B. R. B. Walters

Large efficiency improvements in BEAMnrc using directional bremsstrahlung splitting.

The introduction into the BEAMnrc code of a new variance reduction technique, called directional bremsstrahlung splitting (DBS), is described. DBS uses a combination of interaction splitting for bremsstrahlung, annihilation, Compton scattering, pair production and photoabsorption, and Russian Roulette to achieve a much better efficiency of photon beam treatment head simulations compared to the splitting techniques already available in BEAMnrc (selective bremsstrahlung splitting, SBS, and uniform bremsstrahlung splitting, UBS). In a simulated 6 MV photon beam (10 x 10 cm2 field) photon fluence efficiency in the beam using DBS is over 8 times higher than with optimized SBS and over 20 times higher than with UBS, with a similar improvement in electron fluence efficiency in the beam. Total dose efficiency in a central-axis depth-dose curve improves by a factor of 6.4 over SBS at all depths in the phantom. The performance of DBS depends on the details of the accelerator being simulated. At higher energies, the relative improvement in efficiency due to DBS decreases somewhat, but is still a factor of 3.5 improvement over SBS for total dose efficiency using DBS in a simulated 18 MV photon beam. Increasing the field size of the simulated 6 MV beam to 40 x 40 cm2 (broad beam) causes the relative efficiency improvement of DBS to decrease by a factor of approximately 1.7 but is still up to 7 times more efficient than with SBS.

History by history statistical estimators in the BEAM code system

A history by history method for estimating uncertainties has been implemented in the BEAMnrc and DOSXYznrc codes replacing the method of statistical batches. This method groups scored quantities (e.g., dose) by primary history. When phase-space sources are used, this method groups incident particles according to the primary histories that generated them. This necessitated adding markers (negative energy) to phase-space files to indicate the first particle generated by a new primary history. The new method greatly reduces the uncertainty in the uncertainty estimate. The new method eliminates one dimension (which kept the results for each batch) from all scoring arrays, resulting in memory requirement being decreased by a factor of 2. Correlations between particles in phase-space sources are taken into account. The only correlations with any significant impact on uncertainty are those introduced by particle recycling. Failure to account for these correlations can result in a significant underestimate of the uncertainty. The previous method of accounting for correlations due to recycling by placing all recycled particles in the same batch did work. Neither the new method nor the batch method take into account correlations between incident particles when a phase-space source is restarted so one must avoid restarts.

Efficient photon beam dose calculations using DOSXYZnrc with BEAMnrc

This study examines the efficiencies of doses calculated using DOSXYZnrc for 18MV (10×10cm2 field size) and 6MV (10×10cm2 and 20×20cm2 field sizes) photon beams simulated using BEAMnrc. Both phase-space sources and full BEAMnrc simulation sources are used in the DOSXYZnrc calculations. BEAMnrc simulation sources consist of a BEAMnrc accelerator simulation compiled as a shared library and run by the user code (DOSXYZnrc in this case) to generate source particles. Their main advantage is in eliminating the need to store intermediate phase-space files. In addition, the efficiency improvements due to photon splitting and particle recycling in the DOSXYZnrc simulation are examined. It is found that photon splitting increases dose calculation efficiency by a factor of up to 6.5, depending on beam energy, field size, voxel size, and the type of secondary collimation used in the BEAMnrc simulation (multileaf collimator vs photon jaws). The optimum efficiency with photon splitting is ∼55% higher than that with particle recycling, indicating that, while most of the gain is due to time saved by reusing source particle data, there is significant gain due to the uniform distribution of interaction sites and faster DOSXYZnrc simulation time when photon splitting is employed. Use of optimized directional bremsstrahlung splitting in the BEAMnrc simulation sources increases the efficiency of photon beam simulations sufficiently that the peak efficiencies (i.e., with optimum setting of the photon splitting number) of DOSXYZnrc simulations using these sources are only 3-13% lower than those with phase-space file sources. This points towards eliminating the need for storing intermediate phase-space files.

