Poster - Thur Eve - 05: Safety systems and failure modes and effects analysis for a magnetic resonance image guided radiation therapy system.

INTRODUCTION: An online Magnetic Resonance guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT) system is under development. The system is comprised of an MRI with the capability of travel between and into HDR brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy vaults. The system will provide on-line MR images immediately prior to radiation therapy. The MR images will be registered to a planning image and used for image guidance. With the intention of system safety we have performed a failure modes and effects analysis. METHODS: A process tree of the facility function was developed. Using the process tree as well as an initial design of the facility as guidelines possible failure modes were identified, for each of these failure modes root causes were identified. For each possible failure the assignment of severity, detectability and occurrence scores was performed. Finally suggestions were developed to reduce the possibility of an event. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: The process tree consists of nine main inputs and each of these main inputs consisted of 5 - 10 sub inputs and tertiary inputs were also defined. The process tree ensures that the overall safety of the system has been considered. Several possible failure modes were identified and were relevant to the design, construction, commissioning and operating phases of the facility. The utility of the analysis can be seen in that it has spawned projects prior to installation and has lead to suggestions in the design of the facility.

Radio frequency shielding for a linac-MRI system.

The real-time operation of a linac-MRI system will require proper radio frequency (RF) shielding such that the MRI images can be acquired without extraneous RF noise from the linac. We report on the steps taken to successfully shield the linac from the MRI such that the two devices can operate independently of one another. RF power density levels are reported internally and externally to the RF cage which houses the linac and MRI. The shielding effectiveness of the RF cage has been measured in the frequency range 1-50 MHz and is presented. Lastly MRI images of two phantoms are presented during linac operation. This work illustrates that the accelerating structure of a linac and an MRI can be housed within the same RF cage. The 6 MV linac can be operated to produce radiation with no measurable degradation in image quality due to RF effects.

Radio frequency noise from an MLC: a feasibility study of the use of an MLC for linac-MR systems.

Currently several groups are actively researching the integration of a megavoltage teletherapy unit with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for real-time image-guided radiotherapy. The use of a multileaf collimator (MLC) for intensity-modulated radiotherapy for linac-MR units must be investigated. The MLC itself will likely reside in the fringe field of the MR and the motors will produce radio frequency (RF) noise. The RF noise power spectral density from a Varian 52-leaf MLC motor, a Varian Millennium MLC motor and a brushless fan motor has been measured as a function of the applied magnetic field using a near field probe set. For the Varian 52-leaf MLC system, the RF noise produced by 13 of 52 motors is studied as a function of distance from the MLC. Data are reported in the frequency range suitable for 0.2-1.5 T linac-MR systems. Below 40 MHz the Millennium MLC motor tested showed more noise than the Varian 52-leaf motor or the brushless fan motor. The brushless motor showed a small dependence on the applied magnetic field. Images of a phantom were taken by the prototype linac-MR system with the MLC placed in close proximity to the magnet. Several orientations of the MLC in both shielded and non-shielded configurations were studied. For the case of a non-shielded MLC and associated cables, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was reduced when 13 of 52 MLC leaves were moved during imaging. When the MLC and associated cables were shielded, the measured SNR of the images with 13 MLC leaves moving was experimentally the same as the SNR of the stationary MLC image. When the MLC and cables are shielded, subtraction images acquired with and without MLC motion contains no systematic signal. This study illustrates that the small RF noise produced by functioning MLC motors can be effectively shielded to avoid SNR degradation. A functioning MLC can be incorporated into a linac-MR unit.

Radio frequency noise from clinical linear accelerators.

There is a great deal of interest in image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), and to advance the state of IGRT, an integrated linear accelerator-magnetic resonance (linac-MR) system has been proposed. Knowledge of the radiofrequency (RF) emissions near a linac is important for the design of appropriate RF shielding to facilitate the successful integration of these two devices. The frequency spectra of both electric and magnetic fields of RF emission are measured using commercially available measurement probes near the treatment couch in three clinical linac vaults with distinct physical layouts. The magnitude spectrum of the RF power emitted from these three linacs is then estimated. The electric field spectrum was also measured at several distances from the linac modulator in order to assess the effects of variations in spatial location in the treatment vault. A large fraction of RF power is emitted at frequencies below 5 MHz. However, the measured RF power at the Larmor frequency (8.5 MHz) of the proposed 0.2 T MR in the linac-MR (0.4-14.6 microW m(-2)) is still large enough to cause artifacts in MR images. Magnetron-based linacs generally emit much larger RF power than klystron-based linacs. In the frequency range of 1-50 MHz, only slight variation in the measured electric field is observed as a function of measurement position. This study suggests that the RF emissions are strong enough to cause image artifacts in MRI systems.

Sci-Thurs PM: Delivery-08: Investigation of the source of RF noise from a modulator for an MR-linac project.

INTRODUCTION: The next significant step in the advancement of IGRT is the integration of an MRI with a linac. The MRI-linac will provide images with exquisite soft tissue contrast in real-time during treatment. A possible problem associated with the proposed integration is the RF noise generated by the linac. This noise could interfere with the received signals of the MRI producing deleterious effects in the image quality. The work herein is concerned with understanding the processes involved in the RF noise production and the magnitude and frequency of this RF noise in the modulator of a linac. MATERIALS/METHODS: A software programming environment, MultiSIM, was used to model the electronic components of a modulator. Several Current and Voltage waveforms from the modulator were measured with an oscilloscope and compared with the corresponding results from the modulator model for validation. Finally, RF noise generated by the modulator was measured using field probes, which permits the frequency components of the measured and simulated modulator waveforms to be compared with the measured RF noise. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: The modeled PFN charging current and voltage, and klystron current show good agreement with measurements, with the exception of the tail of the klystron voltage signal. Once the model has been validated in both the time and frequency domains, future work will entail predicting pulse shape changes when, and if, modifications to the modulator are made. Specifically, modifications will be made which shift and/or reduce the RF noise in the frequency range of interest for a 0.2T MRI.

Measurement of the cascade transition via the first excited state of 16O in the 12C(alpha,gamma)16O reaction, and its S factor in stellar helium burning.

Radiative alpha-particle capture into the first excited, J(pi)=0+ state of 16O at 6.049 MeV excitation energy has rarely been discussed as contributing to the 12C(alpha,gamma)16O reaction cross section due to experimental difficulties in observing this transition. We report here measurements of this radiative capture in 12C(alpha,gamma)16O for center-of-mass energies of E=2.22 MeV to 5.42 MeV at the DRAGON recoil separator. To determine cross sections, the acceptance of the recoil separator has been simulated in GEANT as well as measured directly. The transition strength between resonances has been identified in R-matrix fits as resulting both from E2 contributions as well as E1 radiative capture. Details of the extrapolation of the total cross section to low energies are then discussed [S6.0(300)=25(-15)(+16) keV b] showing that this transition is likely the most important cascade contribution for 12C(alpha,gamma)16O.

21Na(p,gamma)22Mg reaction and oxygen-neon novae.

The 21Na(p,gamma)22Mg reaction is expected to play an important role in the nucleosynthesis of 22Na in oxygen-neon novae. The decay of 22Na leads to the emission of a characteristic 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line. This report provides the first direct measurement of the rate of this reaction using a radioactive 21Na beam, and discusses its astrophysical implications. The energy of the important state was measured to be E(c.m.)=205.7+/-0.5 keV with a resonance strength omegagamma=1.03+/-0.16(stat)+/-0.14(sys) meV.