Sodai Tanaka

Development of proton CT imaging system using plastic scintillator and CCD camera

A proton computed tomography (pCT) imaging system was constructed for evaluation of the error of an x-ray CT (xCT)-to-WEL (water-equivalent length) conversion in treatment planning for proton therapy. In this system, the scintillation light integrated along the beam direction is obtained by photography using the CCD camera, which enables fast and easy data acquisition. The light intensity is converted to the range of the proton beam using a light-to-range conversion table made beforehand, and a pCT image is reconstructed. An experiment for demonstration of the pCT system was performed using a 70 MeV proton beam provided by the AVF930 cyclotron at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. Three-dimensional pCT images were reconstructed from the experimental data. A thin structure of approximately 1 mm was clearly observed, with spatial resolution of pCT images at the same level as that of xCT images. The pCT images of various substances were reconstructed to evaluate the pixel value of pCT images. The image quality was investigated with regard to deterioration including multiple Coulomb scattering.

Improved proton CT imaging using a bismuth germanium oxide scintillator

Range uncertainty is among the most formidable challenges associated with the treatment planning of proton therapy. Proton imaging, which includes proton radiography and proton computed tomography (pCT), is a useful verification tool. We have developed a pCT detection system that uses a thick bismuth germanium oxide (BGO) scintillator and a CCD camera. The current method is based on a previous detection system that used a plastic scintillator, and implements improved image processing techniques. In the new system, the scintillation light intensity is integrated along the proton beam path by the BGO scintillator, and acquired as a two-dimensional distribution with the CCD camera. The range of a penetrating proton is derived from the integrated light intensity using a light-to-range conversion table, and a pCT image can be reconstructed. The proton range in the BGO scintillator is shorter than in the plastic scintillator, so errors due to extended proton ranges can be reduced. To demonstrate the feasibility of the pCT system, an experiment was performed using a 70 MeV proton beam created by the AVF930 cyclotron at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. The accuracy of the light-to-range conversion table, which is susceptible to errors due to its spatial dependence, was investigated, and the errors in the acquired pixel values were less than 0.5 mm. Images of various materials were acquired, and the pixel-value errors were within 3.1%, which represents an improvement over previous results. We also obtained a pCT image of an edible chicken piece, the first of its kind for a biological material, and internal structures approximately one millimeter in size were clearly observed. This pCT imaging system is fast and simple, and based on these findings, we anticipate that we can acquire 200 MeV pCT images using the BGO scintillator system.

Absorbed dose and image quality of Varian TrueBeam CBCT compared with OBI CBCT

PURPOSE Nowadays, patient positioning and target localization can be verified by using kilovolt cone beam computed tomography (kV-CBCT). There have been various studies on the absorbed doses and image qualities of different kV-CBCT systems. However, the Varian TrueBeam CBCT (TB CBCT) system has not been investigated so far. We assess the image quality and absorbed dose of TB CBCT through comparison with those of on-board imager (OBI) CBCT. METHODS The image quality was evaluated using two phantoms. A CATPHAN phantom measured the image quality parameters of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 142 (AAPM TG-142) report. These factors are the pixel value stability and accuracy, noise, high-contrast resolution, low-contrast resolution, and image uniformity. A H2SO4 phantom was used to evaluate the image uniformity over a larger region than the CATPHAN phantom. In evaluating the absorbed dose, the radial dose profile and the patient organ doses at the prostate and rectum levels were evaluated. RESULTS The image quality parameters of AAPM TG-142 using TB CBCT are equal to or greater than those of OBI CBCT. In particular, the contrast-to-noise ratio with TB CBCT is 2.5 times higher than that with OBI CBCT. For the test of a large field uniformity, the maximum difference in the Hounsfield unit (HU) values between the centre and peripheral regions is within 30 HU with TB CBCT and 283 HU with OBI CBCT. The maximum absorbed dose with TB CBCT is decreased by 60%. CONCLUSIONS We find that the image quality improved and the absorbed dose decreased with TB CBCT in comparison to those with OBI CBCT. Its image uniformity is also superior over a larger scanning range.

