane centered at the scintillator was observed. The obtained results show that the proposed detector is suitable for in vivo real-time dosimetry in high dose rate brachytherapy.     

Mapping phosphorylation rate of fluoro-deoxy-glucose in rat brain by F chemical shift imaging

¹⁹F magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) and 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-6-phosphate (FDG-6P) can be used for directly assessing total glucose metabolism in vivo. To date, ¹⁹F MRS measurements of FDG phosphorylation in the brain have either been achieved ex vivo from extracted tissue or in vivo by unusually long acquisition times. Electrophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements indicate that FDG doses up to 500 mg/kg can be tolerated with minimal side effects on cerebral physiology and evoked fMRI-BOLD responses to forepaw stimulation. In halothane-anesthetized rats, we report localized in vivo detection and separation of FDG and FDG-6P MRS signals with ¹⁹F 2D chemical shift imaging (CSI) at 11.7 T. A metabolic model based on reversible transport between plasma and brain tissue, which included a non-saturable plasma to tissue component, was used to calculate spatial distribution of FDG and FDG-6P concentrations in rat brain. In addition, spatial distribution of rate constants and metabolic fluxes of FDG to FDG-6P conversion were estimated. Mapping the rate of FDG to FDG-6P conversion by ¹⁹F CSI provides an MR methodology that could impact other in vivo applications such as characterization of tumor pathophysiology.     

The preliminary evaluation of a 1 MHz ultrasound probe for measuring the elastic anisotropy of human cortical bone

Our objective is to evaluate an ultrasound probe for measurements of velocity and anisotropy in human cortical bone (tibia). The anisotropy of cortical bone is a known and mechanically relevant property in the context of osteoporotic fracture risk. Current in vivo quantitative ultrasound devices measuring the velocity of ultrasound in long bones can only be applied in the axial direction. For anisotropy measurements a second direction for velocity measurements preferably perpendicular to the axial direction is necessary. We developed a new ultrasound probe which permits axial transmission measurements with a simultaneous second perpendicular direction (tangential). Anisotropy measurements were performed on isotropic and anisotropic phantoms and two excised human female tibiae (age 63 and 82). Anisotropy ratios (AI; ratio of squared ultrasound velocities in the two directions) were for the isotropic phantom 1.06 ± 0.01 and for the anisotropic phantom 1.14 ± 0.03 (mean ± standard deviation). AI was 1.83 ± 0.29 in the tibia from the older donor and 1.37 ± 0.18 in the tibia from the younger donor. The AIs were in the expected range and differed significantly (p < 0.05, t-test) between the tibiae. Measured sound velocities were reproducible (mean standard deviation of short time precision of both channels for phantom measurements 31 m/s) and in agreement with reported velocities of the phantom material. Our results document the feasibility of anisotropy measurements at long bones using a single probe. Further improvements in the design of the probe and tests in vivo are warranted. If this approach can be evaluated in vivo an additional tool for assessing the bone status is available for clinical use.     

An NMR Phantom Mimicking Intramyocellular (IMCL) and Extramyocellular Lipids (EMCL)

Intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) play an important role in muscle metabolism. ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy is the method of choice for non-invasive assessment of IMCL. However, IMCL quantitation is hampered by the larger overlapping resonances of extramyocellular lipids (EMCL). A phantom that mimics EMCL and IMCL, i.e., the 0.2-ppm resonance splitting, would be useful for testing acquisition strategies and post-processing algorithms. Here, we propose a phantom that consists of a cylindrical bottle filled with dairy cream and sunflower oil. Similar to EMCL, the oil (CH₂) _n protons resonate at 1.5?ppm; similar to IMCL, the spherical shape of droplets in cream results in (CH₂) _n protons resonating at 1.3?ppm. The relative amount of IMCL versus EMCL can be easily controlled in a systematic and exact fashion by displacing the voxel of interest across the cream–oil interface. This phantom is of simple construction and made of inexpensive and readily available materials, and should be of value in testing both acquisition and spectral analysis strategies in the context of ICML/ECML studies.     

