Prompt gamma imaging for the identification of regional proton range deviations due to anatomic change in a heterogeneous region.

OBJECTIVES: Prompt gamma (PG) imaging has previously been demonstrated for use in proton range verification of a brain treatment with a homogeneous target region. In this study, the feasibility of PG imaging to detect anatomic change within a heterogeneous region is presented. METHODS: A prompt gamma camera recorded several fractions of a patient treatment to the base of skull. An evaluation CT revealed a decrease in sinus cavity filling during the treatment course. Comparison of PG profiles between measurement and simulation was performed to investigate range variations between planned and measured pencil beam spot positions. RESULTS: For one field, an average over range of 3 mm due to the anatomic change could be detected for a subset of spots traversing the sinus cavity region. The two other fields appeared less impacted by the change but predicted range variations could not be detected. These results were partially consistent with the simulations of the evaluation CT. CONCLUSION: We report the first clinical application of PG imaging that detected some of the expected small regional proton range deviations due to anatomic change in a heterogeneous region. However, several limitations exist with the technology that may limit its sensitivity to detect range deviations in heterogeneous regions. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: We report on the first detection of range variations due to anatomic change in a heterogeneous region using PGI. The results confirm the feasibility of using PG-based range verification in highly heterogeneous target regions to identify deviations from the treatment plan.

Prompt Gamma Imaging for In Vivo Range Verification of Pencil Beam Scanning Proton Therapy.

PURPOSE: To report the first clinical results and value assessment of prompt gamma imaging for in vivo proton range verification in pencil beam scanning mode. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A stand-alone, trolley-mounted, prototype prompt gamma camera utilizing a knife-edge slit collimator design was used to record the prompt gamma signal emitted along the proton tracks during delivery of proton therapy for a brain cancer patient. The recorded prompt gamma depth detection profiles of individual pencil beam spots were compared with the expected profiles simulated from the treatment plan. RESULTS: In 6 treatment fractions recorded over 3 weeks, the mean (± standard deviation) range shifts aggregated over all spots in 9 energy layers were -0.8 ± 1.3 mm for the lateral field, 1.7 ± 0.7 mm for the right-superior-oblique field, and -0.4 ± 0.9 mm for the vertex field. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the feasibility and illustrates the distinctive benefits of prompt gamma imaging in pencil beam scanning treatment mode. Accuracy in range verification was found in this first clinical case to be better than the range uncertainty margin applied in the treatment plan. These first results lay the foundation for additional work toward tighter integration of the system for in vivo proton range verification and quantification of range uncertainties.

Using CBCT for pretreatment range check in proton therapy: a phantom study for prostate treatment by anterior-posterior beam.

This study explores the potential of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for monitoring relative beam range variations due to daily changes in patient anatomy for prostate treatment by anterior proton beams. CBCT was used to image an anthropomorphic pelvic phantom, in eight sessions on eight different days. In each session, the phantom was scanned twice, first at a standard position as determined by the room lasers, and then after it was shifted by 10 mm translation randomly along one of the X, Y, or Z directions. The filling of the phantom bladder with water was not refreshed from day to day, inducing gradual change of the water-equivalent path length (WEPL) across the bladder. MIMvista (MIM) software was used to perform image registration and re-alignment of all the scans with the scan from the first session. The XiO treatment planning system was used to perform data analysis. It was found that, although the Hounsfield unit numbers in CBCT have substantially larger fluctuations than those in diagnostic CT, CBCT datasets taken for daily patient positioning could potentially be used to monitor changes in patient anatomy. The reproducibility of the WEPL, computed using CBCT along anterior-posterior (AP) paths across and around the phantom prostate, over a volume of 360 cc, is sufficient for detecting daily WEPL variations that are equal to or larger than 3 mm. This result also applies to CBCT scans of the phantom after it is randomly shifted from the treatment position by 10 mm. limiting the interest to WEPL variation over a specific path within the same CBCT slice, one can detect WEPL variation smaller than 1 mm. That is the case when using CBCT for tracking daily change of the WEPL across the phantom bladder that was induced by spontaneous change in the bladder filling due to evaporation. In summary, the phantom study suggests that CBCT can be used for monitoring day to day WEPL variations in a patient. The method can detect WEPL variation equal to or greater than 3 mm. The study calls for further investigation using the CBCT data from real patients. If confirmed with real patients' data, CBCT could become, in addition to patient setup, a standard tool for proton therapy pretreatment beam range check.

A comparison of the dose distributions from three proton treatment planning systems in the planning of meningioma patients with single-field uniform dose pencil beam scanning.

