A study on quantitative analysis of field size and dose by using gating system in 4D conformal radiation treatment

This study evaluated the gating-based 4-D conformal radiation therapy (4D-CT) treatment planning by a comparison with the common 3-D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CT) treatment planning and examined the change in treatment field size and dose to the tumors and adjacent normal tissues because an unnecessary dose is also included in the 3-D treatment planning for the radiation treatment of tumors in the chest and abdomen. The 3D-CT and gating-based 4D-CT images were obtained from patients who had undergone radiation treatment for chest and abdomen tumors in the oncology department. After establishing a treatment plan, the CT treatment and planning system were used to measure the change in field size for analysis. A dose volume histogram (DVH) was used to calculate the appropriate dose to planning target volume (PTV) tumors and adjacent normal tissue. The difference in the treatment volume of the chest was 0.6 and 0.83 cm on the X- and Y-axis, respectively, for the gross tumor volume (GTV). Accordingly, the values in the 4D-CT treatment planning were smaller and the dose was more concentrated by 2.7% and 0.9% on the GTV and clinical target volume (CTV), respectively. The normal tissues in the surrounding normal tissues were reduced by 3.0%, 7.2%, 0.4%, 1.7%, 2.6% and 0.2% in the bronchus, chest wall, esophagus, heart, lung and spinal cord, respectively. The difference in the treatment volume of the abdomen was 0.72 cm on the X-axis and 0.51 cm on the Y-axis for the GTV; and 1.06 cm on the X-axis and 1.85 cm on the Y-axis for the PTV. Therefore, the values in the 4D-CT treatment planning were smaller. The dose was concentrated by 6.8% and 4.3% on the GTV and PTV, respectively, whereas the adjacent normal tissues in the cord, Lt. kidney, Rt. kidney, small bowels and whole liver were reduced by 3.2%, 4.2%, 1.5%, 6.2% and 12.7%, respectively. The treatment field size was smaller in volume in the case of the 4D-CT treatment planning. In the DVH, the 4D-CT treatment planning showed a higher dose concentration on the part to be treated than the 3D-CT treatment planning with a lower dose to the adjacent normal tissues. Overall, the gating-based 4D-CT treatment planning is believed to be more helpful than the 3D-CT treatment planning.     

Dosimetric verification of treatment planning system superficial dose calculations for proton beam

To investigate the accuracy of Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) dose calculations at the surface. It is desirable to know the accuracy of the proton treatment planning system in predicting dose at superficial region. All measurements were performed in a clinical proton beam at the National Cancer Center in Korea. Proton treatment plans were developed for a superficial planning target volume (PTV) contoured on a cylindrical polymethylmethacrylate phantom specially designed for this study. Dose was then measured at the surface and also in the PTV for these treatment plans and compared against the TPS calculations. For our study, a model GD-301 glass dosimeters were used. The proton treatment planning system overestimated the superficial dose without use of bolus as much as by 7–14% when compared to glass dosimeter. On the other hand, with use of bolus to cover the superficial region, surface dose between the calculation from Eclipse and measurement using the glass dosimeter are approximately within 3%.     

微电路FPGA的γ电离总剂量效应与加固技术

 讨论了Actel公司的FPGA芯片A1280XL在有偏置和无偏置条件下的γ电离总剂量效应,试验结果表明偏置条件对FPGA芯片电离总剂量效应有较大影响,在有偏置下FPGA芯片A1280XL失效阈最小,为12.16 Gy(Si);无偏置时FPGA失效阈最大,为33.2 Gy(Si)。对芯片内部结构进行了辐射效应分析,并提出一些加固方法提高器件的抗总剂量能力,如电路设计中采用冗余技术来实现对故障的检测和隔离,以及选取适当的屏蔽材料对器件进行屏蔽。     

A dose comparison of proton radiotherapy and photon radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumor

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of photon radiotherapy and to compare the dose of treatment planning between proton radiotherapy and 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) for pediatric brain tumor patients. This study was conducted in five pediatric brain tumor patients who underwent craniospinal irradiation treatment from October 2013 to April 2014 in the hospital. The study compared organs at risk (OARs) by assessing the dose distribution of normal tissue from the proton plan and 3D-CRT. Furthermore, this study assessed the treatment plans by looking at the homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI). As a result, the study revealed OARs due to the small volume proton radiotherapy dose distribution in the normal tissue. Also, by comparing HI and CI between the 3D-CRT and proton radiotherapy plan, the study found that the dose of proton radiotherapy plan was homogenized. When conducting 3D-CRT and proton radiotherapy in a dose–volume histogram comparison, the dose of distribution turned out to be low. Consequently, proton radiotherapy is used for protecting the normal tissue, and is used in tumor tissue as a homogenized dose for effective treatment.     

