Evaluating the impact of prescription isodose line on plan quality using Gamma Knife inverse planning.

The impact of selection of prescription isodose line (IDL) on plan quality has not been well evaluated during inverse planning (IP). In this study, a total of 180 IP plans at five levels of IDL were generated for 30 brain metastases (BMs). For each BM, one round of IP was performed with typical IP settings, followed by a quick fine-tuning to ensure the same target coverage and comparable conformality index. The impact of the IDL on the quality metrics (selectivity, gradient index [GI], and treatment time) was evaluated. The decrease of selectivity and increase of GI meant inferior target dose conformality and more dose spillage. Additionally, a metric directly correlated to the treatment time was proposed. For all cases, the mean GI decreased monotonically as IDL decreased from 70% to 30%, and the decreasing rate was significantly different based on tumor size. The mean selectivity and number of shots decreased monotonically as IDL decreased for all the tumors. From 70% to 30% IDL, the decreasing rate of the mean selectivity was 2.8% (p = 0.020), 7.7% (p = 0.005), and 15.4% (p = 0.020) and that of the number of shots was 75.4% (p = 0.001), 73.2% (p = 0.001), and 50.7% (p = 0.009), for the large, medium, and small tumors, respectively. For the medium and small tumor groups, the mean treatment time increased monotonically when IDLs decreased (increasing rate was 80.0% [p = 0.002] for medium tumors [p = 0.001] and 130.8% [p = 0.001] for small tumors from 70% to 30%). For the large tumors, the mean treatment time was the shortest at 50% IDL (59.0 min) and higher at 70% (65.9 min) and 30% (71.9 min). Overall, the GammaPlan chose smaller sectors for plans with lower IDLs except for the large size group.

3D-printed headrest for frameless Gamma Knife radiosurgery: Design and validation.

PURPOSE: Frameless Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) uses a moldable headrest with a thermoplastic mask for patient immobilization. An efficacious headrest is time consuming and difficult to fabricate due to the expertise required to mold the headrest within machine geometrical limitations. The purpose of this study was to design and validate a three-dimensional (3D)-printed headrest for frameless Gamma Knife SRS that can overcome these difficulties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A headrest 3D model designed to fit within the frameless adapter was 3D printed. Dosimetric properties of the 3D-printed headrest and a standard-of-care moldable headrest were compared by delivering a Gamma Knife treatment to an anthropomorphic head phantom fitted with an ionization chamber and radiochromic film. Ionization measurements were compared to assess headrest attenuation and a gamma index was calculated to compare the film dose distributions. A volunteer study was conducted to assess the immobilization efficacy of the 3D-printed headrest compared to the moldable headrest. Five volunteers had their head motion tracked by a surface tracking system while immobilized in each headrest for 20 min. The recorded motion data were used to calculate the average volunteer movement and a paired t-test was performed. RESULTS: The ionization chamber readings were within 0.55% for the 3D-printed and moldable headrests, and the calculated gamma index showed 98.6% of points within dose difference of 2% and 2 mm distance to agreement for the film measurement. These results demonstrate that the headrests were dosimetrically equivalent within the experimental uncertainties. Average motion (±standard deviation) of the volunteers while immobilized was 1.41 ± 0.43 mm and 1.36 ± 0.51 mm for the 3D-printed and moldable headrests, respectively. The average observed volunteer motion between headrests was not statistically different, based on a P-value of 0.466. CONCLUSIONS: We designed and validated a 3D-printed headrest for immobilizing patients undergoing frameless Gamma Knife SRS.

Validation of PTV margin for Gamma Knife Icon frameless treatment using a PseudoPatient® Prime anthropomorphic phantom.

The Gamma Knife Icon allows the treatment of brain tumors mask-based single-fraction or fractionated treatment schemes. In clinic, uniform axial expansion of 1 mm around the gross tumor volume (GTV) and a 1.5 mm expansion in the superior and inferior directions are used to generate the planning target volume (PTV). The purpose of the study was to validate this margin scheme with two clinical scenarios: (a) the patient's head remaining right below the high-definition motion management (HDMM) threshold, and (b) frequent treatment interruptions followed by plan adaptation induced by large pitch head motion. A remote-controlled head assembly was used to control the motion of a PseudoPatient® Prime head phantom; for dosimetric evaluations, an ionization chamber, EBT3 films, and polymer gels were used. These measurements were compared with those from the Gamma Knife plan. For the absolute dose measurements using an ionization chamber, the percentage differences for both targets were less than 3.0% for all scenarios, which was within the expected tolerance. For the film measurements, the two-dimensional (2D) gamma index with a 2%/2 mm criterion showed the passing rates of ≥87% in all scenarios except the scenario 1. The results of Gel measurements showed that GTV (D100 ) was covered by the prescription dose and PTV (D95 ) was well above the planned dose by up to 5.6% and the largest geometric PTV offset was 0.8 mm for all scenarios. In conclusion, the current margin scheme with HDMM setting is adequate for a typical patient's intrafractional motion.

