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Optimal marker placement in hadrontherapy: intelligent optimization strategies with augmented Lagrangian pattern
Cristina Altomare1, Raffaella Guglielmann2, Marco Riboldi3
1Laboratory for Biomedical Informatics "Mario Stefanelli", Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
Journal of Biomedical Informatics
|September 16, 2014
Summary
A new algorithm, SAPS, optimizes marker placement for radiation therapy setup, reducing errors. This method improves accuracy by considering spatial constraints, enhancing patient safety in radiotherapy and hadrontherapy.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiotherapy Technology
- Computational Optimization
Background:
- Minimizing geometrical deviations in radiotherapy is crucial for treatment accuracy.
- Infrared (IR) optical tracking with external fiducial points is used for patient setup quality assessment.
- Current methods may not fully leverage prior knowledge like spatial constraints for optimal marker placement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel algorithm, Simulated Annealing and Augmented Lagrangian Pattern Search (SAPS), for optimizing fiducial point placement in IR optical tracking.
- To incorporate prior knowledge, such as spatial constraints, into the optimization process for improved accuracy.
- To enhance patient setup quality assessment in high-precision radiotherapy and hadrontherapy.
Main Methods:
- The SAPS algorithm was tested using data from head and neck and pelvic cancer patients.
- Optimality was assessed using Computed Tomography (CT) images, evaluating the Target Registration Error/Fiducial Registration Error (TRE/FRE) ratio and marker spatial distribution.
- Performance was compared against random marker configurations and the Genetic Evolutionary Taboo Search (GETS) algorithm, considering organs at risk.
Main Results:
- SAPS demonstrated a decreased TRE/FRE ratio compared to other methods.
- Marker distribution achieved by SAPS satisfied visibility and spatial constraints.
- A significant reduction in TRE/FRE was observed with a higher number of markers compared to random configurations.
Conclusions:
- The SAPS algorithm is an effective strategy for optimizing fiducial configuration in IR optical tracking for radiation therapy setup.
- Integrating prior knowledge into the optimization process significantly improves accuracy.
- Future work will focus on computational optimization of SAPS for point-of-care applications.
