Development of a versatile deep hyperthermia treatment planning tool.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Physics
• Radiotherapy

Background:

• Deep hyperthermia (HTP) is an effective cancer treatment modality.
• Accurate treatment planning is crucial for optimal HTP efficacy.
• Current manual planning can be time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a versatile deep hyperthermia treatment planning (HTP) tool.
• To implement and assess an automatic patient positioning routine within the HTP tool.
• To compare the efficiency and accuracy of automatic versus manual HTP setup procedures.

Main Methods:

• An automatic patient positioning routine was integrated into a new HTP tool.
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) indicators (THQ, TC25, TC50) were compared between manual and automatic positioning for 118 patients (Sigma 60 and Sigma Eye applicators).
• HTP setups were demonstrated for Sigma Ellipse, Alba4D, and AMC8 applicators.

Main Results:

• The automatic positioning routine showed a maximum average relative difference of 2% for SAR indicators compared to manual positioning.
• Automatic positioning significantly reduced operator time by 10-20 minutes per patient setup.
• The tool demonstrated versatility across multiple applicator types.

Conclusions:

• The automatic positioning routine in the HTP tool is time-efficient and achieves comparable SAR target coverage to manual methods.
• Reduced planning time is expected to increase the clinical acceptance and implementation of HTP.
• The developed HTP tool offers a versatile solution for deep hyperthermia treatment planning.