Potential effects of low-dose average CT on cardiac implantable electronic devices.

BACKGROUND: Average CT has been shown to be more accurate than conventional helical CT in quantitation of the PET data. The risk of CT irradiation of a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) causing an adverse event is low and is generally outweighed by the clinical benefit of a medically indicated examination. However, irradiation of CIED over one breath cycle in cine CT scan for average CT could impose risks on a patient who is pacing dependent. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that low-dose average CT can be safe for CIED. METHODS: A Medtronic CIED of model Protecta VR was submerged in a saline bath for a series of 4-s cine CT scans on a GE CT scanner programmed to deliver a 2-cm-wide radiation at a dose rate of 0.9 to 41.2 mGy/s to the CIED. The number of over-sensings was recorded as the interference of radiation to the CIED. RESULTS: Dose rates ≥ 1.9 mGy/s caused over-sensing. The higher the dose rate, the more over-sensings there were. The lowest dose rate of 0.9 mGy/s did not cause any over-sensing. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose average CT at 0.9 mGy/s can be safe for a CIED patient who is pacing dependent.

Submillimeter alignment of more than three contiguous vertebrae in spinal SRS/SBRT with 6-degree couch.

The purpose of this study is to identify regions of spinal column in which more than three contiguous vertebrae can be reliably and quickly aligned within 1 mm using a 6-degree (6D) couch and full body immobilization device. We analyzed 45 cases treated over a 3-month period. Each case was aligned using ExacTrac x-ray positioning system with integrated 6D couch to be within 1° and 1 mm in all six dimensions. Cone-Beam computed tomography (CBCT) with at least 17.5 cm field of view (FOV) in the superior-inferior direction was taken immediately after ExacTrac positioning. It was used to examine the residual error of five to nine contiguous vertebrae visible in the FOV. The residual error of each vertebra was determined by expanding/contracting the vertebrae contour with a margin in millimeter integrals on the planning CT such that the new contours would enclose the corresponding vertebrae contour on CBCT. Submillimeter initial setup accuracy was consistently achieved in 98% (40/41) cases for a span of five or more vertebrae starting from T2 vertebra and extending caudally to S5. The curvature of spinal column along the cervical region and cervicothoracic junction was not easily reproducible between treatment and simulation. Fifty-seven percent (8/14) of cases in this region had residual setup error of more than 1 mm in nearby vertebrae after alignment using 6D couch with image guidance. In conclusion, 6D couch integrated with image guidance is convenient and accurately corrects small rotational shifts. Consequently, more than three contiguous vertebrae can be aligned within 1 mm with immobilization that reliably reproduces the curvature of the thoracic and lumbar spinal column. Ability of accurate setup is becoming less a concern in limiting the use of stereotactic radiosurgery or stereotactic body radiation therapy to treat multilevel spinal target.

Improved setup and positioning accuracy using a three-point customized cushion/mask/bite-block immobilization system for stereotactic reirradiation of head and neck cancer.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the setup and positioning uncertainty of a custom cushion/mask/bite-block (CMB) immobilization system and determine PTV margin for image-guided head and neck stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (HN-SABR). We analyzed 105 treatment sessions among 21 patients treated with HN-SABR for recurrent head and neck cancers using a custom CMB immobilization system. Initial patient setup was performed using the ExacTrac infrared (IR) tracking system and initial setup errors were based on comparison of ExacTrac IR tracking system to corrected online ExacTrac X-rays images registered to treatment plans. Residual setup errors were determined using repeat verification X-ray. The online ExacTrac corrections were compared to cone-beam CT (CBCT) before treatment to assess agreement. Intrafractional positioning errors were determined using prebeam X-rays. The systematic and random errors were analyzed. The initial translational setup errors were -0.8 ± 1.3 mm, -0.8 ± 1.6 mm, and 0.3 ± 1.9 mm in AP, CC, and LR directions, respectively, with a three-dimensional (3D) vector of 2.7 ± 1.4 mm. The initial rotational errors were up to 2.4° if 6D couch is not available. CBCT agreed with ExacTrac X-ray images to within 2 mm and 2.5°. The intrafractional uncertainties were 0.1 ± 0.6 mm, 0.1 ± 0.6 mm, and 0.2 ± 0.5 mm in AP, CC, and LR directions, respectively, and 0.0° ± 0.5°, 0.0° ± 0.6°, and -0.1° ± 0.4° in yaw, roll, and pitch direction, respectively. The translational vector was 0.9 ± 0.6 mm. The calculated PTV margins mPTV(90,95) were within 1.6 mm when using image guidance for online setup correction. The use of image guidance for online setup correction, in combination with our customized CMB device, highly restricted target motion during treatments and provided robust immobilization to ensure minimum dose of 95% to target volume with 2.0 mm PTV margin for HN-SABR.

