Validation of a Monte Carlo simulated cardiac phantom for planar and SPECT studies.

PURPOSE: This work aimed to validate Monte Carlo (MC) simulated cardiac phantoms for the evaluation of planar- and SPECT-gated-blood-pool (GBP-P and GBP-S) studies. METHODS: A comparison of gamma camera system performance criteria measurements (energy resolution, spatial resolution, sensitivity) with MC simulations was conducted. Furthermore, the accuracy of measured and simulated volumes of two stereolithography-printed cardiac phantoms (based on 4D-XCAT phantoms) was assessed. Finally, the simulated GBP-P and GBP-S XCAT studies were validated by comparing calculated left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and ventricle volume values with known parameters. RESULTS: The simulated performance criteria compared well with measured values (energy resolution difference: 0.1 ± 0.10%; spatial resolution (full width at half maximum) difference ≤ 0.5 ± 0.8 mm and system sensitivity difference ≤ 6.2 ± 0.62cps/MBq). The measured and simulated cardiac phantoms were in good agreement; the left anterior oblique views compared well. This is supported by line profiles through these phantoms and on average, simulated counts were 5.8% lower than measured counts. The LVEF values calculated from the GBP-P and GBP-S simulated data differ from known values (2.8 ± 0.64% and 0.8 ± 0.52%). The differences between the known XCAT LV volumes and simulated GBP-S calculated volumes were -1.2 ± 1.91 ml and -1.5 ± 0.96 ml for the end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes. CONCLUSION: The MC-simulated cardiac phantom has been validated successfully. Stereolithography-printing allows researchers to create clinically realistic organ phantoms and is a valuable tool for validating MC simulations and clinical software. By conducting GBP simulation studies with various XCAT models, the user will be able to generate GBP-P and GBP-S databases for future software evaluation.

Measured, calculated, and egs_brachy I-125 dose distributions in a gold plaque for retinoblastoma treatment.

BACKGROUND: This study measured and calculated dose distributions around a unique gold plaque for whole-eye radiotherapy (to treat retinoblastoma). The applicator consists of a pericorneal ring attached to the four extraocular muscles and four legs, each loaded with I-125 seeds. They are inserted beneath the conjunctiva in-between each pair of muscles and attached anteriorly to the ring. The applicator was designed in such a way that the dose is directed toward the middle of the eye while sparing surrounding tissues. PURPOSE: (I) To compare the measured and calculated data obtained by thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) in a solid-water phantom, a Gafchromic film in a solid-water phantom, the treatment planning systems, and Monte Carlo simulations; (II) to use Monte Carlo simulations for the determination of the dose to the organs at risk by taking the gold shielding and the anisotropy into account. METHODS: The dose around the applicator was measured using TLDs and Gafchromic EBT2 film in eye-shaped solid-water phantoms. Dose calculations were performed with the TheraPlan Plus and BrachyVision planning system and Monte Carlo simulations with egs_brachy code. A computer-aided design drawing of the applicator was created and used to create the input file for the Monte Carlo simulations. RESULTS: Monte Carlo calculated dose to the optic nerve is 64.8% of the central dose in the eye, whereas the planned dose is 93.7%. The Monte Carlo lens dose varies from 72.0% to 86.1%, whereas the planned dose varies from 73.0% to 84.3%. Monte Carlo-calculated dose to the bony orbit is 11.3%, whereas the planned dose is as high as 54.7% compared to the dose in the center region of the eye. CONCLUSIONS: The measured and Monte Carlo-simulated dose distributions matched well, whereas planned dose distributions showed discrepancies in some areas of the eye and outside of the eye due to their ignorance of the shielding effects of the plaque.

Characterization of Gafchromic™ film response against radionuclide activity.

PURPOSE: In this study, we used Gafchromic™ film XR-QA2 and RT-QA2 to characterize the film energy response against various radionuclides. We introduce a neutron depletion theoretical model that can describe film response as a function of cumulated activity. The film response was investigated with respect to different backscatter media such as polystyrene, perspex, lead and corrugated fibreboard carton (CFC). The sensitivity of the two types of film to different energies was also studied. Lastly, a film stack method was tested to allow the user to obtain sequential, cumulative doses at different time points. METHODS: Pieces of Gafchromic™ film XR-QA2 and RT-QA2 were exposed to Am-241, Cs-137, Tc-99m, and I-131 to obtain various cumulative activities. After 24 h, each film piece was digitized by scanning it with an Epson Perfection V330 flatbed scanner to obtain 48-bit RGB TIFF images. Afterwards, each image was processed with the Image J software package. The film response was fitted to a theoretically derived function based on the neutron depletion model and the Beer-Lambert Law and compared with an existing fitting function. Layers of the film were also placed together and irradiated with the above-mentioned radionuclides to investigate the possibility of increasing the sensitivity of the film as a dosimeter. The energy response of the two types of film was investigated by irradiating pieces of film with different photon energies. RESULTS: The theoretical response model fits OD vs cumulative activity accurately. XR-QA2 film shows good energy film response by using CFC as a backscatter material when using radionuclides. From the results, it is also evident that XR-QA2 is more sensitive to low energy gamma rays than RT-QA2. Its OD sensitivity can be increased by 2 ± 0.2 when using a double layer film and by 2.8 ± 0.3 when using a triple-layer film. By using a film stack, the experimental time can be decreased by using the second-order polynomial relationship obtained to relate the stacked film data to the single film data. CONCLUSIONS: The neutron depletion theoretical model is accurate and contains less free parameters than higher-order polynomial fits. The Gafchromic™ XR-QA2 film is also better to use in nuclear medicine because of its higher sensitivity. The sensitivity of the film as a dosimeter can also be increased by using multiple layers of film. Experiment times can also be decreased by using the film stack method.