Effects of an implant on temperature distribution in tissue during ultrasound diathermy

The effects of an implant on temperature distribution in a tissue-mimicking hydrogel phantom during the application of therapeutic ultrasound were investigated. In vitro experiments were conducted to compare the influences of plastic and metal implants on ultrasound diathermy and to calibrate parameters in finite element simulation models. The temperature histories and characteristics of the opaque (denatured) areas in the hydrogel phantoms predicted by the numerical simulations show good correlation with those observed in the in vitro experiments. This study provides an insight into the temperature profile in the vicinity of an implant by therapeutic ultrasound heating typically used for physiotherapy. A parametric study was conducted through numerical simulations to investigate the effects of several factors, such as implant material type, ultrasound operation frequency, implant thickness and tissue thickness on the temperature distribution in the hydrogel phantom. The results indicate that the implant material type and implant thickness are the main parameters influencing the temperature distribution. In addition, once the implant material and ultrasound operation frequency are chosen, an optimal implant thickness can be obtained so as to avoid overheating injuries in tissue.     

In-phantom dose verification of prostate IMRT and VMAT deliveries using plastic scintillation detectors

The goal of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of using a plastic scintillation detector (PSD) incorporated into a prostate immobilization device to verify doses in vivo delivered during intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated-arc therapy (VMAT) for prostate cancer. The treatment plans for both modalities had been developed for a patient undergoing prostate radiation therapy. First, a study was performed to test the dependence, if any, of PSD accuracy on the number and type of calibration conditions. This study included PSD measurements of each treatment plan being delivered under quality assurance (QA) conditions using a rigid QA phantom. PSD results obtained under these conditions were compared to ionization chamber measurements. After an optimal set of calibration factors had been found, the PSD was combined with a commercial endorectal balloon used for rectal distension and prostate immobilization during external beam radiotherapy. This PSD-enhanced endorectal balloon was placed inside of a deformable anthropomorphic phantom designed to simulate male pelvic anatomy. PSD results obtained under these so-called “simulated treatment conditions” were compared to doses calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS). With the PSD still inserted in the pelvic phantom, each plan was delivered once again after applying a shift of 1 cm anterior to the original isocenter to simulate a treatment setup error.The mean total accumulated dose measured using the PSD differed the TPS-calculated doses by less than 1% for both treatment modalities simulated treatment conditions using the pelvic phantom. When the isocenter was shifted, the PSD results differed from the TPS calculations of mean dose by 1.2% (for IMRT) and 10.1% (for VMAT); in both cases, the doses were within the dose range calculated over the detector volume for these regions of steep dose gradient. Our results suggest that the system could benefit prostate cancer patient treatment by providing accurate in vivo dose reports during treatment and verify in real-time whether treatments are being delivered according to the prescribed plan.     

Relaxation Model and Mapping of Magnetic Field Gradients in MRI

The purpose of the work is development of algorithms for separate mapping of T ₂ relaxation time and gradients, using gradient recalled echo (GRE) sequence. Application of three-dimensional (3D) model of gradients and their volumetric averaging within a voxel lead to analytical model of relaxation function, which is consistent with experimental data for both regular macroscopic and randomized micro- and mesoscopic gradients. The model is verified by fitting into experimental data obtained on specially made phantoms. Verification of algorithms is completed by comparing gradient maps obtained on specially made cylindrical phantoms with theoretical maps of their exact 3D electro-dynamic solutions. Analytical model of relaxation function proved to be in good agreement with experimental relaxation curves. On the basis of this model, fast and unambiguous fittingless algorithms were developed. Gradient maps measured on special cylindrical phantoms are in good qualitative agreement with theory. 3D statistical model and fittingless algorithms provide the basis for separating the GRE signal into two meaningful parameters—T ₂ and gradients, thus doubling information from magnetic resonance imaging.