Defining internal target volume using positron emission tomography for radiation therapy planning of moving lung tumors.

Substantial disagreement exists over appropriate PET segmentation techniques for non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, no segmentation algorithm explicitly considers tumor motion in determining tumor borders. We developed an automatic PET segmentation model as a function of target volume, motion extent, and source-to-background ratio (the VMSBR model). The purpose of this work was to apply the VMSBR model and six other segmentation algorithms to a sample of lung tumors. PET and 4D CT were performed in the same imaging session for 23 patients (24 tumors) for radiation therapy planning. Internal target volumes (ITVs) were autosegmented on maximum intensity projection (MIP) of cine CT. ITVs were delineated on PET using the following methods: 15%, 35%, and 42% of maximum activity concentration, standardized uptake value (SUV) of 2.5 g/mL, 15% of mean activity concentration plus background, a linear function of mean SUV, and the VMSBR model. Predicted threshold values from each method were compared to measured optimal threshold values, and resulting volume magnitudes were compared to cine-CT-derived ITV. Correlation between predicted and measured threshold values ranged from slopes of 0.29 for the simplest single-threshold techniques to 0.90 for the VMSBR technique. R2 values ranged from 0.07 for the simplest single-threshold techniques to 0.86 for the VMSBR technique. The VMSBR segmentation technique that included volume, motion, and source-to-background ratio, produced accurate ITVs in patients when compared with cine-CT-derived ITV.

New full-counts phase-matched data-driven gated (DDG) PET/CT.

BACKGROUND: Data-driven gated (DDG) PET has gained clinical acceptance and has been shown to match or outperform external-device gated (EDG) PET. However, in most clinical applications, DDG PET is matched with helical CT acquired in free breathing (FB) at a random respiratory phase, leaving registration, and optimal attenuation correction (AC) to chance. Furthermore, DDG PET requires additional scan time to reduce image noise as it only preserves 35%-50% of the PET data at or near the end-expiratory phase of the breathing cycle. PURPOSE: A new full-counts, phase-matched (FCPM) DDG PET/CT was developed based on a low-dose cine CT to improve registration between DDG PET and DDG CT, to reduce image noise, and to avoid increasing acquisition times in DDG PET. METHODS: A new DDG CT was developed for three respiratory phases of CT images from a low dose cine CT acquisition of 1.35 mSv for a coverage of about 15.4 cm: end-inspiration (EI), average (AVG), and end-expiration (EE) to match with the three corresponding phases of DDG PET data: -10% to 15%; 15% to 30%, and 80% to 90%; and 30% to 80%, respectively. The EI and EE phases of DDG CT were selected based on the physiological changes in lung density and body outlines reflected in the dynamic cine CT images. The AVG phase was derived from averaging of all phases of the cine CT images. The cine CT was acquired over the lower lungs and/or upper abdomen for correction of misregistration between PET and FB CT as well as DDG PET and FB CT. The three phases of DDG CT were used for AC of the corresponding phases of PET. After phase-matched AC of each PET dataset, the EI and AVG PET data were registered to the EE PET data with deformable image registration. The final result was FCPM DDG PET/CT which accounts for all PET data registered at the EE phase. We applied this approach to 14 18F-FDG lung cancer patient studies acquired at 2 min/bed position on the GE Discovery MI (25-cm axial FOV) and evaluated its efficacy in improved quantification and noise reduction. RESULTS: Relative to static PET/CT, the SUVmax increases for the EI, AVG, EE, and FCPM DDG PET/CT were 1.67 ± 0.40, 1.50 ± 0.28, 1.64 ± 0.36, and 1.49 ± 0.28, respectively. There were 10.8% and 9.1% average decreases in SUVmax from EI and EE to FCPM DDG PET/CT, respectively. EI, AVG, and EE DDG PET/CT all maintained increased image noise relative to static PET/CT. However, the noise levels of FCPM and static PET were statistically equivalent, suggesting the inclusion of all counts was able to decrease the image noise relative to EI and EE DDG PET/CT. CONCLUSIONS: A new FCPM DDG PET/CT has been developed to account for 100% of collected PET data in DDG PET applications. Image noise in FCPM is comparable to static PET, while small decreases in SUVmax were also observed in FCPM when compared to either EI or EE DDG PET/CT.

Correcting CT misregistration in data-driven gated (DDG) PET with PET self-gating and deformable image registration.

