Analysis of head motion prior to and during proton beam therapy

We report on the use of a noninvasive patient motion monitoring system to evaluate the amount of head motion prior to and during proton radiation therapy sessions.

Two optical displacement sensors, placed close to the patient's head, were used for online monitoring of the head position, with submillimeter accuracy. Motion data, including the difference between start and end position (Dx) and the maximum displacement during the recorded session (Dx-max), were acquired for pretreatment sessions to analyze alignment radiographs, and for treatment sessions. We have recorded 102 pretreatment and 99 treatment sessions in 16 patients immobilized with a thermoplastic mask, and 44 pretreatment and 56 treatment sessions in 13 patients immobilized with vacuum-assisted dental fixation. To avoid incorrect data analysis due to replicate observations, only 1 pretreatment and 1 treatment session per patient were selected at random for statistical comparison of mean or median motion parameters in different subgroups.

Both techniques showed similar immobilization efficiencies. The median Dx and Dx-max values were 0. 18 mm and 0.46 mm, respectively, for 16 treatment sessions with mask immobilization, and 0.22 mm and 0.50 mm, respectively, for 13 treatment sessions with dental immobilization. Motion parameters for pretreatment and treatment sessions were not statistically different.

Online verification of patient's head motion is feasible and provides valuable data for confirmation of proper treatment delivery in individual patients, as well as for the evaluation of different immobilization methods.