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Simultaneous ThermoBrachytherapy: Electromagnetic Simulation Methods for Fast and Accurate Adaptive Treatment
Ioannis Androulakis1, Rob M C Mestrom2, Miranda E M C Christianen1
1Department of Radiotherapy, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 26, 2022
Summary
Fast computation methods for interstitial hyperthermia treatment (IHT) planning are now possible. These methods enable accurate and rapid electromagnetic energy deposition calculations, crucial for optimizing IHT combined with high dose rate brachytherapy.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Oncology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Interstitial hyperthermia treatment (IHT) combined with high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) improves cancer treatment outcomes by enhancing cell kill efficiency.
- Effective IHT requires precise treatment planning, which is currently hindered by the difficulty of rapidly calculating electromagnetic (EM) energy deposition in tissues.
- The development of ThermoBrachy applicators necessitates efficient treatment planning solutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate time-efficient methods for fast computation of EM energy deposition from ThermoBrachy applicators.
- To assess the accuracy of these methods against the gold standard Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) calculations.
- To enable adaptive treatment planning for IHT through rapid EM field computation.
Main Methods:
- Investigated electro-quasistatic solvers for EM energy deposition calculation.
- Applied geometric simplifications to accelerate computation.
- Evaluated the superpositioning principle for adaptive treatment planning.
- Validated methods against FDTD using gamma-index analysis (1%/0.5 mm criteria).
Main Results:
- Computational time was drastically reduced from over 12 hours to a few seconds using the investigated methods.
- All tested methods demonstrated excellent agreement with FDTD, achieving >99% passing rates.
- The superpositioning principle was validated, allowing adaptive planning without continuous EM field recomputation.
Conclusions:
- Time-efficient EM simulation methods have been successfully developed for ThermoBrachy applicators.
- These methods provide fast and accurate calculations essential for clinical IHT treatment planning.
- The findings pave the way for routine adaptive treatment planning in combined IHT and HDR-BT.
