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Updated: May 21, 2026
05:18
Radiation Planning Assistant - A Web-based Tool to Support High-quality Radiotherapy in Clinics with Limited Resources
Published on: October 6, 2023
Toward fully automated multicriterial plan generation: a prospective clinical study.
Peter W J Voet1, Maarten L P Dirkx, Sebastiaan Breedveld
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center-Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Groene Hilledijk 301, Rotterdam 3075EA, The Netherlands. p.voet@erasmusmc.nl
Summary
Automated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning with iCycle significantly outperformed manual planning, with physicians selecting iCycle plans in 97% of cases due to superior critical structure sparing and target coverage. This automation also reduces workload.
Area of Science:
- Radiation Oncology
- Medical Physics
- Cancer Treatment Planning
Background:
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a complex radiotherapy technique requiring precise treatment planning.
- Manual IMRT plan generation involves dosimetrists optimizing beam profiles and orientations, which can be time-consuming and subject to inter-observer variability.
- Automated planning systems aim to improve efficiency and consistency in IMRT plan creation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively compare treatment plans generated by an automated algorithm (iCycle) with those created manually by dosimetrists for head-and-neck cancer patients.
- To evaluate the physician's preference between automated and manual IMRT plans based on plan quality and clinical suitability.
- To quantify differences in target volume coverage and organ-at-risk sparing between the two planning methods.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 20 head-and-neck cancer patients.
- Comparison of iCycle-generated automated IMRT plans against manually optimized plans.
- Physician choice between the two simultaneously presented plans for actual patient treatment.
- Quantification of planning target volume coverage and critical tissue sparing for both plan types.
Main Results:
- Physicians selected the iCycle-generated automated plan in 32 out of 33 comparisons (97%).
- Automated plans demonstrated significantly improved sparing of critical structures, including parotid glands, submandibular glands, oral cavity, swallowing muscles, esophagus, and larynx.
- Normal tissue complication probabilities were reduced, and mean dose reductions were observed for multiple organs at risk.
- Target coverage was improved in 15 out of 20 patients receiving automated plans.
Conclusions:
- Automated IMRT plan generation using iCycle results in superior plan quality compared to manual planning.
- The automated approach leads to significant improvements in organ-at-risk sparing and target coverage.
- Automatic plan generation offers economic benefits through reduced workload and improved treatment outcomes.
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