Abdominal and pancreatic motion correlation using 4D CT, 4D transponders, and a gating belt

The correlation between the pancreatic and external abdominal motion due to respiration was investigated on two patients. These studies utilized four dimensional computer tomography (4D CT), a four dimensional (4D) electromagnetic transponder system, and a gating belt system. One 4D CT study was performed during simulation to quantify the pancreatic motion using computer tomography images at eight breathing phases. The motion under free breathing and breath-hold were analyzed for the 4D electromagnetic transponder system and the gating belt system during treatment. A linear curve was fitted for all data sets and correlation factors were evaluated between the 4D electromagnetic transponder system and the gating belt system data. The 4D CT study demonstrated a modest correlation between the external marker and the pancreatic motion with R-square values larger than 0.8 for the inferior-superior (inf-sup). Then, the relative pressure from the belt gating system correlated well with the 4D electromagnetic transponder system's motion in the anterior-posterior (ant-post) and the inf-post directions. These directions have a correlation value of -0.93 and 0.76, while the lateral only had a 0.03 correlation coefficient. Based on our limited study, external surrogates can be used as predictors of the pancreatic motion in the inf-sup and the ant-post directions. Although there is a low correlation on the lateral direction, its motion is significantly shorter. In conclusion, an appropriate treatment delivery can be used for pancreatic cancer when an internal tracking system, such as the 4D electromagnetic transponder system, is unavailable.