Serial gadolinium-DTPA of spinal cord MRI in multiple sclerosis: triple vs. single dose

We compared the sensitivity of single and triple dose Gd-DTPA magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting enhancing lesions in the spinal cord (SC) from 15 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The patients were examined monthly on four occasions. We detected two enhancing lesions in two of 15 (13%) patients when a single dose of Gd-DTPA was used. No additional lesions were detected when a triple dose of Gd-DTPA was used. These results 1) confirm that enhanced spinal cord imaging does not significantly increase the detection of active lesions in MS, 2) they do not support the general application of triple dose Gd-DTPA when examining the SC but 3) suggest that further studies taking into account SC symptoms are necessary.     

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.     

制冷型红外光学系统温栏杂散辐射分析及消除方法

在致冷型红外光学系统中加入温栏会引入杂散辐射。杂散辐射包括温栏自身的辐射及对外部热光的反射。这两种辐射进入探测器后,会降低系统的信噪比和动态范围,影响成像质量。基于辐射及传热理论,提出温栏杂散辐射所引起噪声等效温差的计算模型,并研究了消除温栏杂散辐射的方法。用LIGHT TOOLS进行了光线追迹,对比分析了传统平面环状温栏和球面反射镜型温栏的杂散辐射,验证了理论推导的正确性和消除方法的可行性。结果表明,采用半径为30.3 mm的高反射率球型温栏代替原设计中的粗糙平面型温栏,控制其曲率半径和位置,可使由温栏引入的杂散辐射降低99%以上。     

Verification of gamma knife based fractionated radiosurgery with newly developed head-thorax phantom

ObjectivePurpose of the study is to verify the Gamma Knife Extend™ system (ES) based fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery with newly developed head-thorax phantom.MethodsPhantoms are extensively used to measure radiation dose and verify treatment plan in radiotherapy. A human upper body shaped phantom with thorax was designed to simulate fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery using Extend™ system of Gamma Knife. The central component of the phantom aids in performing radiological precision test, dosimetric evaluation and treatment verification. A hollow right circular cylindrical space of diameter 7.0 cm was created at the centre of this component to place various dosimetric devices using suitable adaptors. The phantom is made of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), a transparent thermoplastic material. Two sets of disk assemblies were designed to place dosimetric films in (1) horizontal (xy) and (2) vertical (xz) planes. Specific cylindrical adaptors were designed to place thimble ionization chamber inside phantom for point dose recording along xz axis. EBT3 Gafchromic films were used to analyze and map radiation field. The focal precision test was performed using 4 mm collimator shot in phantom to check radiological accuracy of treatment. The phantom head position within the Extend™ frame was estimated using encoded aperture measurement of repositioning check tool (RCT). For treatment verification, the phantom with inserts for film and ion chamber was scanned in reference treatment position using X-ray computed tomography (CT) machine and acquired stereotactic images were transferred into Leksell Gammaplan (LGP). A patient treatment plan with hypo-fractionated regimen was delivered and identical fractions were compared using EBT3 films and in-house MATLAB codes.ResultsRCT measurement showed an overall positional accuracy of 0.265 mm (range 0.223 mm–0.343 mm). Gamma index analysis across fractions exhibited close agreement between LGP and film measured dose with ≥90% (max 93%) pixel pass rate at 1 mm of spatial and 1% of dosimetric tolerances. The focal precision test showed the variation of 0.465 mm between radiological and planned iso-centre.ConclusionsThe study demonstrated the suitability of newly developed head-thorax phantom for dosimetric verification of fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery using Extend™ system of Gamma Knife.     

