Beam Delivery Verification for Modulated Electron Radiation Therapy Treatment of Breast Cancer
Abstract
We have analyzed the delivery of a novel form of radiation therapy for the treatment of breast cancer: modulated electron beam radiation therapy (MERT). The perturbations introduced by a realistic collimator system have been assessed using Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations. The changes in the electron and photon fluence have been quantified and found to be non-trivial. In particular the electron beam penumbras may be changed by interaction with the electron multileaf collimator, and photon contamination contributes significantly to the total energy fluence. An optimization system for correcting for these perturbations has been developed and reported. We propose a two stage optimization, in which the first stage selects leaf positions, while the second stage sets segment weights. This system satisfies two key requirements: the treatment plan is optimized with the inclusion of knowledge of realistic delivery effects, and the computed fluence is an accurate representation of the delivered fluence. The accuracy of the computed fluence model is necessary for any beam verification system for MERT.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA408715
Entities
People
- Arthur L. Boyer
- Chang-ming Ma
- Michael C. Lee
- Todd Pawlicki
Organizations
- Stanford University