A new method for assessing lung tumor motion in radiotherapy using dynamic chest radiography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiotherapy Physics
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Dynamic chest radiography (DCR) offers advanced functional imaging capabilities.
• Accurate assessment of lung tumor motion is crucial for effective radiotherapy.
• Existing methods for motion assessment can be complex or time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel method using DCR and Kinovea software for assessing lung tumor motion.
• To compare DCR-based motion assessment with four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT).
• To demonstrate the clinical utility of DCR for radiotherapy applications.

Main Methods:

• Developed and validated a DCR-based method with Kinovea for motion tracking.
• Conducted phantom studies to measure motion accuracy (mean error 0.60 mm).
• Performed clinical studies on 15 lung cancer patients, comparing DCR with 4D-CT in SI, LR, and AP directions.

Main Results:

• DCR and Kinovea demonstrated significant correlation with 4D-CT for tumor motion in SI and LR directions.
• Calculated square root of the sum of squares (SRSS) values also showed significant correlation.
• DCR median amplitudes were consistently higher than 4D-CT across all directions (SI, LR, AP).

Conclusions:

• The DCR and Kinovea method is a useful tool for quantitative and visual assessment of lung tumor motion.
• DCR shows promise as an advanced modality for evaluating lung tumor motion in radiotherapy.
• This technique can aid in precise radiotherapy targeting and treatment planning.