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.