Skeletal dosimetry in cone beam computed tomography

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a relatively new patient imaging technique that has proved invaluable for treatment target verification and patient positioning during image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). It has been shown that CBCT results in additional dose to bone that may amount to 10% of the prescribed dose. In this study, voxelized human phantoms, FAX06 (adult female) and MAX06 (adult male), are used together with phase-space data collected from a realistic model of a CBCT imager to calculate dose in the red bone marrow (RBM) and bone surface cells (BSCs), the two organs at risk within the bone spongiosa, during simulated head and neck, chest and pelvis CBCT scans. The FAX06/MAX06 phantoms model spongiosa based on micro-CT images, filling the relevant phantom voxels, which are 0.12×0.12×0.12cm3, with 17×17×17μm3 microvoxels to form a micromatrix of trabecular bone and bone marrow. FAX06/MAX06 have already been implemented in an EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo code to simulate radiation transport in the phantoms; however, this study required significant modifications of the code to allow use of phase-space data from a simulated CBCT imager as a source and to allow scoring of total dose, RBM dose and BSC dose on a voxel-by-voxel basis. In simulated CBCT scans, the BSC dose is significantly greater than the dose to other organs at risk. For example, in a simulated head and neck scan, the average BSC dose is 25% higher than the average dose to eye lens (∼8.3cGy), and 80% greater than the average dose to brain (5.7cGy). Average dose to RBM, on the other hand, is typically only ∼50% of the average BSC dose and less than the dose to other organs at risk (54% of the dose to eye lens and 76% of dose to brain in a head and neck scan). Thus, elevated dose in bone due to CBCT results in elevated BSC dose. This is potentially of concern when using CBCT in conjunction with radiotherapy treatment.

Dose to medium versus dose to water as an estimator of dose to sensitive skeletal tissue

The purpose of this study is to determine whether dose to medium, D(m), or dose to water, D(w), provides a better estimate of the dose to the radiosensitive red bone marrow (RBM) and bone surface cells (BSC) in spongiosa, or cancellous bone. This is addressed in the larger context of the ongoing debate over whether D(m) or D(w) should be specified in Monte Carlo calculated radiotherapy treatment plans. The study uses voxelized, virtual human phantoms, FAX06/MAX06 (female/male), incorporated into an EGSnrc Monte Carlo code to perform Monte Carlo dose calculations during simulated irradiation by a 6 MV photon beam from an Elekta SL25 accelerator. Head and neck, chest and pelvis irradiations are studied. FAX06/MAX06 include precise modelling of spongiosa based on microCT images, allowing dose to RBM and BSC to be resolved from the dose to bone. Modifications to the FAX06/MAX06 user codes are required to score D(w) and D(m) in spongiosa. Dose uncertainties of approximately 1% (BSC, RBM) or approximately 0.5% (D(m), D(w)) are obtained after up to 5 days of simulations on 88 CPUs. Clinically significant differences (>5%) between D(m) and D(w) are found only in cranial spongiosa, where the volume fraction of trabecular bone (TBVF) is high (55%). However, for spongiosa locations where there is any significant difference between D(m) and D(w), comparisons of differential dose volume histograms (DVHs) and average doses show that D(w) provides a better overall estimate of dose to RBM and BSC. For example, in cranial spongiosa the average D(m) underestimates the average dose to sensitive tissue by at least 5%, while average D(w) is within approximately 1% of the average dose to sensitive tissue. Thus, it is better to specify D(w) than D(m) in Monte Carlo treatment plans, since D(w) provides a better estimate of dose to sensitive tissue in bone, the only location where the difference is likely to be clinically significant.

WE‐E‐332‐04: Skeletal Dosimetry in Cone Beam Computed Tomography

Purpose: In a recent publication, Ding et al [Med.Phys.35, (2008)1135]demonstrated that the dose in patient bony anatomy during a typical cone beam computed tomography(CBCT) scan is up to 3–4 times higher than that in soft tissues. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the dose to red bone marrow (RBM) and bone surface cells (BSC), identified by the ICRP as the two organs at risk in the skeleton. Method and Materials: The FAX06/MAX06 EGSnrc‐based code provides the ability to compute whole organdoses, including BSC and RBM doses, in a voxelized representation of a female/male body including micro‐structural information for the spongiosa obtained from micro‐CT images. The code is modified to permit the computation of spatialdose distributions and to allow the use of phase space files from BEAMnrc simulations to be employed as sources. A typical head‐and‐neck CBCT scan from a Varian Trilogy linac is investigated. Results: The average RBM dose in the FAX06 phantom is found to be 4.6 cGy, i.e., about 30% lower then the average dose in soft tissues such as the brain (6 cGy) and the eye lens (6.4 cGy), although a small fraction of the bone marrow (7%) receives doses in excess of 10 cGy. Due to the close BSC proximity to trabecular bone, the average BSC dose (11.2 cGy) is about 80% higher than the dose to soft tissue. The dose in about 15% of the BSC volume exceeds 15 cGy. Conclusion: The dose delivered to BSC and a small fraction of the RBM in typical head‐and‐neck CBCT scans is significantly higher than the dose in soft tissues. Repeated CBCT scans may therefore increase the risk of bone malformation and may cause growth issues in pediatric radiotherapy patients.

