Dosimetric evaluation of the Leksell GammaPlan™ Convolution dose calculation algorithm.

The dosimetric accuracy of the Leksell GammaPlan Convolution calculation algorithm was evaluated through comparison with corresponding Monte Carlo (MC) dosimetric results. MC simulations were based on generated sector phase space files for the 4 mm, 8 mm and 16 mm collimator sizes, using a previous comprehensive Gamma Knife Perfexion™ source model and validated using film dosimetry. Test cases were designed for the evaluation of the Convolution algorithm involving irradiation of homogeneous and inhomogeneous phantom geometries mimicking clinical cases, with radiation fields created using one sector (single sector), all sectors with the same (single shot) or different (composite shot) collimator sizes. Dose calculations using the Convolution algorithm were found to be in excellent agreement (gamma pass rate greater than 98%, applying 1%/1 mm local dose difference and distance agreement criteria), with corresponding MC calculations, indicating the accuracy of the Convolution algorithm in homogeneous and heterogeneous model geometries. While of minor clinical importance, large deviations were observed for the voxels laying inside air media. The calculated beam on times using the Convolution algorithm were found to increase (up to 7%) relative to the TMR 10 algorithm currently used in clinical practice, especially in a test case mimicking a brain metastasis close to the skull, in excellent agreement with corresponding MC calculations.

Monte Carlo calculated and experimentally determined output correction factors for small field detectors in Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion beams.

The measurement of output factors (OF) for the small photon beams generated by Leksell Gamma Knife® (LGK) radiotherapy units is a challenge for the physicist due to the under or over estimation of these factors by a vast majority of the detectors commercially available. Output correction factors, introduced in the international formalism published by Alfonso (2008 Med. Phys. 35 5179-86), standardize the determination of OFs for small photon beams by correcting detector-reading ratios to yield OFs in terms of absorbed-dose ratios. In this work output correction factors for a number of detectors have been determined for LGK Perfexion™ (60)Co γ-ray beams by Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and measurements. The calculations were made with the MC system PENELOPE, scoring the energy deposited in the active volume of the detectors and in a small volume of water; the detectors simulated were two silicon diodes, one liquid ionization chamber (LIC), alanine and TLD. The calculated LIC output correction factors were within ± 0.4%, and this was selected as the reference detector for experimental determinations where output correction factors for twelve detectors were measured, normalizing their readings to those of the LIC. The MC-calculated and measured output correction factors for silicon diodes yielded corrections of up to 5% for the smallest LGK collimator size of 4 mm diameter. The air ionization chamber measurements led to extremely large output correction factors, caused by the well-known effect of partial volume averaging. The corrections were up to 7% for the natural diamond detector in the 4 mm collimator, also due to partial volume averaging, and decreased to within about ± 0.6% for the smaller synthetic diamond detector. The LIC, showing the smallest corrections, was used to investigate machine-to-machine output factor differences by performing measurements in four LGK units with different dose rates. These resulted in OFs within ± 0.6% and ± 0.2% for the 4 mm and 8 mm collimators, respectively, providing evidence for the use of generic OFs for these LGK beams. Using the experimentally derived output correction factors, OFs can be measured using a wide range of commercially available detectors.

A simple scoring ratio to index the conformity of radiosurgical treatment plans. Technical note.

A conformity index is a measure of how well the volume of a radiosurgical dose distribution conforms to the size and shape of a target volume. Because the success of radiosurgery is related to the extremely conformal irradiation of the target, an accurate method for describing this parameter is important. Existing conformity ratios and indices used in radiosurgery are reviewed and criticized. It will be demonstrated that previously proposed measurements of conformity can, under certain conditions, give false perfect scores. A new conformity index is derived that gives an objective score of conformity for a treatment plan and gives no false scores. An analysis of five different treatment plans is made using both the existing scoring methods and the new conformity index.

Errors in three-dimensional doses calculated from a two-dimensional database--case report: wedged fields at 6 MV.

This report discusses the calculation of x-ray doses in three dimensions using a treatment planning database which was measured in two dimensions only. It concerns the common assumption that wedged field profiles in the non-wedged direction are similar to open-field profiles for the same field size and depth. It shows the extent to which this assumption can lead to errors in wedge dose calculation for both solid and dynamically wedged fields on Varian linear accelerators at 6 MV. Finally it shows that this assumption tends to produce more accurate results when used to calculate doses for dynamically wedged fields and why, even in the wedged direction, some of the simpler treatment planning algorithms are more suitable for dynamic wedges than they are for solid wedges.

Active minimisation of radiation scatter during breast radiotherapy: management implications for young patients with good-prognosis primary neoplasms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Radiotherapy is used to reverse or prevent local tumour growth but is also a carcinogen in its own right. A recent audit of post-radiotherapy second malignancies in this institution revealed a striking preponderance of tumours originating near the outside edge of the treatment field. Since this finding suggests the existence of a critical subtherapeutic dose range predisposing to tumourigenesis, we attempted to define and reduce this radiation scatter dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We undertook a dosimetric review of 6 MV scatter from a linear accelerator in sites matching the putative tumourigenic region, and then extended this analysis to patients and tissue phantoms. RESULTS: A wide range of radiation scatter doses was confirmed-for example, doses 3 cm from the field edge varied from 1.7 to 22% of the therapeutic dose depending upon the field parameters. Scatter doses were then assessed in a sample of eight patients undergoing standard breast radiotherapy. Contralateral breast sites 4-12 cm from the midline received 4-10% of the therapeutic dose, or 200-500 cGy for a 50 Gy treatment, approximating historical estimates of the tumourigenic range. The deep component of this scatter dose from medial field breast irradiation was reduced 19% simply by replacing the 15 degrees medial tangential field wedge with a 30 degrees lateral wedge. Other manoeuvres which reduced contralateral breast dose by up to 46% included making the posterior field edges co-planar and shielding the breast during medial field irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the risk of radiogenic second malignancies could be significantly decreased by careful attention to the treatment details. Greater awareness of these measures may prove particularly relevant to the conservative management of young patients with good-prognosis breast neoplasms such as ductal carcinoma in situ.