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Objective To investigate the dose and mechanical properties of medical electron linear accelerators in grass-roots radiotherapy units in Sichuan Province,China via sampling and inspection.Methods A total of eight radiotherapy units in Sichuan Province were selected by sampling,and the tests were performed for the dose and mechanical properties of the medical electron linear accelerators in use.Among these accelerators,there were 5 imported accelerators and 3 domestic accelerators.The test items and methods were determined according to the requirements in GB15213-94.Results Among the 14 test items,the items related to the flatness,symmetry,and overlap of radiation field.The other tests of dose accuracy and mechanical precision achieved good results.Conclusions There is a need to strengthen the daily quality control work for dose and mechanical accuracy of medical electron linear accelerators in grass-roots radiotherapy units in Sichuan Province and perfect the allocation of professional equipment and personnel and training of related personnel.With the support of Sichuan Radiotherapy Quality Control Center,quality control supervision and guidance should cover the whole province.
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Objective To explore the elementary properties of LiF (Mg,Cu,and P) thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) in dosimetry for tumor radiotherapy,and to provide a reliable basis for thermoluminescent dosimetry in clinical radiotherapy.Methods 60Coγ-ray and 6 MV X-ray were used for evaluation of the dispersion,repeatability,and dose response of LiF TLD.To meet the requirement of clinical radiotherapy,the effects of energy,dose (50-600 cGy),radiation dose rate (50-600 MU/min),and the angle of incidence for accelerator gantry (0°-± 90°) on TLD were determined and the respective correction factors were calculated.Results The errors of repeatability and dispersion of TLD were less than ±3％.There was a linear relationship between readout and irradiation dose within a certain range of irradiation dose.The minimal relative deviation of 0.3％ was obtained when 6 MV X-ray was used with a dose rate of 300 MU/min and an angle of incidence of 0°.Conclusions LiF TLD shows excellent repeatability,low dispersion,high stability,and strong linear correlation.It meets the international criteria and can be used for dose measurement in tumor radiotherapy.
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The dose verification methods in advanced radiotherapy are elaborated in this paper. The usage and application results for various dosimeters in dose verification are explained. As a theoretical method, Monte Carlo simulation, which has been developed greatly in recent years based on the technical progress in computer science, can be also used in dose verification with unique advantages. On the other hand, the principle of dose verification on proton and heavy-ion therapy is discussed briefly. Finally, the evaluation criteria for verification and the future development for dose verification are presented.
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Humans , Monte Carlo Method , Radiotherapy Dosage , Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-AssistedABSTRACT
Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of multicriteria optimization (MCO) in planning of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).Methods Twenty IMRT patients (ten with prostate and ten with lung cancers) were randomly selected.For these patients,the treatment plans were designed with direct machine parameter optimization (DMPO).Based on these plans,new plans were designed with MCO,while keeping the setting conditions unchanged.Comparison was made between the two plans including the dose distribution,the dose volume histogram,the time of optimization and number of monitor unit (MU),but were play by pairing-t test.Results The plan designed in both optimizations satisfied all clinical requirements.For the same or better target coverage,rectum,bladder and small bowel were better with MCO compared with DMPO,MCO reduced 58％ of the time for optimization by average while MU increased 32％ by average for prostate cancer.For lung cancer,the whole lung,heart and spinal cord were better with MCO compared with DMPO,MCO reduced 59％ of the time for optimization by average while MU increased 11％ by average.Conclusions In comparison with DMPO,MCO reduces the dose of organs at risk,shorten the time of optimization.
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ObjectiveTo compare the calculation precision of the collapsed cone convolution (CCC) algorithm and pencil beam convolution (PBC) algorithm in TPS in heterogeneous tissue.Methods We made two virtual lung phantoms,one is single field phantom,In this case the photon beam incident into the phantom,the other is the two fields phantom and a cubic'tumor' was placed in the centre of the phantom.two opposite photon beams incident into the phantom.We calculated the dose of the'tumor' and the lung with the CCC and PBC algorithm.We compared the results in both case with if obtained from Monte Carlo (MC) method.ResultsIn the single field phantom,the photon beam incident from the high-density tissue to the low-density lung equivalent tissue,compared with the result of MC algorithm PBC algorithm overestimated the lung equivalent tissue dose (t =3.90,P =0.012) and the result of CCC algorithm is close to it ( t =2.25,P =0.087 ).In the two fields phantom,tumor boundary dose calculated by CCC algorithm and the MC algorithm are lower than that of the PBC algorithm (t =2.43,3.18,P =0.038,0.011 ),and the difference increase when the field size decrease, the beam energy increase and the density of the inhomogeneity decrease.ConclusionsWe had better use the CCC algorithm when calculating the dose of the tumor surrounded by low-density tissue or the tumor behind the low-density tissue,such as the lung cancer,esophageal cancer etc.
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Objective To calculate the effects of thermoplastic mask on X-ray surface dose.Methods The BEAMnrc Monte Carlo Code system, designed especially for computer simulation of radioactive sources, was performed to evaluate the effects of thermoplastic mask on X-ray surface dose.Thermoplastic mask came from our center with a material density of 1.12 g/cm2. The masks without holes,with holes size of 0. 1 cm× 0. 1 cm, and with holes size of 0. 1 cm × 0. 2 cm, and masks with different depth (0.12 cm and 0.24 cm) were evaluated separately. For those with holes, the material width between adjacent holes was 0. 1 cm. Virtual masks with a material density of 1.38 g/cm3 without holes with two different depths were also evaluated. Results Thermoplastic mask affected X-rays surface dose. When using a thermoplastic mask with the depth of 0. 24 cm without holes, the surface dose was 74. 9% and 57.0% for those with the density of 1.38 g/cm3 and 1.12 g/cm3 respectively. When focusing on the masks with the density of 1.12 g/cm3, the surface dose was 41.2% for those with 0.12 cm depth without holes;57.0% for those with 0. 24 cm depth without holes;44. 5% for those with 0. 24 cm depth with holes size of 0.1 cm ×0.2 cm;and 54.1% for those with 0.24 cm depths with holes size of 0.1 cm ×0.1 cm.Conclusions Using thermoplastic mask during the radiation increases patient surface dose. The severity is relative to the hole size and the depth of thermoplastic mask. The surface dose change should be considered in radiation planning to avoid severe skin reaction.