SU-F-J-152: Accuracy of Charge Particle Transport in Magnetic Fields Using EGSnrc.

PURPOSE Determine accuracy of the current implementation of electron transport under magnetic fields in EGSnrc by means of single scattering (SS) and Fano convergence tests, and establish quantitatively the electron step size restriction required to achieve a desired level of accuracy for ionization chamber dosimetry. METHODS Condensed history (CH) dose calculations are compared to SS results for a PTW30013 ionization chamber irradiated in air by a 60Co photon beam. CH dose results for this chamber irradiated in a water phantom by a source of mono-energetic electrons are compared to the prediction of Fanos theorem for step size restrictions EM ESTEPE from 0.01 to 0.1 and strengths of 0.5 T, 1.0 T, and 1.5 T. RESULTS CH calculations in air for 60Co photons using an EM ESTEPE of 0.25 overestimate SS values by 6% for a 1.5 T field and by 1.5% for a 0.5 T field. Agreement improves with decreasing EM ESTEPE reducing this difference at 0.02 to 0.13% and 0.04% for 1.5 T and 0.5 T respectively. CH results converge with decreasing EM ESTEPE reaching an agreement of 0.2% at a value of EM ESTEPE of 0.01 for 100 keV electrons. SS results at 100 keV for 1.5 T show the same EM ESTEPE dependency as the CH results. CONCLUSION Accurate transport of charged particles in magnetic fields is only possible if the step size is significantly restricted. An EM ESTEPE value of 0.02 is required to reproduce SS results at the 0.1% level for a calculation in air. The EM ESTEPE dependency of the SS results suggests SS is bypassed when simulating the transport of charged particles in magnetic fields. Fano test results for in water calculation suggest that only a 0.2% accuracy can be achieved with the current implementation.

Increasing efficiency of BEAMnrc-simulated Co-60 beams using directional source biasing

PURPOSE This study describes the implementation of a directional source biasing (DSB) scheme for efficiently simulating Cobalt-60 treatment heads using the BEAMnrc Monte Carlo code. Previous simulation of Co-60 beams with BEAMnrc was impractical because of the time required to track photons not directed into the treatment field and to simulate secondary charged particles. METHODS In DSB, efficiency is increased by splitting each photon emitted by the Co-60 source a user-defined number of times. Only those split primary photons directed into a user-defined splitting field (encompassing the treatment field) are sampled, yielding many low-weight photons directed into the field. Efficiency can be further increased by taking advantage of radial symmetry at the top of the treatment head to reduce the number of split primary photons tracked in this portion. There is also an option to generate contaminant electrons in DSB. RESULTS The DSB scheme in BEAMnrc increases the photon fluence calculation efficiency in a 10 × 10 cm(2) Co-60 beam by a factor of 1800 with a concurrent increase in contaminant electron fluence calculation efficiency by a factor of 1200. Implementation of DSB in beampp, a C++ code for accelerator simulations based on EGSnrc and the C++ class library, egspp, increases photon fluence efficiency by a factor of 2800 and contaminant electron fluence efficiency by a factor of 1600. Optimum splitting numbers are in the range of 20,000-40,000. For dose calculations in a water phantom (0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 cm(3) voxels) this translates into a factor of ∼400 increase in dose calculation efficiency (all doses > 0.5 × Dmax). An example calculation of the ratio of dose to water to dose to chamber (the basis of the beam quality correction factor) to within 0.2% in a realistic chamber using a full simulation of a Co-60 treatment head as a source indicates the practicality of Co-60 simulations with DSB. CONCLUSIONS The efficiency improvement resulting from DSB makes Monte Carlo commissioning of Co-60 beams and calculation of beam quality correction factors feasible.