In-phantom neutron dose distribution for bladder cancer cases treated with high-energy photons

This work presents an estimation of the neutron dose distribution for common bladder cancer cases treated with high-energy photons of 15 MV therapy accelerators. Neutron doses were measured in an Alderson phantom, using TLD 700 and 600 thermoluminescence dosimeters, resembling bladder cancer cases treated with high-energy photons from 15 MV LINAC and having a treatment plan using the four-field pelvic box technique. Thermal neutron dose distribution in the target area and the surrounding tissue was estimated. The sensitivity of all detectors for both gamma and neutrons was estimated and used for correction of the TL reading. TLD detectors were irradiated with a Co⁶⁰ gamma standard source and thermal neutrons at the irradiation facility of the National Institute for Standards (NIS). The TL to dose conversion factor was estimated in terms of both Co⁶⁰ neutron equivalent dose and thermal neutron dose. The dose distribution of photo-neutrons throughout each target was estimated and presented in three-dimensional charts and isodose curves. The distribution was found to be non-isotropic through the target. It varied from a minimum of 0.23 mSv/h to a maximum of 2.07 mSv/h at 6 cm off-axis. The mean neutron dose equivalent was found to be 0.63 mSv/h, which agrees with other published literature. The estimated average neutron equivalent to the bladder per administered therapeutic dose was found to be 0.39 mSv Gy^?1, which is also in good agreement with published literature. As a consequence of a complete therapeutic treatment of 50 Gy high-energy photons at 15 MV, the total thermal neutron equivalent dose to the abdomen was found to be about 0.012 Sv.     

Reduction in radiation dose with reconstruction technique in the brain perfusion CT

The principal objective of this study was to verify the utility of the reconstruction imaging technique in the brain perfusion computed tomography (PCT) scan by assessing reductions in the radiation dose and analyzing the generated images. The setting used for image acquisition had a detector coverage of 40 mm, a helical thickness of 0.625 mm, a helical shuttle mode scan type and a rotation time of 0.5 s as the image parameters used for the brain PCT scan. Additionally, a phantom experiment and an animal experiment were carried out. In the phantom and animal experiments, noise was measured in the scanning with the tube voltage fixed at 80 kVp (kilovolt peak) and the level of the adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) was changed from 0% to 100% at 10% intervals. The standard deviation of the CT coefficient was measured three times to calculate the mean value. In the phantom and animal experiments, the absorbed dose was measured 10 times under the same conditions as the ones for noise measurement before the mean value was calculated. In the animal experiment, pencil-type and CT-dedicated ionization chambers were inserted into the central portion of pig heads for measurement. In the phantom study, as the level of the ASIR changed from 0% to 100% under identical scanning conditions, the noise value and dose were proportionally reduced. In our animal experiment, the noise value was lowest when the ASIR level was 50%, unlike in the phantom study. The dose was reduced as in the phantom study.     

Skin dose assessment in unmodulated and intensity-modulated radiation fields with film dosimetry

Superficial dose from 6- and 18-MV photon beams has been studied by measuring surface dose and shallow build-up dose using radiographic film EDR2, radiochromic film EBT2 and plane-parallel chamber. Measurements have been made for intensity- and non-intensity-modulated beams.The results show that the surface dose was found to be 19.8% and 10% of maximum dose in unmodulated fields for 6 and 18 MV photon beams, respectively. The study further showed that intensity modulation decreased surface dose by 1.1% and 0.7% for the same field size at 6 and 18 MV, respectively, and surface dose was dropped by magnetically sweeping contaminating electrons. EDR2 and EBT2 films show in good agreement in shallow build-up region.This study demonstrated the capability of EDR2 film, in addition to radiochromic film, to measure surface and build-up dose in case of treatment planning system uncertainties with regard to skin toxicity or shallow target coverage.     

Effect of annealing on structural and optical properties of diamond-like nanocomposite thin films

The annealing effect on structural and optical properties of the Diamond-like Nanocomposite (DLN) thin film deposited on glass substrate by Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD) method has been investigated. The films were annealed at temperature ranging from 300 to 600 °C, with 100 °C interval for 9 minutes by rapid thermal process (RTP) under vacuum. The structural changes of the annealed films have been studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and optical parameters have been determined using transmittance and reflectance spectra in UV-UIS-NIR range. The result shows that the refractive index increases gradually from 1.79 to 2.84 with annealing temperature due to out-diffusion of H by breaking Si–H and C–H bond leads to Si–C bond, i.e. more cross linking structure. In higher temperature range, graphitization also enhanced the refractive index. However, the optical band gap at up to 400 °C initially increases from 3.05 to 3.20 eV and then decreases due to graphitization. The film has a great potential to be used as anti-reflection coating (ARC) on silicon-based solar cell.     

