Respiratory correlated segment reconstruction algorithm towards four-dimensional radiation therapy using carbon ion...

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiotherapy
• Image Reconstruction

Background:

• Tumor motion during respiration complicates radiotherapy planning.
• Accurate dose delivery is crucial for effective cancer treatment.
• Respiratory-correlated imaging techniques aim to mitigate motion artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a respiratory-correlated segment reconstruction (RS) method based on the Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm.
• To enhance the precision of treatment planning for tumors that move under respiration.
• To compare the dose distribution of full-scan (FS-FDK) and RS-FDK in heavy ion treatment planning.

Main Methods:

• Data acquisition using a respiratory sensing system in cine scan mode with a 256-multi-detector row CT (256-MDCT).
• Comparison of dose distributions between FS-FDK and RS-FDK using beam parameters from FS-FDK.
• Evaluation of irradiation accuracy for moving tumors.

Main Results:

• RS-FDK images exhibited no motion artifacts and clearer visualization of anatomical structures compared to FS-FDK.
• FS-FDK dose distributions adequately covered the target volume.
• RS-FDK, using FS-FDK beam parameters, resulted in insufficient target dose and increased dose to surrounding normal tissues.

Conclusions:

• RS-FDK provides improved accuracy for dose prescription to the target volume.
• The RS-FDK method enables more precise radiotherapy delivery, including 4D radiation therapy.
• Further optimization of RS-FDK parameters is needed to ensure adequate target coverage and sparing of normal tissues.