With the number of new proton centers increasing rapidly, there is a need for an assessment of the available proton treatment planning systems (TPSs). This study compares the dose distributions of complex meningioma plans produced by three proton TPSs: Eclipse, Pinnacle3, and XiO. All three systems were commissioned with the same beam data and, as best as possible, matched configuration settings. Proton treatment plans for ten patients were produced on each system with a pencil beam scanning, single-field uniform dose approach, using a fixed horizontal beamline. All 30 plans were subjected to identical dose constraints, both for the target coverage and organ at risk (OAR) sparing, with a consistent order of priority. Beam geometry, lateral field margins, and lateral spot resolutions were made consistent across all systems. Few statistically significant differences were found between the target coverage and OAR sparing of each system, with all optimizers managing to produce plans within clinical tolerances (D2 < 107% of prescribed dose, D5 < 105%, D95 > 95%, D99 > 90%, and OAR maximum doses) despite strict constraints and overlapping structures.

Proton radiography and proton computed tomography based on time-resolved dose measurements.

We present a proof of principle study of proton radiography and proton computed tomography (pCT) based on time-resolved dose measurements. We used a prototype, two-dimensional, diode-array detector capable of fast dose rate measurements, to acquire proton radiographic images expressed directly in water equivalent path length (WEPL). The technique is based on the time dependence of the dose distribution delivered by a proton beam traversing a range modulator wheel in passive scattering proton therapy systems. The dose rate produced in the medium by such a system is periodic and has a unique pattern in time at each point along the beam path and thus encodes the WEPL. By measuring the time dose pattern at the point of interest, the WEPL to this point can be decoded. If one measures the time­dose patterns at points on a plane behind the patient for a beam with sufficient energy to penetrate the patient, the obtained 2D distribution of the WEPL forms an image. The technique requires only a 2D dosimeter array and it uses only the clinical beam for a fraction of second with negligible dose to patient. We first evaluated the accuracy of the technique in determining the WEPL for static phantoms aiming at beam range verification of the brain fields of medulloblastoma patients. Accurate beam ranges for these fields can significantly reduce the dose to the cranial skin of the patient and thus the risk of permanent alopecia. Second, we investigated the potential features of the technique for real-time imaging of a moving phantom. Real-time tumor tracking by proton radiography could provide more accurate validations of tumor motion models due to the more sensitive dependence of proton beam on tissue density compared to x-rays. Our radiographic technique is rapid (~100 ms) and simultaneous over the whole field, it can image mobile tumors without the problem of interplay effect inherently challenging for methods based on pencil beams. Third, we present the reconstructed pCT images of a cylindrical phantom containing inserts of different materials. As for all conventional pCT systems, the method illustrated in this work produces tomographic images that are potentially more accurate than x-ray CT in providing maps of proton relative stopping power (RSP) in the patient without the need for converting x-ray Hounsfield units to proton RSP. All phantom tests produced reasonable results, given the currently limited spatial and time resolution of the prototype detector. The dose required to produce one radiographic image, with the current settings, is ~0.7 cGy. Finally, we discuss a series of techniques to improve the resolution and accuracy of radiographic and tomographic images for the future development of a full-scale detector.

Effect of tissue heterogeneity on an in vivo range verification technique for proton therapy.

It was proposed recently that time-resolved dose measurements during proton therapy treatment by passively scattered beams may be used for in vivo range verification. The method was shown to work accurately in a water tank. In this paper, we further evaluated the potential of the method for more clinically relevant situations where proton beams must pass through regions with significant tissue heterogeneities. Specifically, we considered prostate treatment where the use of anterior or anterior- oblique fields was recently proposed in order to reduce rectal dose by taking advantage of the sharp distal fall-off of the Bragg peak. These beam portals pass through various parts of pubic bone and potential air cavities in the bladder and bowels. Using blocks of materials with densities equivalent to bone, air, etc, arranged in the water tank in relevant configurations, we tested the robustness of the method against range shifting and range mixing. In the former, the beam range is changed uniformly by changes in tissue density in the beam path, while in the latter, variations in tissue heterogeneities across the beam cross section causes the mixing of beam energies downstream, as often occurs when the beam travels along the interface of materials with significantly different densities. We demonstrated that in the region of interest, the method can measure water-equivalent path length with accuracy better than ±0.5 mm for pure range shifting and still reasonable accuracy for range mixing between close beam energies. In situations with range mixing between significantly different beam energies, the dose rate profiles may be simulated for verifying the beam range. We also found that the above performances can be obtained with very small amount of dose (<0.5 cGy), if silicon diodes are used as detectors. This makes the method suitable for in vivo range verification prior to each treatment delivery.