Study on the quality assurance of diagnostic X-ray machines and assessment of the absorbed dose to patients

Radiation exposure and image quality in X-ray diagnostic radiology provide a clear understanding of the relationship between the radiation dose delivered to a patient and image quality in optimizing medical diagnostic radiology. Because a certain amount of radiation is unavoidably delivered to patients, this should be as low as reasonably achievable. Several X-ray diagnostic machines were used at different medical diagnostic centers in Egypt for studying the beam quality and the dose delivered to the patient. This article studies the factors affecting the beam quality, such as the kilo-volt peak (kVp), exposure time (mSc), tube current (mAs) and the absorbed dose in (μGy) for different examinations. The maximum absorbed dose measured per mAs was 594±239 and 12.5±3.7 μGy for the abdomen and the chest, respectively, while the absorbed dose at the elbow was 18±6 μGy, which was the minimum dose recorded. The compound and expanded uncertainties accompanying these measurements were 4±0.35% and 8±0.7%, respectively. The measurements were done through quality control tests as acceptance procedures.     

Effects on skin dose from unwanted air gaps under bolus in photon beam radiotherapy

The dose under small air gaps located under bolus material of up to 10 mm have been measured with an Attix parallel plate ionization chamber and radiochromic film. For a 6 MV x-ray beam with 10 mm bolus, an air gap of 2 mm produced no reduction in skin dose when measured with the Attix chamber. An air gap of 4 mm will introduce a reduction of dose to the basal layer of approximately 0–4% depending on field size, angle of incidence and other patient specific parameters and a reduction of up to 10% could be seen at the basal cell layer for a 10 mm air gap. The 10% reduction was for a small x-ray field at 60 degrees angle of incidence and was a reduction in dose from 100% of D_max down to 90% of D_max. Results at oblique angles of incidence show that larger reductions in dose are seen with increasing angle of incidence. Radiochromic film results agree with the Attix chamber results measuring 2%±2% decrease for a 4 mm gap and 4%±2% for a 10 mm gap at normal incidence. Clinically, results show that small air gaps can reduce skin dose, however, at least 90% of maximum dose is still delivered for air gaps up to 10 mm.     

Dosimetric evaluation of an indigenously developed 10 MeV industrial electron beam irradiator

The high dose rate electron beams are increasingly being used for radiation processing of various products worldwide. A comprehensive dosimetric evaluation of an in-house developed 10 MeV industrial electron beam irradiator was carried out in static as well as in dynamic mode of irradiations. Radiochromic B3 film and graphite calorimeter were used for dosimetric measurements. The dose rate from the electron beam was also calculated using the empirical relation prescribed in the ASTM report E2232-02. The measured electron beam profile indicates the dose rate variation within 8% in the irradiated product boxes. The most probable energy determined from the depth dose distribution in PMMA, Al and water was found in agreement with the intended energy of the electron beam. Measured dose rate using radiochromic film and graphite calorimeter were found in good agreement with each other and also found comparable with the theoretically estimated dose rates. Experimentally measured dose rates were considered for the trial irradiation of medical and industrial products. Dosimetric data obtained through this study confirms the suitability of the irradiator for routine radiation processing of various products.     

一种用于多叶准直器适形放疗的剂量算法研究

描述了一种用于多叶准直器适形放疗的剂量计算方法。 在不同大小的方野和非规则野照射情况下, 将此方法得到的剂量分布与微分卷积法计算得到的剂量分布进行了精度验证。 结果表明, 这种算法具有较高的剂量精度和较快的计算速度, 因此可在适形放疗中用作MLC适形野的自动生成。 A dose calculation algorithm for MLC based conformal radiotherapy is described in this paper. The algorithm is formulated by the coordinate of MLC leaves. Verification on the algorithm is made by comparing the dose distributions generated by this algorithm with that generated by a Differential Convolution Superposition algorithm for various regular and irregular fields. The results demonstrate that the present algorithm has suitable accuracy and high computational efficiency, thus it could be useful for the treatment planning process in MLC based conformal radiotherapy, where the workload for interactively or automatically designing the shapes of MLC is heavy.     