BACKGROUND: Misregistration between CT and PET data can result in mis-localization and inaccurate quantification of functional uptake in whole body PET/CT imaging. This problem is exacerbated when an abnormal inspiration occurs during the free-breathing helical CT (FB CT) used for attenuation correction of PET data. In data-driven gated (DDG) PET, the data selected for reconstruction is typically derived from the end-expiration (EE) phase of the breathing cycle, making this potential issue worse. PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to develop a deformable image registration (DIR)-based respiratory motion model to improve the registration and quantification between misregistered FB CT and PET. METHODS: Twenty-two whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans encompassing 48 lesions in misregistered regions were analyzed in this study. End-inspiration (EI) and EE PET data were derived from -10% to 15% and 30% to 80% of the breathing cycle, respectively. DIR was used to estimate a motion model from the EE to EI phase of the PET data. The model was then used to generate PET images at any phase of up to four times the amplitude of motion between EE and EI for correlation with the misregistered FB CT. Once a matched phase of the FB CT was determined, FB CT was deformed to a pseudo CT at the EE phase (DIR CT). DIR CT was compared with the ground truth DDG CT for AC and localization of the DDG PET. RESULTS: Between DDG PET/FB CT and DDG PET/DIR CT, a significant increase in ∆%SUV was observed (p < 0.01), with median values elevating from 26.7% to 42.4%. This new method was most effective for lesions ≤3 cm proximal to the diaphragm (p < 0.001) but showed decreasing efficacy as the distance increased. When FB CT was severely misregistered with DDG PET (>3 cm), DDG PET/DIR CT outperformed DDG PET/FB CT alone (p < 0.05). Even when patients showed varied breathing patterns during the PET/CT scan, DDG PET/DIR CT still surpassed the efficiency of DDG PET/FB CT (p < 0.01). Though DDG PET/DIR CT couldn't match the performance of the DDG PET/CT ground truth (42.4% vs. 53.6%, p < 0.01), it reached 84% of its quantification, demonstrating good agreement and a strong overall correlation (regression coefficient of 0.94, p < 0.0001). In some cases, anatomical distortion and blurring, and misregistration error were observed in DIR CT, rendering it still unable to correct inaccurate localization near the boundaries of two organs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the motion model derived from gated PET data, DIR CT can significantly improve the quantification and localization of DDG PET. This approach can achieve a performance level of about 84% of the ground truth established by DDG PET/CT. These results show that self-gated PET and DIR CT may offer an alternative clinical solution to DDG PET and FB CT for quantification without the need for additional cine-CT imaging. DIR CT was at times inferior to DDG CT due to some distortion and blurring of anatomy and misregistration error.

Development of a modified head and neck quality assurance phantom for use in stereotactic radiosurgery trials.

An anthropomorphic head phantom, constructed from a water-equivalent plastic shell with only a spherical target, was modified to include a nonspherical target (pituitary) and an adjacent organ at risk (OAR) (optic chiasm), within 2 mm, simulating the anatomy encountered when treating acromegaly. The target and OAR spatial proximity provided a more realistic treatment planning and dose delivery exercise. A separate dosimetry insert contained two TLD for absolute dosimetry and radiochromic film, in the sagittal and coronal planes, for relative dosimetry. The prescription was 25 Gy to 90% of the GTV, with ≤ 10% of the OAR volume receiving ≥ 8 Gy for the phantom trial. The modified phantom was used to test the rigor of the treatment planning process and phantom reproducibility using a Gamma Knife, CyberKnife, and linear accelerator (linac)-based radiosurgery system. Delivery reproducibility was tested by repeating each irradiation three times. TLD results from three irradiations on a CyberKnife and Gamma Knife agreed with the calculated target dose to within ± 4% with a maximum coefficient of variation of ± 2.1%. Gamma analysis in the coronal and sagittal film planes showed an average passing rate of 99.4% and 99.5% using ± 5%/3 mm criteria, respectively. Results from the linac irradiation were within ± 6.2% for TLD with a coefficient of variation of ± 0.1%. Distance to agreement was calculated to be 1.2 mm and 1.3mm along the inferior and superior edges of the target in the sagittal film plane, and 1.2 mm for both superior and inferior edges in the coronal film plane. A modified, anatomically realistic SRS phantom was developed that provided a realistic clinical planning and delivery challenge that can be used to credential institutions wanting to participate in NCI-funded clinical trials.

