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Title: SU-F-T-298: The Impact of Modeling the Treatment Couch On Patient Specific VMAT QA

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this work is to quantify the impact of modeling the treatment couch on the passing rate of ion chamber measurements during VMAT quality assurance. Methods: For the initial characterization, attenuation and surface dose measurements were performed following the guidelines of TG-176 for the Civco Universal couch top using an Elekta VersaHD accelerator at an energy of 6 MV. A simulation CT was performed to aid in the creation of contours for representing the shape and size of the couch top in the treatment planning system (TPS). A uniform value of density for the couch wall was determined by comparing the ratios of ion chamber measurements made in a 30×30×11 cm3 water phantom with the TPS dose values of a plan with the same geometry. At our institution, patient specific quality assurance is performed using a Sun Nuclear ArcCheck with a multi-plug for chamber measurements, a 0.125cc PTW TN31010 chamber, and a Sun Nuclear 1010 electrometer. Ten VMAT plans were transferred into the phantom geometry created in the TPS with two settings: with and without the couch. The chamber measurements were compared to both treatment plans. Results: A maximum attenuation of 3.6% was observed when the gantrymore » angle was set to 120 and 240 degrees, passing obliquely through the couch. A uniform density of 0.6 g/cm3 for the couch wall was determined in the TPS by comparison with measured data. The VMAT ion chamber measurement/plan ratios systematically improved by 1.79% ±0.53% for all patients when the couch was included in the calculation. Conclusion: The attenuation and surface dose changes produced by the Civco couch can generate observable dose difference in VMAT plans. Including a couch model in the phantom plan used for patient specific VMAT QA can improve the ionization chamber agreement by up to ∼2%.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City, IA (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22648906
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Medical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 43; Journal Issue: 6; Other Information: (c) 2016 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; 61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY; ATTENUATION; IONIZATION CHAMBERS; PATIENTS; PHANTOMS; PLANNING; QUALITY ASSURANCE; RADIATION DOSES; RADIOTHERAPY; SIMULATION

Citation Formats

Gelover, E, Dalhart, A, and Hyer, D. SU-F-T-298: The Impact of Modeling the Treatment Couch On Patient Specific VMAT QA. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1118/1.4956483.
Gelover, E, Dalhart, A, & Hyer, D. SU-F-T-298: The Impact of Modeling the Treatment Couch On Patient Specific VMAT QA. United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4956483
Gelover, E, Dalhart, A, and Hyer, D. 2016. "SU-F-T-298: The Impact of Modeling the Treatment Couch On Patient Specific VMAT QA". United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4956483.
@article{osti_22648906,
title = {SU-F-T-298: The Impact of Modeling the Treatment Couch On Patient Specific VMAT QA},
author = {Gelover, E and Dalhart, A and Hyer, D},
abstractNote = {Purpose: The aim of this work is to quantify the impact of modeling the treatment couch on the passing rate of ion chamber measurements during VMAT quality assurance. Methods: For the initial characterization, attenuation and surface dose measurements were performed following the guidelines of TG-176 for the Civco Universal couch top using an Elekta VersaHD accelerator at an energy of 6 MV. A simulation CT was performed to aid in the creation of contours for representing the shape and size of the couch top in the treatment planning system (TPS). A uniform value of density for the couch wall was determined by comparing the ratios of ion chamber measurements made in a 30×30×11 cm3 water phantom with the TPS dose values of a plan with the same geometry. At our institution, patient specific quality assurance is performed using a Sun Nuclear ArcCheck with a multi-plug for chamber measurements, a 0.125cc PTW TN31010 chamber, and a Sun Nuclear 1010 electrometer. Ten VMAT plans were transferred into the phantom geometry created in the TPS with two settings: with and without the couch. The chamber measurements were compared to both treatment plans. Results: A maximum attenuation of 3.6% was observed when the gantry angle was set to 120 and 240 degrees, passing obliquely through the couch. A uniform density of 0.6 g/cm3 for the couch wall was determined in the TPS by comparison with measured data. The VMAT ion chamber measurement/plan ratios systematically improved by 1.79% ±0.53% for all patients when the couch was included in the calculation. Conclusion: The attenuation and surface dose changes produced by the Civco couch can generate observable dose difference in VMAT plans. Including a couch model in the phantom plan used for patient specific VMAT QA can improve the ionization chamber agreement by up to ∼2%.},
doi = {10.1118/1.4956483},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22648906}, journal = {Medical Physics},
issn = {0094-2405},
number = 6,
volume = 43,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}