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Atlas-guided prostate intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning
Yang Sheng1, Taoran Li, You Zhang
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
Physics in Medicine and Biology
|September 9, 2015
Summary
A new atlas-guided planning (AGP) technique for prostate cancer intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is efficient and feasible. This automated method uses an atlas to guide treatment planning, achieving comparable plan quality to traditional methods.
Area of Science:
- Radiation Oncology
- Medical Physics
- Image-Guided Therapy
Background:
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer requires precise treatment planning.
- Anatomical variations in patients can complicate IMRT plan optimization.
- Current planning methods can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate an atlas-based IMRT planning technique for prostate cancer.
- To automate the IMRT planning process using anatomical pattern recognition.
- To assess the efficiency and dosimetric quality of the proposed atlas-guided planning (AGP) technique.
Main Methods:
- A multi-dose atlas was constructed using k-medoids clustering on a 70-case prostate cancer dataset, analyzing prostate distance and seminal vesicle concaveness.
- The best atlas representation was determined using average silhouette width, resulting in a 5-case atlas.
- Atlas-guided planning (AGP) involved matching new cases to atlas patterns, deformable registration, and automated inverse planning guided by atlas-derived dose distributions.
- The AGP technique was evaluated on 20 clinical cases, comparing dosimetric parameters with existing clinical plans.
Main Results:
- The k-medoids clustering identified 5 distinct anatomy patterns, forming the basis of the multi-dose atlas.
- AGP demonstrated high efficiency, with an average planning time of approximately 1 minute per case.
- Dosimetric comparisons showed differences of less than 3.5% between AGP and clinical plans.
- Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in conformity index, bladder, and rectum generalized Equivalent Uniform Dose (gEUD), but not homogeneity index.
Conclusions:
- Atlas-guided planning (AGP) is a feasible and efficient automated technique for prostate cancer IMRT.
- The AGP method effectively utilizes anatomical atlases to guide treatment planning.
- The developed AGP technique can achieve plan quality comparable to conventional clinical planning, with significant time savings.
