Real patient data based cross verification of kilovoltage and megavoltage CT calibration for proton therapy

The accuracy of the predicted beam range is critical for proton therapy treatment planning due to the fast distal fall off of the beam depth dose curve. For each CT simulator a CT Hounsfield Unit (HU) to proton relative stopping power (RSP) calibration needs to be established in order to accurately predict the beam range and calculate 3D dose distribution in proton therapy. High atomic number (Z) materials such as metal implants may restrict the accuracy of proton therapy as they cause significant image artifacts in the surrounding tissue in kilovoltage CT (kVCT) images, which currently is the standard option for radiation treatment planning.

Source: Physica Medica: European Journal of Medical Physics - February 25, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Shie Nishioka, Joo Han Park, Wei Zou, Miao Zhang, Ning J. Yue, Ting Chen Tags: Original Paper Source Type: research