Management of three-dimensional intrafraction motion through real-time DMLC tracking.

Tumor tracking using a dynamic multileaf collimator (DMLC) represents a promising approach for intrafraction motion management in thoracic and abdominal cancer radiotherapy. In this work, we develop, empirically demonstrate, and characterize a novel 3D tracking algorithm for real-time, conformal, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)-based radiation delivery to targets moving in three dimensions. The algorithm obtains real-time information of target location from an independent position monitoring system and dynamically calculates MLC leaf positions to account for changes in target position. Initial studies were performed to evaluate the geometric accuracy of DMLC tracking of 3D target motion. In addition, dosimetric studies were performed on a clinical linac to evaluate the impact of real-time DMLC tracking for conformal, step-and-shoot (S-IMRT), dynamic (D-IMRT), and VMAT deliveries to a moving target. The efficiency of conformal and IMRT delivery in the presence of tracking was determined. Results show that submillimeter geometric accuracy in all three dimensions is achievable with DMLC tracking. Significant dosimetric improvements were observed in the presence of tracking for conformal and IMRT deliveries to moving targets. A gamma index evaluation with a 3%-3 mm criterion showed that deliveries without DMLC tracking exhibit between 1.7 (S-IMRT) and 4.8 (D-IMRT) times more dose points that fail the evaluation compared to corresponding deliveries with tracking. The efficiency of IMRT delivery, as measured in the lab, was observed to be significantly lower in case of tracking target motion perpendicular to MLC leaf travel compared to motion parallel to leaf travel. Nevertheless, these early results indicate that accurate, real-time DMLC tracking of 3D tumor motion is feasible and can potentially result in significant geometric and dosimetric advantages leading to more effective management of intrafraction motion.

Real-time dynamic MLC tracking for inversely optimized arc radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Motion compensation with MLC tracking was tested for inversely optimized arc radiotherapy with special attention to the impact of the size of the target displacements and the angle of the leaf trajectory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An MLC-tracking algorithm was used to adjust the MLC positions according to the target movements using information from an optical real-time positioning management system. Two plans with collimator angles of 45 degrees and 90 degrees , respectively, were delivered and measured using the Delta(4)(R) dosimetric device moving in the superior-inferior direction with peak-to-peak displacements of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mm and a cycle time of 6s. RESULTS: Gamma index evaluation for plan delivery with MLC tracking gave a pass rate higher than 98% for criteria 3% and 3 mm for both plans and for all sizes of the target displacement. With no motion compensation, the average pass rate was 75% for plan 1 and 70% for plan 2 for 25 mm peak-to-peak displacement. CONCLUSION: MLC tracking improves the accuracy of inversely optimized arc delivery for the cases studied. With MLC tracking, the dosimetric accuracy was independent of the magnitude of the peak-to-peak displacement of the target and not significantly affected by the angle between the leaf trajectory and the target movements.