Brief histories of medical physics in Asia-Oceania.

The history of medical physics in Asia-Oceania goes back to the late nineteenth century when X-ray imaging was introduced, although medical physicists were not appointed until much later. Medical physics developed very quickly in some countries, but in others the socio-economic situation as such prevented it being established for many years. In others, the political situation and war has impeded its development. In many countries their medical physics history has not been well recorded and there is a danger that it will be lost to future generations. In this paper, brief histories of the development of medical physics in most countries in Asia-Oceania are presented by a large number of authors to serve as a record. The histories are necessarily brief; otherwise the paper would quickly turn into a book of hundreds of pages. The emphasis in each history as recorded here varies as the focus and culture of the countries as well as the length of their histories varies considerably.

Optimal sensitometric curves of Kodak EDR2 film for dynamic intensity modulated radiation therapy verification.

PURPOSE: To investigate the optimal sensitometric curves of extended dose range (EDR2) radiographic film in terms of depth, field size, dose range and processing conditions for dynamic intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) dosimetry verification with 6 MV X-ray beams. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Varian Clinac 23 EX linear accelerator with 6 MV X-ray beam was used to study the response of Kodak EDR2 film. Measurements were performed at depths of 5, 10 and 15 cm in MedTec virtual water phantom and with field sizes of 2x2, 3x3, 10x10 and 15x15 cm(2). Doses ranging from 20 to 450 cGy were used. The film was developed with the Kodak RP X-OMAT Model M6B automatic film processor. Film response was measured with the Vidar model VXR-16 scanner. Sensitometric curves were applied to the dose profiles measured with film at 5 cm in the virtual water phantom with field sizes of 2x2 and 10x10 cm(2) and compared with ion chamber data. Scanditronix/Wellhofer OmniPro(TM) IMRT software was used for the evaluation of the IMRT plan calculated by Eclipse treatment planning. RESULTS: Investigation of the reproducibility and accuracy of the film responses, which depend mainly on the film processor, was carried out by irradiating one film nine times with doses of 20 to 450 cGy. A maximum standard deviation of 4.9% was found which decreased to 1.9% for doses between 20 and 200 cGy. The sensitometric curves for various field sizes at fixed depth showed a maximum difference of 4.2% between 2x2 and 15x15 cm(2) at 5 cm depth with a dose of 450 cGy. The shallow depth tended to show a greater effect of field size responses than the deeper depths. The sensitometric curves for various depths at fixed field size showed slightly different film responses; the difference due to depth was within 1.8% for all field sizes studied. Both field size and depth effect were reduced when the doses were lower than 450 cGy. The difference was within 2.5% in the dose range from 20 to 300 cGy for all field sizes and depths studied. Dose profiles measured with EDR2 film were consistent with those measured with an ion chamber. The optimal sensitometric curve was acquired by irradiating film at a depth of 5 cm with doses ranging from 20 to 450 cGy with a 3×3 cm(2) multileaf collimator. The optimal sensitometric curve allowed accurate determination of the absolute dose distribution. In almost 200 cases of dynamic IMRT plan verification with EDR2 film, the difference between measured and calculated dose was generally less than 3% and with 3 mm distance to agreement when using gamma value verification. CONCLUSION: EDR2 film can be used for accurate verification of composite isodose distributions of dynamic IMRT when the optimal sensitometric curve has been established.

Measurements of patient's setup variation in intensity-modulated radiation therapy of head and neck cancer using electronic portal imaging device.

PURPOSE: To measure the interfraction setup variation of patient undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of head and neck cancer. The data was used to define adequate treatment CTV-to-PTV margin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During March to September 2006, data was collected from 9 head and neck cancer patients treated with dynamic IMRT using 6 MV X-ray beam from Varian Clinac 23EX. Weekly portal images of setup fields which were anterior-posterior and lateral portal images were acquired for each patient with an amorphous silicon EPID, Varian aS500. These images were matched with the reference image from Varian Acuity simulator using the Varis vision software (Version 7.3.10). Six anatomical landmarks were selected for comparison. The displacement of portal image from the reference image was recorded in X (Left-Right, L-R), Y (Superior-Inferior, S-I) direction for anterior field and Z (Anterior-Posterior, A-P), Y (S-I) direction for lateral field. The systematic and random error for individual and population were calculated. Then the population-based margins were obtained. RESULTS: A total of 135 images (27 simulation images and 108 portal images) and 405 match points was evaluated. The systematic error ranged from 0 to 7.5 mm and the random error ranged from 0.3 to 4.8 mm for all directions. The population-based margin ranged from 2.3 to 4.5 mm (L-R), 3.5 to 4.9 mm (S-I) for anterior field and 3.4 to 4.7 mm (A-P), 2.6 to 3.7 mm (S-I) for the lateral field. These margins were comparable to the margin that was prescribed at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (5-10 mm) for head and neck cancer. CONCLUSION: The population-based margin is less than 5 mm, thus the margin provides sufficient coverage for all of the patients.

Intracranial germ cell tumors: experience in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

A retrospective study was performed on 69 patients with intracranial germ cell tumors who were treated at the Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from 1990 to 2000. Median age was 15 years. Forty-two cases (60.87%) had histologically confirmed germinoma or nongerminomatous germ cell tumors. Germinoma was the predominate histology followed by mixed germ cell tumors. Pineal and suprasellar regions were the two leading sites, hydrocephalus (85.5%) and diplopia (57.97%) were the two most common clinical presentations. Only 13 cases had the result of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology or magnetic resonance imagine (MRI) of the spine before initial treatment. Serum tumor markers, Alpha fetoprotein and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, were available in 66.67 per cent. Total or partial tumor removal were feasible in 24 cases. Whole brain irradiation was given in almost all cases with the median dose of 3,600 cGy. The median total tumor dose was 5,400 cGy. Whole spine radiation was utilized in 17 cases. The mean follow-up time was 41 months. The five-year disease free survival was 73.59 per cent. Overall 3 and 5 year survival rates were 86.45 per cent and 81.64 per cent, respectively.

Results of radiation therapy in stage 1B cervical carcinoma at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital: fifteen-year experience.

A retrospective study was performed on 131 patients with stage 1B cervical carcinoma who were referred and treated with external beam radiation and intracavitary brachytherapy at the Division of Radiation Therapy, Department of Radiology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between February 1985 and February 2000. Primary outcomes were overall survival rate, progression free survival rate, recurrence, and treatment-related complications. The treatment results from different sources of intracavitary radiation therapy were secondary endpoints. The number of patients treated with Ra-226, Cs-137, and Ir-192 intracavitary irradiation were 12, 84, and 35 patients respectively. The median follow-up times were 69, 59, and 21 months for Ra-226, Cs-137, and Ir-192, respectively. Actuarial 5-year overall survival rate was 89 per cent. The 5-year progression free survival rate was 80 per cent. Actuarial 5-year survival and progression free survival rate were comparable among different sources of intracavitary brachytherapy (p = 0.553 and p=0.793, respectively). The overall recurrent rate was 16.8 per cent. Of the recurrence; 40.9 per cent was locoregional, 54.6 per cent was distant failure, and 4.5 per cent was combined locoregional and distant failure. The overall complication rate was 25.95 per cent. The severe complication rates (Grade III-V) from treatment occurred in the urinary bladder (0.76%) and in the small bowel (0.76%.) These results suggest that radiation therapy alone is an effective treatment for stage 1B cervical carcinoma. Additionally, all types of intracavitary brachytherapy provide comparable clinical results.