Physical evaluation of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) scan methods and conditions for improvement of carbon beam distribution.
To reduce errors in the carbon beam distribution between the treatment planning system and the actual situation, we evaluated the geometrical accuracy, volume accuracy, water-equivalent length (WEL), and treatment planning, and compared the results of evaluation of axial and helical scan methods with various scan parameters. The results indicated that both scan methods showed good geometrical accuracy for thin slice images, but for thick slice images it is easier to understand the phantom as a sphere from the helical as compared with the axial scan. Treatment planning with a thin slice thickness (ST) provided accurate dose distribution for both scan methods, and the dose distribution on the treatment planning system was almost the same as that in the actual situation. Not all institutes, however, can obtain thin slice CT images, and some have used thick slice CT images in planning. For the axial scan, such thick slice images induced differences in dose distribution between treatment planning and the actual situation. Helical scans with a small, reconstructed increment reduced these differences even with relatively thick CT images. To achieve a more accurate dose distribution, radiation therapy planning should be performed using a thin ST for both scan methods or the helical scan with a small, reconstructed increment. Although we reached this conclusion using a carbon beam, it also may be applicable to proton beam therapy.