Postoperative Management of Recurrence After Radiosurgery and Surgical Resection for Brain Metastases and Predicting Benefit From Adjuvant Radiation.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is often used as upfront treatment for brain metastases. Progression or radionecrosis after SRS is common and can prompt resection. However, postoperative management strategies after resection for SRS failure vary widely, and no standard practice has been established. In this approved study, we retrospectively reviewed patients who received SRS for a brain metastasis followed by resection of the same lesion. We extracted patient-, disease-, and treatment-related variables and information on disease-related outcomes. Univariate and multivariate analyses of clinicopathologic variables were used to create a model to predict factors associated with local failure (LF). A total of 225 patients with brain metastases treated with SRS from 2009 to 2017 followed by surgical resection were identified. Overall, 65% of cases had gross total resection (GTR) on postoperative imaging review. Twenty-one patients (9.3%) received adjuvant radiation therapy to the surgical cavity, and 204 (90.7%) were observed. Of these 204 patients, 118 had GTR with evidence of tumor within the pathology specimen. With a median follow-up of 13 months after resection, 47 patients (40%) developed LF after surgery. After salvage resection of a brain metastasis initially treated with SRS, the observed LF rate was 40% among those who had a GTR and evidence of tumor on pathologic examination. This LF rate is sufficiently high that adjuvant radiation to the surgical bed after salvage resection should be considered in these cases when there is tumor in the pathology, even after a GTR.

A Prospective Study of Conventionally Fractionated Dose Constraints for Reirradiation of Primary Brain Tumors in Adults.

PURPOSE: Dose constraints for reirradiation of recurrent primary brain tumors are not well-established. This study was conducted to prospectively evaluate composite dose constraints for conventionally fractionated brain reirradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A single-institution, prospective study of adults with previously irradiated, recurrent brain tumors was performed. For 95% of patients, electronic dosimetry records from the first course of radiation (RT1) were obtained and deformed onto the simulation computed tomography for the second course of radiation (RT2). Conventionally fractionated treatment plans for RT2 were developed that met protocol-assigned dose constraints for RT2 alone and the composite dose of RT1 + RT2. Prospective composite dose constraints were based on histology, interval since RT1, and concurrent bevacizumab. Patients were followed with magnetic resonance imaging including spectroscopy and perfusion studies. Primary endpoint was the rate of symptomatic brain necrosis at 6 months after RT2. RESULTS: Patients were enrolled from March 2017 to May 2018; 20 were evaluable. Eighteen had glioma, 1 had atypical choroid plexus papilloma, and 1 had hemangiopericytoma. Nineteen patients were treated with volumetric modulated arc therapy, and one was treated with protons. Median RT1 dose was 57 Gy (range, 50-60 Gy). Median RT1-RT2 interval was 49 months (range, 9-141 months). Median RT2 dose was 42.4 Gy (range, 36-60 Gy). Median planning target volume was 186 cc (range, 8-468 cc). Nineteen of 20 patients (95%) were free of grade 3+ central nervous system necrosis. One patient had grade 3+ necrosis 2 months after RT2; the patient recovered fully and lived another 18 months until dying of disease progression. Median overall survival from RT2 start for all patients was 13.3 months (95% credible interval, 6.3-20.7); for patients with glioblastoma, 11.5 months (95% credible interval, 6.1-20.1). CONCLUSIONS: Brain reirradiation can be safely performed with conventionally fractionated regimens tailored to previous dose distributions. The prospective composite dose constraints described here are a starting point for future studies of conventionally fractionated reirradiation.

Data-driven gated CT: An automated respiratory gating method to enable data-driven gated PET/CT.

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET) quantification and localization can be compromised if a misregistered computed tomography (CT) is used for attenuation correction (AC) in PET/CT. As data-driven gating (DDG) continues to grow in clinical use, these issues are becoming more relevant with respect to solutions for gated CT. PURPOSE: In this work, a new automated DDG CT method was developed to provide average CT and DDG CT for AC of PET and DDG PET, respectively. METHODS: An automatic DDG CT was developed to provide the end-expiratory (EE) and end-inspiratory (EI) phases of images from low-dose cine CT images, with all phases being averaged to generate an average CT. The respiratory phases of EE and EI were determined according to lung region Hounsfield unit (HU) values and body outline contours. The average CT was used for AC of baseline PET and DDG CT at EE phase was used for AC of DDG PET at the quiescent or EE phase. The EI and EE phases obtained with DDG CT were used for assessing the magnitude of respiratory motion. The proposed DDG CT was compared to two commercial CT gating methods: (1) 4D CT (external device based) and (2) D4D CT (DDG based) in 38 patient datasets with respect to respiratory phase image selection, lung HU, lung volume, and image artifacts. In a separate set of twenty consecutive PET/CT studies containing a mix of 18 F-FDG, 68 Ga-Dotatate, and 64 Cu-Dotatate scans, the proposed DDG CT was compared with D4D CT for impacts on registration and quantification in DDG PET/CT. RESULTS: In the EE phase, the images selected by DDG CT and 4D CT were identical 62.5% ± 21.6% of the time, whereas DDG CT and D4D CT were 6.5% ± 9.7%, and 4D CT and D4D CT were 8.6% ± 12.2%. These differences in EE phase image selection were significant (p < 0.0001). In the EI phase, the images selected by DDG CT and 4D CT were identical 68.2% ± 18.9% of the time, DDG CT and D4D CT were 63.9% ± 18.8%, and 4D CT and D4D CT were 61.2% ± 19.8%. These differences were not significant. The mean lung HU and volumes were not statistically different (p > 0.1) among the three methods. In some studies, DDG CT was better than D4D or 4D CT in the appropriate selection of the EE and EI phases, and D4D CT was found to reverse the EE and EI phases or not select the correct images by visual inspection. A statistically significant improvement of DDG CT over D4D CT for AC of DDG PET was also demonstrated with PET quantification analysis. When irregular breath cycles were present in the cine CT, DDG CT could be used to replace average CT for the improved AC of baseline PET. CONCLUSION: A new automatic DDG CT was developed to tackle the issues of misregistration and tumor motion in PET/CT imaging. DDG CT was significantly more consistent than D4D CT in selecting the EE phase images as the clinical standard of 4D CT. When compared to both commercial gated CT methods of 4D CT and D4D CT, DDG CT appeared to be more robust in the lower lung and upper diaphragm regions where misregistration and tumor motion often occur. DDG CT offered improved AC for DDG PET relative to D4D CT. In cases with irregular respiratory motion, DDG CT improved AC over average CT for baseline PET. The new DDG CT provides the benefits of 4D CT without the need for external device gating.

