Biomedical subjects

Stella Flampouri

Publications and source records attributed to Stella Flampouri.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Estimation of the delivered patient dose in lung IMRT treatment based on deformable registration of 4D-CT data and Monte Carlo simulations.

The purpose of this study is to accurately estimate the difference between the planned and the delivered dose due to respiratory motion and free breathing helical CT artefacts for lung IMRT treatments, and to estimate the impact of this difference on clinical outcome. Six patients with representative tumour motion, size and position were selected for this retrospective study. For each patient, we had acquired both a free breathing helical CT and a ten-phase 4D-CT scan. A commercial treatment planning system was used to create four IMRT plans for each patient. The first two plans were based on the GTV as contoured on the free breathing helical CT set, with a GTV to PTV expansion of 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm, respectively. The third plan was based on the ITV, a composite volume formed by the union of the CTV volumes contoured on free breathing helical CT, end-of-inhale (EOI) and end-of-exhale (EOE) 4D-CT. The fourth plan was based on GTV contoured on the EOE 4D-CT. The prescribed dose was 60 Gy for all four plans. Fluence maps and beam setup parameters of the IMRT plans were used by the Monte Carlo dose calculation engine MCSIM for absolute dose calculation on both the free breathing CT and 4D-CT data. CT deformable registration between the breathing phases was performed to estimate the motion trajectory for both the tumour and healthy tissue. Then, a composite dose distribution over the whole breathing cycle was calculated as a final estimate of the delivered dose. EUD values were computed on the basis of the composite dose for all four plans. For the patient with the largest motion effect, the difference in the EUD of CTV between the planed and the delivered doses was 33, 11, 1 and 0 Gy for the first, second, third and fourth plan, respectively. The number of breathing phases required for accurate dose prediction was also investigated. With the advent of 4D-CT, deformable registration and Monte Carlo simulations, it is feasible to perform an accurate calculation of the delivered dose, and compare our delivered dose with doses estimated using prior techniques.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2006

On dose distribution comparison.

In radiotherapy practice, one often needs to compare two dose distributions. Especially with the wide clinical implementation of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, software tools for quantitative dose (or fluence) distribution comparison are required for patient-specific quality assurance. Dose distribution comparison is not a trivial task since it has to be performed in both dose and spatial domains in order to be clinically relevant. Each of the existing comparison methods has its own strengths and weaknesses and there is room for improvement. In this work, we developed a general framework for comparing dose distributions. Using a new concept called maximum allowed dose difference (MADD), the comparison in both dose and spatial domains can be performed entirely in the dose domain. Formulae for calculating MADD values for various comparison methods, such as composite analysis and gamma index, have been derived. For convenience in clinical practice, a new measure called normalized dose difference (NDD) has also been proposed, which is the dose difference at a point scaled by the ratio of MADD to the predetermined dose acceptance tolerance. Unlike the simple dose difference test, NDD works in both low and high dose gradient regions because it considers both dose and spatial acceptance tolerances through MADD. The new method has been applied to a test case and a clinical example. It was found that the new method combines the merits of the existing methods (accurate, simple, clinically intuitive and insensitive to dose grid size) and can easily be implemented into any dose/intensity comparison tool.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Initial patient imaging with an optimised radiotherapy beam for portal imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and the advantages of a portal-imaging mode on a medical accelerator, consisting of a thin low-Z bremsstrahlung target and a thin Gd2O2S/film detector, for patient imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The international code of practice for high-energy photon dosimetry was used to calibrate dosimetry instruments for the imaging beam produced by 4.75 MeV electrons hitting a 6mm thick aluminium target. Images of the head and neck of a humanoid phantom were taken with a mammography film system and the dose in the phantom was measured with TLDs calibrated for this beam. The first head and neck patient images are compared with conventional images (taken with the treatment beam on a film radiotherapy verification detector). Visibility of structures for six patients was evaluated. RESULTS: Images of the head and neck of a humanoid phantom, taken with both imaging systems showed that the contrast increased dramatically for the new system while the dose required to form an image was less than 10(-2)Gy. The patient images taken with the new and the conventional systems showed that air-tissue interfaces were better defined in the new system image. Anatomical structures, visible on both films, are clearer with the new system. Additionally, bony structures, such as vertebrae, were clearly visible only with the new system. The system under evaluation was significantly better for all features in lateral images and most features in anterior images. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study of the new portal imaging system showed the image quality is significantly improved.

Head and Neck Neoplasms↗