Graduation Year
2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Physics
Major Professor
Vladimir Feygelman, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor
Garrett Matthews, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Eduardo Moros, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Geoffrey Zhang, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Benjamin Nelms, Ph.D.
Keywords
IMRT, Medical Physics, Quality Assurance, VMAT
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to evaluate quasi-3D arrays for use with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and to determine their clinical relevance. This is achieved using a Delta4 from Scandidos and ArcCheck from Sun Nuclear and the associated software. While certain aspects of these devices and software have been previously evaluated, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the new aspects, such as reconstructing dose on a patient CT set, and extending the capabilities. This includes the capability to reconstruct the dose based on a helical delivery as well as studying the dose to a moving target using measurement-guided motion simulations.
It was found that Sun Nuclear's ArcCheck/3DVH system exhibited excellent agreement for dose reconstruction for IMRT/VMAT using a traditional C-arm linear accelerator and stringent 2%/2mm comparison constraints. It also is a powerful tool for measurement-guided dose estimates for moving targets, allowing for many simulations to be performed based on one measurement and the target motion data. For dose reconstruction for a helical delivery, the agreement was not as good for the stringent comparison but was reasonable for the clinically acceptable 3%/3mm comparison. Scandidos' Delta4 shows good agreement with stringent 2%/2mm constraints for its dose reconstruction on the phantom. However, the dose reconstruction on the patient CT set was poor and needs more work.
Overall, it was found that quasi-3D arrays are powerful tools for dose reconstruction and treatment plan comparisons. The ability to reconstruct the dose allows for a dose resolution comparable to the treatment plan, which negates the previous issues with inadequate sampling and resolution issues found when just comparing the diodes. The ability to quickly and accurately compare many plans and target motions with minimum setup makes the quasi-3D array an attractive tool for both commissioning and patient specific quality assurance.
Scholar Commons Citation
Stambaugh, Cassandra, "The Evaluation and Study of Modern Radiation Dosimetry Methods as Applied to Advanced Radiation Therapy Treatments Using Intensity Modulated Megavoltage Photon Beams" (2015). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/5587