New Data-Driven Gated PET/CT Free of Misregistration Artifacts.

PURPOSE: We developed a new data-driven gated (DDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) to improve the registration of CT and DDG PET. METHODS: We acquired 10 repeat PET/CT and 35 cine CT scans for the mitigation of misregistration between CT and PET data. We also derived end-expiration phase CT as DDG CT for attenuation correction of DDG PET. Radiation exposure, body mass index (BMI), scan coverage, and effective radiation dose were compared between repeat PET/CT and cine CT. Of the 35 cine CT patients, 14 (capturing 59 total tumors) were compared among average PET/CT (baseline PET attenuation correction by average CT), DDG PET (DDG PET attenuation correction by baseline CT), and DDG PET/CT (DDG PET attenuation correction by DDG CT) for registration and quantification without increasing the scan time for DDG PET. RESULTS: Compared with repeat PET/CT, cine CT had significantly lower scan coverage (32.5 ± 11.5 cm vs 15.4 ± 4.7 cm; P < .001) and effective radiation dose (3.7 ± 2.6 mSv vs 1.3 ± 0.6 mSv; P < .01). Repeat PET/CT and cine CT did not differ significantly in BMI or radiation exposure (P > .1). Cine CT saved the scan time for not needing a repeat PET. The SUV ratios of average PET/CT, DDG PET, and DDG PET/CT to baseline PET/CT were 1.14 ± 0.28, 1.28 ± 0.20, and 1.63 ± 0.64, respectively (P < .0001), suggesting that the SUVmax increased consecutively from baseline PET/CT to average PET/CT, DDG PET, and DDG PET/CT. Motion correction with DDG PET had a larger impact on quantification than registration improvement with average CT did. The biggest improvement in quantification was from DDG PET/CT, in which both registration was improved and motion was mitigated. CONCLUSION: Our new DDG PET/CT approach alleviates misregistration artifacts and, compared with DDG PET, improves quantification and registration. The use of cine CT in our DDG PET/CT method also reduces the effective radiation dose and scan coverage compared with repeat CT.

The Effect of Slice Thickness on Contours of Brain Metastases for Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

OBJECTIVES: Stereotactic radiosurgery is a common treatment for brain metastases and is typically planned on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the MR acquisition parameters used for patient selection and treatment planning for stereotactic radiosurgery can vary within and across institutions. In this work, we investigate the effect of MRI slice thickness on the detection and contoured volume of metastatic lesions in the brain. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective cohort of 28 images acquired with a slice thickness of 1 mm were resampled to simulate acquisitions at 2- and 3-mm slice thickness. A total of 102 metastases ranging from 0.0030 cc to 5.08 cc (75-percentile 0.36 cc) were contoured on the original images. All 3 sets of images were recontoured by experienced physicians. RESULTS: Of all the images detected and contoured on the 1 mm images, 3% of lesions were missed on the 2 mm images, and 13% were missed on the 3 mm images. One lesion that was identified on both the 2 mm and 3 mm images was determined to be a blood vessel on the 1 mm images. Additionally, the lesions were contoured 11% larger on the 2 mm and 43% larger on the 3 mm images. CONCLUSIONS: Using images with a slice thickness >1 mm effects detection and segmentation of brain lesions, which can have an important effect on patient management and treatment outcomes.

