Lee Sung-Woo, Jin Jian-Yue, Guan Huaiqun, Martin Flavious, Kim Jae Ho, Yin Fang-Fang
Radiation Oncology, St. Anne's Hospital, Fall River, Massachusetts.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan.
J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2008 Jan 13;9(1):1-15. doi: 10.1120/jacmp.v9i1.2318.
Although flat-panel based X-ray imaging has been well tested in diagnostic radiology, its use as an image-guided-radiotherapy (IGRT) system in a treatment room is new and requires systematic assessment.
BrainLab Novalis IGRT system was used for this study. It consists of two floor mounted kV X-ray tubes projecting obliquely into two flat-panel detectors mounted on the ceiling. The system automatically fuses the 2D localization images with 3D simulation CT image to provide positioning guidance. The following characteristics of the system were studied: (1) Coincidence of the isocenters between the IGRT and Linac; (2) Image quality; (3) Exposure; (4) Linearity, uniformity and repeatability.
(1) Localization accuracy and coincidence of the isocenters between the IGRT and Linac was better than 1-mm. (2) The spatial resolution was quantified using the relative modulation-transfer-function with f50=0.7-0.9 lp/mm. The variation of contrast-noise-ratio with technical settings was measured. (3) The maximal exposure of an image was less than 95 mR. An empirical relation between the exposure and the X-ray technical setting was derived. (4) The linearity, uniformity and repeatability of the system generally meet the requirements.
The system can be safely and reliably used as a target localization device.
尽管基于平板的X射线成像在诊断放射学中已得到充分测试,但其在治疗室用作图像引导放射治疗(IGRT)系统却是新的应用,需要进行系统评估。
本研究使用BrainLab Novalis IGRT系统。它由两个安装在地面的千伏X射线管组成,这些X射线管倾斜地投射到安装在天花板上的两个平板探测器上。该系统能自动将二维定位图像与三维模拟CT图像融合,以提供定位指导。研究了该系统的以下特性:(1)IGRT与直线加速器等中心的重合度;(2)图像质量;(3)曝光量;(4)线性、均匀性和重复性。
(1)IGRT与直线加速器等中心的定位精度和重合度优于1毫米。(2)使用相对调制传递函数对空间分辨率进行量化,f50 = 0.7 - 0.9线对/毫米。测量了对比度噪声比随技术参数设置的变化。(3)一幅图像的最大曝光量小于95毫伦琴。得出了曝光量与X射线技术参数设置之间的经验关系。(4)该系统的线性、均匀性和重复性总体上符合要求。
该系统可安全可靠地用作靶区定位设备。