An experimental investigation into the effect of periodic motion on proton dosimetry using polymer gel dosimeters and a programmable motion platform

Phys Med Biol. 2012 Feb 7;57(3):649-63. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/57/3/649. Epub 2012 Jan 12.

Abstract

Organ motion in proton therapy affects treatment dose distribution during both double-scattering (DS) and uniform-scanning (US) deliveries. We investigated the dosimetric impact of target motion using three-dimensional polymer gel dosimeters and a programmable motion platform. A simple one-beam treatment plan with 16 cm range and 6 cm modulation was generated from the treatment planning system (TPS) in both the DS and US modes. One gel dosimeter was irradiated with a stationary DS beam. Two other gel dosimeters were irradiated with the DS and US beams while they moved in the same sinusoidal motion profile using a programmable motion platform. The dose distribution of the stationary DS delivery agreed with the TPS plan. Dosimetric comparisons between DS motion delivery and the MATLAB-based motion model showed insignificant differences. Dose-volume histograms of a cylindrical target volume inside the gel dosimeters showed target coverage degradation caused by motion. A three-dimensional gamma index calculation (3% and 3 mm) confirmed different dosimetric impacts from DS and US with the same target motion. This polymer-gel-dosimeter-based study confirmed the dosimetric impact of intrafraction target motion and its interplay with temporal delivery of different energy layers in US proton treatments.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Calibration
  • Equipment Design
  • Gels
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Motion
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Proton Therapy*
  • Radiometry / methods*
  • Radiotherapy / methods
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / methods
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods

Substances

  • Gels
  • Polymers