Survey of patient-specific quality assurance practice for IMRT and VMAT.

A first-time survey across 15 cancer centers in Ontario, Canada, on the current practice of patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery was conducted. The objectives were to assess the current state of PSQA practice, identify areas for potential improvement, and facilitate the continued improvement in standardization, consistency, efficacy, and efficiency of PSQA regionally. The survey asked 40 questions related to PSQA practice for IMRT/VMAT delivery. The questions addressed PSQA policy and procedure, delivery log evaluation, instrumentation, measurement setup and methodology, data analysis and interpretation, documentation, process, failure modes, and feedback. The focus of this survey was on PSQA activities related to routine IMRT/VMAT treatments on conventional linacs, including stereotactic body radiation therapy but excluding stereotactic radiosurgery. The participating centers were instructed to submit answers that reflected the collective view or opinion of their department and represented the most typical process practiced. The results of the survey provided a snapshot of the current state of PSQA practice in Ontario and demonstrated considerable variations in the practice. A large majority (80%) of centers performed PSQA measurements on all VMAT plans. Most employed pseudo-3D array detectors with a true composite (TC) geometry. No standard approach was found for stopping or reducing frequency of measurements. The sole use of delivery log evaluation was not widely implemented, though most centers expressed interest in adopting this technology. All used the Gamma evaluation method for analyzing PSQA measurements; however, no universal approach was reported on how Gamma evaluation and pass determination criteria were determined. All or some PSQA results were reviewed regularly in two-thirds of the centers. Planning related issues were considered the most frequent source for PSQA failures (40%), whereas the most frequent course of action for a failed PSQA was to review the result and decide whether to proceed to treatment.

Investigation of the dosimetric effect of respiratory motion using four-dimensional weighted radiotherapy.

We have developed a four-dimensional weighted radiotherapy (4DW-RT) technique. This method involves designing the motion of the linear accelerator beam to coincide with the tumour motion determined from 4D-CT imaging while including a weighting factor to account for irregular motion and limitations of the delivery system. Experiments were conducted with a moving phantom to assess limitations of the delivery system when applying this method. Although the multi-leaf collimator motion remains within the tolerance of the linear accelerator, the extent of motion was less than 1 mm larger than the designed one, and there was a net system latency of approximately 0.2 s. The dose distributions were measured and simulated using different weighting factors and motion scenarios. The breathing characteristics (period, extent of motion, drift and standard deviations) of 32 patients were evaluated using the Varian RPM system. Breathing variability was assessed by plotting the average breathing motion as a function of the breathing phase. Simulations were carried out to determine the optimal weighting factor based on typical patient breathing characteristics. These results establish that the 4DW-RT method demonstrates potential for dose escalation without increasing exposure to healthy tissue.

Evaluation of high dose volumetric CT to reduce inter-observer delineation variability and PTV margins for prostate cancer radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: The aim was to determine whether the enhanced soft tissue contrast provided by high-dose volumetric CT (HDVCT) can reduce inter-observer variability in delineating prostate compared to helical conventional CT (CCT) scans and 3T MRI scans for patients undergoing radical prostate cancer radiotherapy. Secondly, to quantify the potential PTV reduction with decreased inter-observer variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 320 slice volumetric CT scanner was used. The wide-detector coverage of 16cm enabled volumetric image acquisition of prostate gland in one rotation. Three imaging studies were performed on ten patients. CCT and HDVCT were performed consecutively at the same coordinate system followed by MRI. Five radiation oncologists delineated the prostate. RESULTS: The inter-observer variability is 2.0±0.6, 1.9±0.4 and 1.8±0.4mm for CCT, HDVCT and MR respectively with the maximum at the apex region. Comparing inter-observer difference variability between CCT and HDVCT with MR indicates that observers have larger variations in contouring using CCT than HDVCT especially at apex. Jaccard index of HDVCT is significantly higher than CCT with a mean difference of 0.03 (p=0.011). Both MRI and HDVCT provide the opportunity for a 2mm PTV margin reduction at the apex compared to CCT. CONCLUSION: Inter-observer variability in delineation remains an important source of systematic error. HDCTV for treatment planning reduces this error without recourse to MRI and permits a PTV reduction of 2mm at the apex. The margins required to account for residual error with any imaging modality are still greater than are used in typical current practice.

Oscillation wavelength selection of semiconductor lasers using a multimode fiber Bragg grating.

It is demonstrated that by using a multimode fiber Bragg grating, the oscillation wavelength of semiconductor lasers can be selected by adjusting the alignment between the laser diode and multimode fiber. Wavelength locking with high output power and narrow linewidth can be realized in both static and dynamic states.