Parameterization of brachytherapy source phase space file for Monte Carlo-based clinical brachytherapy dose...

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Computational Science

Background:

• Monte Carlo methods are standard for brachytherapy radiation dose calculations.
• Phase space files are typically used but require substantial computer memory.
• High memory requirements limit hardware accessibility and computational efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a parameterized source representation for Monte Carlo brachytherapy dose calculations.
• To reduce the computational burden associated with large phase space files.
• To maintain dose calculation accuracy while improving efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Parameterization of particle information (location, direction, energy) using probability distributions.
• Implementation for an Iridium-192 high dose rate source.
• Comparison of parameterized source accuracy against full phase space files in water phantom and clinical breast cancer cases.

Main Results:

• The parameterized source (200 kB) achieved accuracy comparable to the full phase space file (1.1 GB).
• Significant reduction in data size was demonstrated.
• The method proved effective for both simple phantoms and complex clinical scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Parameterized source representation offers a memory-efficient alternative to phase space files.
• Enables compact Monte Carlo jobs suitable for parallel computing in brachytherapy.
• Facilitates easier setup and wider accessibility for brachytherapy treatment planning.