Automatic couch position calculation using eclipse scripting for external beam radiotherapy
Hesheng Wang1, Anthony Rea1, Benedikt Rudek1
1Department of Radiation Oncology, NYU Langone Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics
|January 13, 2021
Summary
This study developed an automated method to determine patient couch position in radiation therapy, improving setup efficiency and safety. The new technique accurately calculates couch positions from planning CT scans, reducing potential errors.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiation Oncology
- Image-Guided Therapy
Background:
- Patient positioning in external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is critical for treatment accuracy.
- Current manual setup procedures carry risks of near misses and adverse events due to potential failures.
- Accurate couch positioning is essential to minimize radiation delivery errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an automated method for determining patient treatment couch position before initial setup in EBRT.
- To enhance patient safety by reducing positioning errors during radiation therapy.
- To improve the efficiency of patient setup in radiation oncology.
Main Methods:
- A C# script using the Varian Eclipse API (ESAPI) was developed to identify Qfix couch-tops (kVue and DoseMax) and embedded reference markers (BBs) in planning CT scans.
- The script automatically calculates the treatment couch position relative to the plan's isocenter.
- Calculated positions were validated against couch coordinates captured during initial setup and daily fractions post-image guidance.
Main Results:
- For kVue couch-tops, median differences between calculated and captured positions were 0.1 cm (vertical), 0.5 cm (longitudinal), and 0.1 cm (lateral).
- For DoseMax couch-tops, median differences were 0.1 cm (vertical), 0.2 cm (longitudinal), and 0.2 cm (lateral).
- 95% of calculated positions were within 1-2 cm of mean fraction positions for DoseMax and kVue, respectively.
Conclusions:
- An automated method for calculating treatment couch position from simulation CT for Qfix couch-tops has been successfully implemented in Varian Eclipse.
- This automated technique enhances patient setup efficiency and significantly improves patient safety by minimizing positioning errors.
- The developed method offers a reliable and accurate approach to couch positioning in radiation therapy.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving
615
The radiation pressure applied by an electromagnetic wave on a perfectly absorbing surface equals the energy density of the wave. The wave's momentum also gets transferred to the surface when an electromagnetic wave is entirely absorbed by it. The rate at which momentum is transmitted to an absorbing surface perpendicular to the propagation direction equals the force on the surface.
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force...
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force...
615
01:17Radiation: Applications
1.5K
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...
1.5K