In particle therapy, knowledge of the stopping-power ratios (STPRs) of the ion beam for air and w... more In particle therapy, knowledge of the stopping-power ratios (STPRs) of the ion beam for air and water is necessary for accurate ionization chamber dosimetry. Earlier work has investigated the STPRs for pristine carbon ion beams, but here we expand the calculations to a range of ions (1 <= z <= 18) as well as spread out Bragg peaks (SOBPs) and provide a theoretical in-depth study with a special focus on the parameter regime relevant for particle therapy. The Monte Carlo transport code SHIELD-HIT is used to calculate complete particle-fluence spectra which are required for determining STPRs according to the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We confirm that the STPR depends primarily on the current energy of the ions rather than on their charge z or absolute position in the medium. However, STPRs for different sets of stopping-power data for water and air recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements (ICRU) are compa...
Accurately predicting the range of radiotherapy ions in vivo is important for the precise deliver... more Accurately predicting the range of radiotherapy ions in vivo is important for the precise delivery of dose in particle therapy. Range uncertainty is currently the single largest contribution to the dose margins used in planning and leads to a higher dose to normal tissue. The use of ion CT has been proposed as a method to improve the range uncertainty and thereby reduce dose to normal tissue of the patient. A wide variety of ions have been proposed and studied for this purpose, but no studies evaluate the image quality obtained with different ions in a consistent manner. However, imaging doses ion CT is a concern which may limit the obtainable image quality. In addition, the imaging doses reported have not been directly comparable with x-ray CT doses due to the different biological impacts of ion radiation. The purpose of this work is to develop a robust methodology for comparing the image quality of ion CT with respect to particle therapy, taking into account different reconstructi...
Proton therapy offers the potential for sparing the normal tissue surrounding the target. However... more Proton therapy offers the potential for sparing the normal tissue surrounding the target. However, due to well-defined proton ranges around the Bragg peak, dose deposition is more sensitive to changes in the water equivalent path length (WEPL) than with photons. In this study, we assess WEPL variations caused by breathing-induced motion for all possible beam angles in a series of lung cancer patients. By studying the association between measures for WEPL variation and breathing-induced target dose degradation we aimed to develop and explore a tool to identify beam angles that are robust to patient-specific patterns of intra-fractional motion. Using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) images of three lung cancer patients we evaluated the impact of the WEPL changes on target dose coverage for a series of coplanar single-beam plans. The plans were optimised for the internal target volume (ITV) at the maximum intensity projection (MIP) CT for every 3° gantry interval. The plans were transferred to the ten 4DCT phases and the average reduction in ITV V₉₅ over the ten phases, relative to the original MIP CT calculation, was quantified. The target dose reduction was associated with the mean difference between the WEPL and the phase-averaged WEPL computed for all beam rays across all possible gantry-couch angle combinations. The gantry-couch angle maps showed areas of both high and low WEPL variation, with overall quite similar patterns yet with individual differences reflecting differences in tumour position and breathing-induced motion. The coplanar plans showed a strong association between WEPL changes and ITV V₉₅ reduction, with a correlation coefficient ranging between 0.92 and 0.98 for the three patients (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). We have presented a 4DCT-based method to quantify WEPL changes during the breathing cycle. The method identified proton field gantry-couch angle combinations that were either sensitive or robust to WEPL changes. WEPL variations along the beam path were associated with target under-dosage.
Solid state dosimetry in therapeutic ion beams is seriously hampered by ionisation density effect... more Solid state dosimetry in therapeutic ion beams is seriously hampered by ionisation density effects. In most cases the use of empirical corrections is limited and therefore model predictions, especially from amorphous track models (ATMs), play a major role. Due to its high saturation dose and simple dose response, the alanine detector can help to study fundamental assumptions and accuracy in
In particle therapy, knowledge of the stopping-power ratios (STPRs) of the ion beam for air and w... more In particle therapy, knowledge of the stopping-power ratios (STPRs) of the ion beam for air and water is necessary for accurate ionization chamber dosimetry. Earlier work has investigated the STPRs for pristine carbon ion beams, but here we expand the calculations to a range of ions (1 <= z <= 18) as well as spread out Bragg peaks (SOBPs) and provide a theoretical in-depth study with a special focus on the parameter regime relevant for particle therapy. The Monte Carlo transport code SHIELD-HIT is used to calculate complete particle-fluence spectra which are required for determining STPRs according to the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We confirm that the STPR depends primarily on the current energy of the ions rather than on their charge z or absolute position in the medium. However, STPRs for different sets of stopping-power data for water and air recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements (ICRU) are compa...
Accurately predicting the range of radiotherapy ions in vivo is important for the precise deliver... more Accurately predicting the range of radiotherapy ions in vivo is important for the precise delivery of dose in particle therapy. Range uncertainty is currently the single largest contribution to the dose margins used in planning and leads to a higher dose to normal tissue. The use of ion CT has been proposed as a method to improve the range uncertainty and thereby reduce dose to normal tissue of the patient. A wide variety of ions have been proposed and studied for this purpose, but no studies evaluate the image quality obtained with different ions in a consistent manner. However, imaging doses ion CT is a concern which may limit the obtainable image quality. In addition, the imaging doses reported have not been directly comparable with x-ray CT doses due to the different biological impacts of ion radiation. The purpose of this work is to develop a robust methodology for comparing the image quality of ion CT with respect to particle therapy, taking into account different reconstructi...
Proton therapy offers the potential for sparing the normal tissue surrounding the target. However... more Proton therapy offers the potential for sparing the normal tissue surrounding the target. However, due to well-defined proton ranges around the Bragg peak, dose deposition is more sensitive to changes in the water equivalent path length (WEPL) than with photons. In this study, we assess WEPL variations caused by breathing-induced motion for all possible beam angles in a series of lung cancer patients. By studying the association between measures for WEPL variation and breathing-induced target dose degradation we aimed to develop and explore a tool to identify beam angles that are robust to patient-specific patterns of intra-fractional motion. Using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) images of three lung cancer patients we evaluated the impact of the WEPL changes on target dose coverage for a series of coplanar single-beam plans. The plans were optimised for the internal target volume (ITV) at the maximum intensity projection (MIP) CT for every 3° gantry interval. The plans were transferred to the ten 4DCT phases and the average reduction in ITV V₉₅ over the ten phases, relative to the original MIP CT calculation, was quantified. The target dose reduction was associated with the mean difference between the WEPL and the phase-averaged WEPL computed for all beam rays across all possible gantry-couch angle combinations. The gantry-couch angle maps showed areas of both high and low WEPL variation, with overall quite similar patterns yet with individual differences reflecting differences in tumour position and breathing-induced motion. The coplanar plans showed a strong association between WEPL changes and ITV V₉₅ reduction, with a correlation coefficient ranging between 0.92 and 0.98 for the three patients (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). We have presented a 4DCT-based method to quantify WEPL changes during the breathing cycle. The method identified proton field gantry-couch angle combinations that were either sensitive or robust to WEPL changes. WEPL variations along the beam path were associated with target under-dosage.
Solid state dosimetry in therapeutic ion beams is seriously hampered by ionisation density effect... more Solid state dosimetry in therapeutic ion beams is seriously hampered by ionisation density effects. In most cases the use of empirical corrections is limited and therefore model predictions, especially from amorphous track models (ATMs), play a major role. Due to its high saturation dose and simple dose response, the alanine detector can help to study fundamental assumptions and accuracy in
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