Usability of tartaric acid in dose measurements: an ESR study

Unirradiated tartaric acid samples do not exhibit any ESR signal. However, the ESR spectra of irradiated samples contain many resonance signals. The dose–responce curves of the resonance signals, denoted as I ₁, I ₂, I ₃ and I ₄ in the present study, were found to increase linearly with the applied radiation dose in the range of 0.04–25 kGy. Adjusting the microvawe power and modulation amplitudes of 1.0 mW and 1.0 mT, respectively, was found to increase the sensitivity of tartaric acid. From the dose–response curves and room temperature decay data, it was concluded that the I ₃ resonance signal of tartaric acid can be used for dose measurements at intermediate (0.04–0.4 kGy) and high dose (0.5–25 kGy) levels.     

微电路FPGA的γ电离总剂量效应与加固技术

讨论了Actel公司的FPGA芯片A1280XL在有偏置和无偏置条件下的γ电离总剂量效应,试验结果表明偏置条件对FPGA芯片电离总剂量效应有较大影响,在有偏置下FPGA芯片A1280XL失效阈最小,为12.16 Gy(Si);无偏置时FPGA失效阈最大,为33.2 Gy(Si)。对芯片内部结构进行了辐射效应分析,并提出一些加固方法提高器件的抗总剂量能力,如电路设计中采用冗余技术来实现对故障的检测和隔离,以及选取适当的屏蔽材料对器件进行屏蔽。     

Measurement of rectum dose by in vivo alanine/ESR dosimetry in gynecological 192Ir HDR brachytherapy

High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT) used in treatments of gynecological cancer often results in high doses in the pelvic organs at risk (OARs) and the complications in the rectum are a serious concern. Dosimetry procedures in vivo can be used as an evaluation method of calculated dose in treatment planning. One dosimetric method is the use of alanine with electron spin resonance (ESR) that has been used in different clinical practices. The aim of this study was to indicate the dose level in the female rectum volume, using alanine dosimeters during ¹⁹²Ir HDR gynecological BT, for cervical cancer. Doses were compared with the values obtained using the computational treatment planning system based on two orthogonal radiographic images. Firstly a phantom study in water was performed, enabling the in vivo study. Ten patients had the dose in rectum measured, resulting from 10 points properly referred; variations found were in the range of +60% and −50% of the delivered doses compared to the treatment planning system. Differences between planned and measured doses can be mainly due to uncertainty of dosimeter position determination, averaging of dose points specified over the whole dosimeter position, uncontrolled changes in detector position during treatment due to rectum movement and to a simplified treatment system planning, that do not take into account the details of the patient anatomy and the difference among the tissues. Results show that improvements of the protocol treatment should be done to enhance the relation between treatment planning system and experimental results, nevertheless the dose at the OARs was lower than the recommended by the ICRU Report 38.     

Analysis of low-dose radiation shield effectiveness of multi-gate polymeric sheets

Computed tomography (CT) uses a high dose of radiation to create images of the body. As patients are exposed to radiation during a CT scan, the use of shielding materials becomes essential in CT scanning. This study was focused on the radiation shielding materials used for patients during a CT scan. In this study, sheets were manufactured to shield the eyes and the thyroid, the most sensitive parts of the body, against radiation exposure during a CT scan. These sheets are manufactured using silicone polymers, barium sulfate (BaSO₄) and tungsten, with the aim of making these sheets equally or more effective in radiation shielding and more cost-effective than lead sheets. The use of barium sulfate drew more attention than tungsten due to its higher cost-effectiveness. The barium sulfate sheets were coated to form a multigate structure by applying the maximum charge rate during the agitator and subsequent mixing processes and creating multilayered structures on the surface. To measure radiation shielding effectiveness, the radiation dose was measured around both eyes and the thyroid gland using sheets in three different thicknesses (1, 2 and 3 mm). Among the 1 and 2 mm sheets, the Pb sheets exhibited greater effectiveness in radiation shielding around both eyes, but the W sheets were more effective in radiation shielding around the thyroid gland. In the 3 mm sheets, the Pb sheet also attenuated a higher amount of radiation around both eyes while the W sheet was more effective around the thyroid gland. In conclusion, the sheets made from barium sulfate and tungsten proved highly effective in shielding against low-dose radiation in CT scans without causing ill-health effects, unlike lead.