A simple method to quantify the coincidence between portal image graticules and radiation field centers or radiation isocenter.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a computerized method to quantify the coincidence between portal image graticules and radiation field centers or radiation isocenter. Three types of graticules were included in this study: Megavoltage (MV) mechanical graticule, MV electronic portal imaging device digital graticule, and kilovoltage (kV) on-board imaging digital graticule. METHODS: A metal ball bearing (BB) was imaged with MV and kV x-ray beams in a procedure similar to a Winston-Lutz test. The radiation fields, graticules, and BB were localized in eight portal images using Hough transform-based computer algorithms. The center of the BB served as a static reference point in the 3D space so that the distances between the graticule centers and the radiation field centers were calculated. The radiation isocenter was determined from the radiation field centers at different gantry angles. RESULTS: Misalignments of MV and kV portal imaging graticules varied with the gantry or x-ray source angle as a result of mechanical imperfections of the linear accelerator and its imaging system. While the three graticules in this study were aligned to the radiation field centers and the radiation isocenter within 2.0 mm, misalignments of 1.5-2.0 mm were found at certain gantry angles. These misalignments were highly reproducible with the gantry rotation. CONCLUSIONS: A simple method was developed to quantify the alignments of portal image graticules directly against the radiation field centers or the radiation isocenter. The advantage of this method is that it does not require the BB to be placed exactly at the radiation isocenter through a precalibrated surrogating device such as room lasers or light field crosshairs. The present method is useful for radiation therapy modalities that require high-precision portal imaging such as image-guided stereotactic radiotherapy.

Target definition of moving lung tumors in positron emission tomography: correlation of optimal activity concentration thresholds with object size, motion extent, and source-to-background ratio.

PURPOSE: Hardware integration of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) with computed tomography (CT) in combined PET/CT scanners has provided radiation oncologists and physicists with new possibilities for 3-D treatment simulation. The use of PET/CT simulation for target delineation of lung cancer is becoming popular and many studies concerning automatic segmentation of PET images have been performed. Several of these studies consider size and source-to-background (SBR) in their segmentation methods but neglect respiratory motion. The purpose of the current study was to develop a functional relationship between optimal activity concentration threshold, tumor volume, motion extent, and SBR using multiple regression techniques by performing an extensive series of phantom scans simulating tumors of varying sizes, SBR, and motion amplitudes. Segmented volumes on PET were compared with the "motion envelope" of the moving sphere defined on cine CT. METHODS: A NEMA IEC thorax phantom containing six spheres (inner diameters ranging from 10 to 37 mm) was placed on a motion platform and moved sinusoidally at 0-30 mm (at 5 mm intervals) and six different SBRs (ranging from 5:1 to 50:1), producing 252 combinations of experimental parameters. PET images were acquired for 18 min and split into three 6 min acquisitions for reproducibility. The spheres (blurred on PET images due to motion) were segmented at 1% of maximum activity concentration intervals. The optimal threshold was determined by comparing deviations between the threshold volume surfaces with a reference volume surface defined on cine CT. Optimal activity concentration thresholds were normalized to background and multiple regression was used to determine the relationship between optimal threshold, volume, motion, and SBR. Standardized regression coefficients were used to assess the relative influence of each variable. The segmentation model was applied to three lung cancer patients and segmented regions of interest were compared with those segmented on cine CT. RESULTS: The resulting model and coefficients provided a functional form that fit the phantom data with an adjusted R2 = 0.96. The most significant contributor to threshold level was SBR. Surfaces of PET-segmented volumes of three lung cancer patients were within 2 mm of the reference CT volumes on average. CONCLUSIONS: The authors successfully developed an expression for optimal activity concentration threshold as a function of object volume, motion, and SBR.

A quality assurance procedure to evaluate cone-beam CT image center congruence with the radiation isocenter of a linear accelerator.

A quality assurance (QA) procedure was developed to evaluate the congruence between the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) image center and the radiation isocenter on a Varian Trilogy linac. In contrast to the published QA procedures, this method did not require a ball bearing (BB) phantom to be placed exactly at the radiation isocenter through precalibrated room lasers or light field crosshairs. The only requirement was that the BB phantom be in a stationary position near the radiation isocenter during the image acquisition process. The radiation isocenter was determined with respect to the center of the BB using a Winston-Lutz test. The CBCT image center was found to have excellent short-term positional repro-ducibility (i.e., less than 0.1 mm of wobble in each of the x (lateral), y (vertical), and z (longitudinal) directions) in 10 consecutive acquisitions. Measured over a seven-month period, the CBCT image center deviated from the radiation isocenter by 0.40 ± 0.12 mm (x), 0.43 ± 0.04 mm (y), and 0.34 ± 0.14 mm (z). The z displacement of the 3D CBCT image center was highly correlated (ρ = 0.997) with that of the 2D kV portal image center. The correlation coefficients in the x and y directions were poor (ρ = 0.66 and -0.35, respectively). Systematic discrepancies were found between the CBCT image center and the 2D MV, kV portal image centers. For the linear accelerator studied, we detected a 0.8 mm discrepancy between the CBCT image center and the MV EPID image center in the anterior-posterior direction.This discrepancy was demonstrated in a clinical case study where the patient was positioned with CBCT followed by MV portal verification. The results from the new QA procedure are useful for guiding high-precision patient positioning in stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Dosimetric comparison of inverse and forward planning for Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery of brain metastases.

