Linking computer-aided design (CAD) to Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations for precise implementation of complex treatment head geometries

Phys Med Biol. 2010 Apr 21;55(8):N211-20. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/55/8/N03. Epub 2010 Mar 26.

Abstract

Most of the treatment head components of medical linear accelerators used in radiation therapy have complex geometrical shapes. They are typically designed using computer-aided design (CAD) applications. In Monte Carlo simulations of radiotherapy beam transport through the treatment head components, the relevant beam-generating and beam-modifying devices are inserted in the simulation toolkit using geometrical approximations of these components. Depending on their complexity, such approximations may introduce errors that can be propagated throughout the simulation. This drawback can be minimized by exporting a more precise geometry of the linac components from CAD and importing it into the Monte Carlo simulation environment. We present a technique that links three-dimensional CAD drawings of the treatment head components to Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations of dose deposition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computer-Aided Design*
  • Electronics
  • Humans
  • Monte Carlo Method*
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Software