Relative biological effectiveness study of Lipiodol based on microdosimetric-kinetic model

OBJECTIVES We examine the contrast agent Lipiodol effect on the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values for flattening filter free (FFF) and flattening filter (FF) beams of 6 MV-Xray (6 MVX) and 10 MVX. METHODS Lipiodol was placed at 5 cm depth in water. According to the microdosimetric kinetic model, the RBE values for killing the human liver hepatocellular cells were calculated from dose and lineal energy (yd(y)) from Monte Carlo simulations. RBE200kVX and RBECo were defined as the ratios of dose using reference radiation (200 kVX, Co-ɤ) to the dose of test radiation (FFF and FF beams for 6 MV and 10 MV) to produce the same biological effects. The dose enhancement RBE (RBEDE) was defined as the ratios of a dose without Lipiodol to with Lipiodol using to produce the same biological effects. The dose needed to achieve 10% (D10%) and 1% cell survival (D1%) was evaluated by cell surviving fraction (SF) formula. RESULTS The deviation of mean y‾D values with and without Lipiodol were 3.9-4.8% for 6 MVX and 3.5-3.6% for 10 MVX. The RBE200kVX and RBECo with Lipiodol were larger than that without Lipiodol. The RBEDE was larger for FFF beam than for FF beam. The deviation of RBEDE for FFF and FF beams of 6 MVX was larger than that of 10 MVX. CONCLUSION The presence of Lipiodol seemed to locally increase the absorbed dose and to also cause an enhancement of the relative biological effectiveness.

Effect of secondary electron generation on dose enhancement in Lipiodol with and without a flattening filter

Abstract Purpose Lipiodol, which was used in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization before liver stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), remains in SBRT. Previous we reported the dose enhancement in Lipiodol using 10 MV (10×) FFF beam. In this study, we compared the dose enhancement in Lipiodol and evaluated the probability of electron generation (PEG) for the dose enhancement using flattening filter (FF) and flattening filter free (FFF) beams. Methods FF and FFF for 6 MV (6×) and 10× beams were delivered by TrueBeam. The dose enhancement factor (DEF), energy spectrum, and PEG was calculated using Monte Carlo (MC) code BEAMnrc and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). Results DEFs for FF and FFF 6× beams were 7.0% and 17.0% at the center of Lipiodol (depth, 6.5 cm). DEFs for FF and FFF 10× beams were 8.2% and 10.5% at the center of Lipiodol. Spectral analysis revealed that the FFF beams contained more low‐energy (0–0.3 MeV) electrons than the FF beams, and the FF beams contained more high‐energy (>0.3 MeV) electrons than the FFF beams in Lipiodol. The difference between FFF and FF beam DEFs was larger for 6× than for 10×. This occurred because the 10× beams contained more high‐energy electrons. The PEGs for photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering for the FFF beams were higher than those for the FF beams. The PEG for the photoelectric absorption was higher than that for Compton scattering. Conclusions FFF beam contained more low‐energy photons and it contributed to the dose enhancement. Energy spectra and PEGs are useful for analyzing the mechanisms of dose enhancement.

Accuracy of the raw-data-based effective atomic numbers and monochromatic CT numbers for contrast medium with a dual-energy CT technique

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of raw-data-based effective atomic number (Zeff) values and monochromatic CT numbers for contrast material of varying iodine concentrations, obtained using dual-energy CT. METHODS We used a tissue characterization phantom and varying concentrations of iodinated contrast medium. A comparison between the theoretical values of Zeff and that provided by the manufacturer was performed. The measured and theoretical monochromatic CT numbers at 40-130 keV were compared. RESULTS The average difference between the Zeff values of lung (inhale) inserts in the tissue characterization phantom was 81.3% and the average Zeff difference was within 8.4%. The average difference between the Zeff values of the varying concentrations of iodinated contrast medium was within 11.2%. For the varying concentrations of iodinated contrast medium, the differences between the measured and theoretical monochromatic CT values increased with decreasing monochromatic energy. The Zeff and monochromatic CT numbers in the tissue characterization phantom were reasonably accurate. CONCLUSION The accuracy of the raw-data-based Zeff values was higher than that of image-based Zeff values in the tissue-equivalent phantom. The accuracy of Zeff values in the contrast medium was in good agreement within the maximum SD found in the iodine concentration range of clinical dynamic CT imaging. Moreover, the optimum monochromatic energy for human tissue and iodinated contrast medium was found to be 70 keV. Advances in knowledge: The accuracy of the Zeff values and monochromatic CT numbers of the contrast medium created by raw-data-based, dual-energy CT could be sufficient in clinical conditions.

