PURPOSE To measure the sensitivity of deformable image registration to image noise. Deformable image registration can be used to map organ contours and other treatment planning data from one CT to another. These CT studies can be acquired with either conventional fan-beam CT systems or more novel cone-beam CT techniques. However, cone-beam CT images can have higher noise levels than fan-beam CT...

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a variant of traditional computed tomography (CT) and was first described in the late 1970s. The main difference between the two approaches is the volume of the object that is imaged at one time. In traditional CT, a narrow slice of the patient is imaged with a “fan beam” of X-rays. For an extended volume of the anatomy via CT, the patient must be imaged ...

We describe the displacement of the beam-axis from the planning isocenter in clinical situations during three-dimensional conformal radiosurgery using an Acculeaf bi-directional micro-multileaf collimator. The displacements were recorded for 64 ports using a video imaging system and a stereotactic arc. The mean displacement was 0.41+/-0.25 mm.

The instrumental effects related to the use of a polycapillary x-ray lens as primary beam collimator are here studied and the features observed in the measurements modelled via Monte-Carlo ray-tracing. Comparison with existing procedures is presented and experimental evidence of the accuracy improvements due to the use of a correction algorithm is shown.

To create a comprehensive dataset of peripheral dose (PD) measurements from a new generation of linear accelerators with and without the presence of a newly designed fetal shield, PD measurements were performed to evaluate the effects of depth, field size, distance from the field edge, collimator angle, and beam modi-fiers for common treatment protocols and modalities. A custom fetal lead shiel...

Neutron radiography has long been used in various scientific investigations and industrial applications that require thermal neutrons for characterization. Different kinds of sources such as radioactive sources, portable and accelerator based neutron generators and nuclear reactors can be used to provide thermal beam of neutrons suited for neutron radiography. Among the different varieties of n...

The application of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has enabled the delivery of high doses to the target volume while sparing the surrounding normal tissues. The drawbacks of intensity modulation, as implemented using a computer controlled multileaf collimator (MLC), are the larger number of monitor units (MUs) and longer beam-on time as compared with conventional radiotherapy. Addi...

This paper presents a method for volumetric reconstruction from Helical Computerized Tomography (H-CT) data which are collected with a fan beam source. An interpretation of the HCT data in terms of the Axial Computerized Tomography (ACT) data is provided. This analysis indicates that the H-CT data for positive and negative detector angles can be combined to form periodically nonuniform hexagona...

The characterization of the incident photon beam is usually divided into its dependence on collimator setting (head-scatter factor) and off-axis position (primary off-axis ratio). These parameters are normally measured "in air" with a build-up cap thick enough to generate full dose build-up at the depth of dose maximum. In order to prevent any influence from contaminating electrons, it has been...

PURPOSE To develop a real-time target position estimation method using stereoscopic kilovoltage (kV)/megavoltage (MV) imaging and external respiratory monitoring, and to investigate the performance of a dynamic multileaf collimator tracking system using this method. METHODS AND MATERIALS The real-time three-dimensional internal target position estimation was established by creating a time-var...