Development of respiratory motion reduction device system (RMRDs) for radiotherapy in moving tumors

The internal target volume (ITV) for tumors in the abdomen or thorax includes sufficient margin for breathing-related movement of tumor volumes during treatment. Depending on the location of the tumor, the magnitude of the ITV margin extends from 1 to 3 cm, which increases substantially the volume of the irradiated normal tissue, hence resulting in an increase in normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). We developed a simple and handy method which can reduce ITV margins in patients with moving tumors: the respiratory motion reduction device system (RMRDs).

The patient's clinical database was structured for moving tumor patients and patient set-up error measurement and immobilization device effects were investigated. The system is composed of the respiration presser device (RPD) utilized in the prone position and the abdominal strip device (ASD) utilized in the supine position, and the analysis program, which enables analysis of patient set-up reproducibility. It was tested for analyzing the diaphragm movement from patients with RMRDs, the magnitude of the ITV margin was determined and the dose-volume histogram (DVH) was computed using treatment planning software. The dose to normal tissue in patients with and without RMRDs was analyzed by comparing the fraction of the normal liver receiving 50% of the isocenter dose.

Average diaphragm movement due to respiration was 16 +/- 1.9 mm in the case of the supine position, and 12 +/- 1.9 mm in the case of the prone position. When utilizing the RMRDs, which was personally developed in our hospital, the value was reduced to 5 +/- 1.4 mm, and in the case in which the belt immobilization device was utilized, the value was reduced to 3 +/- 0.9 mm. In the case where the strip device was utilized, the value was proven to reduce to 4 +/- 0.3 mm. As a result of analyzing the volume of normal liver where 50% of the prescription dose is irradiated in DVH according to the radiation treatment planning, the use of the RMRD can create a reduction of 30% to the maximum. Also by obtaining the digital image, the function of comparison between the standard image, automated external contour subtraction, etc. was utilized to develop a patient set-up reproducibility analysis program that can evaluate the change in patient set-up.

Internal organ motion due to breathing can be reduced using RMRDs, which is simple and easy to use in the clinical setting. It can reduce the organ motion-related planning target volume margin, thereby decreasing the volume of irradiated normal tissue.