SU-F-T-630: Energy Spectral Study On Lipiodol After Trans-Arterial Chemoembolization Using the Flattened and Unflattened Photon Beams

PURPOSE SBRT combining transarterial chemoembolization with Lipiodol is expected to improve local control. Our showed that the dose enhancement effect in the Lipiodol with 10X flattening filter free (FFF) was inserted. This study was to investigate the energy fluence variations of electron in the Lipiodol using flattened (FF) and FFF beams. METHODS FF and FFF for 6X and 10X beams by TrueBeam were used in this study. The Lipiodol (3 X 3 X 3 cm3 ) was located at the depth of 5 cm in water, the dose enhancement factor (DEF) and energy fluence were calculated by Monte Carlo (MC) calculations (PHITS). RESULTS DEFs with FF and FFF of 6X were 17.1% and 24.3% at rebuild-up region in the Lipiodol (5.3cm depth), 7.0% and 17.0% at the center of Lipiodol (6.5cm depth), and -13.2% and -8.2% at behind Lipiodol (8.3cm depth). DEFs with FF and FFF of 10X were 21.7% and 15.3% at rebuild-up region, 8.2% and 10.5% at the center of Lipiodol, and -14.0% and -8.6% at behind Lipiodol. Spectral results showed that the FFF beam contained more low-energy (0-0.3MeV) component of electrons than FF beam, and FF beam contained more high-energy (over 0.3MeV) electrons than FFF beam in Lipiodol. Behind the Lipiodol, build-down effect with FF beam was larger than FFF beam because FF beam contained more high energy electrons. The difference of DEFs between FFF and FF beams for 6X were larger than for 10X. This is because 10X beam contained more high-energy electrons. CONCLUSION It was found that the 6XFFF beam gives the largest change of energy fluence and the largest DEF in this study. These phenomena are mainly caused by component of low-energy electrons, and this energy is almost correspond to the boundary of photo electronic dominant and Compton scattering dominant region for photon beams.

SU-C-207A-03: Development of Proton CT Imaging System Using Thick Scintillator and CCD Camera

PURPOSE In the treatment planning of proton therapy, Water Equivalent Length (WEL), which is the parameter for the calculation of dose and the range of proton, is derived by X-ray CT (xCT) image and xCT-WEL conversion. However, about a few percent error in the accuracy of proton range calculation through this conversion has been reported. The purpose of this study is to construct a proton CT (pCT) imaging system for an evaluation of the error. METHODS The pCT imaging system was constructed with a thick scintillator and a cooled CCD camera, which acquires the two-dimensional image of integrated value of the scintillation light toward the beam direction. The pCT image is reconstructed by FBP method using a correction between the light intensity and residual range of proton beam. An experiment for the demonstration of this system was performed with 70-MeV proton beam provided by NIRS cyclotron. The pCT image of several objects reconstructed from the experimental data was evaluated quantitatively. RESULTS Three-dimensional pCT images of several objects were reconstructed experimentally. A finestructure of approximately 1 mm was clearly observed. The position resolution of pCT image was almost the same as that of xCT image. And the error of proton CT pixel value was up to 4%. The deterioration of image quality was caused mainly by the effect of multiple Coulomb scattering. CONCLUSION We designed and constructed the pCT imaging system using a thick scintillator and a CCD camera. And the system was evaluated with the experiment by use of 70-MeV proton beam. Three-dimensional pCT images of several objects were acquired by the system. This work was supported by JST SENTAN Grant Number 13A1101 and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15H04912.