The Leksell GammaPlan (LGP) with an inverse planning (IP) tool has been upgraded to version 11.1 since its launch in 2010. We evaluated its IP planning performance by re-planning 16 targets that had been planned using forward planning (FP). The FP and IP plans were compared. A planning guideline for IP process was developed aiming for an unbiased comparison. Sixteen brain metastases (BMs) without nearby critical structures were included in the study (size > 1 cm for all targets). All prior FP were re-planned in the LGP using IP and maintaining the same beam-on time and coverage. The dose to all the targets was scaled to 20 Gy in a single fraction at 50% isodose line (IDL) for FP and IP comparison purpose. The coverage and beam-on time were nearly the same for both the FP and IP plans. For all the IP plans, the mean selectivity was 0.85 ± 0.04 (vs 0.83 ± 0.04 in FP plans, p = 0.02), the mean GI was 2.92 ± 0.21 (vs 3.18 ± 0.60 in FP plans, p = 0.047), the mean V12Gy was 8.18 ± 8.57 cc (vs 9.09 ± 9.08 cc in FP plans, p = 0.001), the mean V8Gy was 14.63 ± 15.14 cc (vs 16.34 ± 16.17 cc in FP plans, p = 0.001), and the mean V5Gy was 29.01 ± 28.77 cc (vs 32.77 ± 31.41 cc in FP plans, p = 0.001). The number of shots was higher in IP plans (means of 16.69 ± 8.11 vs 10.81 ± 6.87 in FP plans, p = 0.001). We retrospectively re-planned 16 FP plans using the IP tool while meeting the quality limiting factors for the FP plans. The dosimetry parameters from the IP plans outperformed the treated FP plans and the IP tool should be preferred for tumors with size > 1 cm.

Technical Note: Impact on central frequency and noise magnitude ratios by advanced CT image reconstruction techniques.

PURPOSE: We use central frequency ratio and noise magnitude ratio from noise power spectrum (NPS) to evaluate the noise reduction techniques of ASiR and ASiR-V of GE, SAFIRE and ADMIRE of Siemens, and PixelShine of AlgoMedica. ASiR, ASiR-V, SAFIRE and ADMIRE use a combination of image and projection data whereas PixelShine uses artificial intelligence neural network for noise reduction. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The homogeneous module of the ACR computed tomography (CT) phantom was scanned on a GE Revolution HD 64-slice CT for ASiR and ASiR-V, a Siemens Somatom Force for ADMIRE, and a Siemens Definition AS 64-slice for SAFIRE for NPS calculation. The baseline filtered back-projection (FBP) reconstructions were derived from the standard kernel on Revolution HD, Hr44f on Force and D40s on Definition AS. The central frequency ratio (CFR) indicates the degree of shift in the central frequency of NPS after noise reduction. A smaller CFR means a larger shift of the NPS curve, or a larger degree of image blurring. The noise magnitude ratio (NMR) indicates the amount of noise removed. A smaller NMR means a larger degree of noise reduction. An ideal noise reduction shall maintain a CFR close to 1 and a NMR close to 0. RESULTS: The ideal noise reduction by increasing radiation exposure did not shift the central frequency when the image noise was reduced. PixelShine was the closest to the ideal noise reduction in CFR, and was followed by SAFIRE, ASiR-V, ADMIRE and ASiR, in sequence. Similarly, PixelShine had the smallest NMR, and was followed by SAFIRE, ASiR-V, ADMIRE and ASiR in sequence. Overall, PixelShine had the least central frequency shift for the same amount of noise reduction or the most noise reduction for the same amount of central frequency shift. For the same CFR, ASiR-V reduced more noise than ASiR; and SAFIRE reduced more noise than ADMIRE. CONCLUSIONS: We introduced two new parameters of CFR and NMR from NPS to compare the reconstructions from different manufacturers. PixelShine had the least central frequency shift for the same amount of noise reduction or the most noise reduction for the same amount of central frequency shift. For the same central frequency shift, ASiR-V reduced more noise than ASiR, and SAFIRE reduced more noise than ADMIRE.