| 1. |
- Andisheh, Bahram, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Vascular structure and binomial statistics for response modeling in radiosurgery of cerebral arteriovenous malformations
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 55:7, s. 2057-2067
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radiation treatment of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) has a slow and progressive vaso-occlusive effect. Some studies suggested the possible role of vascular structure in this process. A detailed biomathematical model has been used, where the morphological, biophysical and hemodynamic characteristics of intracranial AVM vessels are faithfully reproduced. The effect of radiation on plexiform and fistulous AVM nidus vessels was simulated using this theoretical model. The similarities between vascular and electrical networks were used to construct this biomathematical AVM model and provide an accurate rendering of transnidal and intranidal hemodynamics. The response of different vessels to radiation and their obliteration probability as a function of different angiostructures were simulated and total obliteration was defined as the probability of obliteration of all possible vascular pathways. The dose response of the whole AVM is observed to depend on the vascular structure of the intra-nidus AVM. Furthermore, a plexiform AVM appears to be more prone to obliteration compared with an AVM of the same size but having more arteriovenous fistulas. Finally, a binomial model was introduced, which considers the number of crucial vessels and is able to predict the dose response behavior of AVMs with a complex vascular structure.
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| 2. |
- Brahme, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Solution of an integral equation encountered in rotation therapy
- 1982
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 27:10, s. 1221-1229
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An integral equation relating the lateral absorbed dose profile of a photon beam to the resultant absorbed dose distribution during single-turn rotating-beam therapy has been set up and solved for the case of a cylindrical phantom with the axis of rotation coinciding with the axis of symmetry of the cylinder. In the first approximation the results obtained are also valid when the axis of rotation is somewhat off-centred, even in a phantom that deviates from circular symmetry, provided the rotation is performed in both clockwise and counter clockwise directions. The calculated dose profiles indicate that improved dose uniformity can be achieved using a new type of non-linear wedge-shaped filter, which can easily be designed using the derived general analytic solution to the integral equation.
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| 3. |
- Hollmark, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Analytical model for light ion pencil beam dose distributions: multiple scattering of primary and secondary ions
- 2008
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 53:13, s. 3477-3491
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An analytical algorithm based on the generalized Fermi–Eyges theory, amended for multiple Coulomb scattering and energy loss straggling, is used for calculation of the dose distribution of light ion beams in water. Pencil beam energy deposition distributions are derived for light ions by weighting a Monte Carlo (MC) calculated planar integral dose distribution with analytically calculated multiple scattering and range straggling distributions. The planar integral dose distributions are calculated using the MC code SHIELD-HIT07, in which multiple scattering and energy loss straggling processes are excluded. The contribution from nuclear reactions is included in the MC calculations. Multiple scattering processes are calculated separately for primary and secondary ions and parameters of the initial angular and radial spreads, and the covariance of these are derived by a least-square parameterization of the SHIELD-HIT07 data. The results from this analytical algorithm are compared to pencil beam dose distributions obtained from SHIELD-HIT07, where all processes are included, as well as to experimental data. The presented analytical approach allows for the accurate calculation of the spatial energy deposition distributions of ions of atomic numbers Z = 1 − 8.
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| 4. |
- Hultqvist, Martha, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of nuclear reaction cross-sections and fragment yields in carbon beams using the SHIELD-HIT Monte Carlo code. Comparison with experiments
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 57:13, s. 4369-4385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In light ion therapy, the knowledge of the spectra of both primary and secondary particles in the target volume is needed in order to accurately describe the treatment. The transport of ions in matter is complex and comprises both atomic and nuclear processes involving primary and secondary ions produced in the cascade of events. One of the critical issues in the simulation of ion transport is the modeling of inelastic nuclear reaction processes, in which projectile nuclei interact with target nuclei and give rise to nuclear fragments. In the Monte Carlo code SHIELD-HIT, inelastic nuclear reactions are described by the Many Stage Dynamical Model (MSDM), which includes models for the different stages of the interaction process. In this work, the capability of SHIELD-HIT to simulate the nuclear fragmentation of carbon ions in tissue-like materials was studied. The value of the parameter., which determines the so-called freeze-out volume in the Fermi break-up stage of the nuclear interaction process, was adjusted in order to achieve better agreement with experimental data. In this paper, results are shown both with the default value k = 1 and the modified value k = 10 which resulted in the best overall agreement. Comparisons with published experimental data were made in terms of total and partial charge-changing cross-sections generated by the MSDM, as well as integral and differential fragment yields simulated by SHIELD-HIT in intermediate and thick water targets irradiated with a beam of 400 MeV u(-1) C-12 ions. Better agreement with the experimental data was in general obtained with the modified parameter value (k = 10), both on the level of partial charge-changing cross-sections and fragment yields.
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| 5. |
- Janek, Sara, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Development of dose delivery verification by PET imaging of photonuclear reactions following high energy photon therapy
- 2006
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 51:22, s. 5769-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A method for dose delivery monitoring after high energy photon therapy has been investigated based on positron emission tomography (PET). The technique is based on the activation of body tissues by high energy bremsstrahlung beams, preferably with energies well above 20 MeV, resulting primarily in 11C and 15O but also 13N, all positron-emitting radionuclides produced by photoneutron reactions in the nuclei of 12C, 16O and 14N. A PMMA phantom and animal tissue, a frozen hind leg of a pig, were irradiated to 10 Gy and the induced positron activity distributions were measured off-line in a PET camera a couple of minutes after irradiation. The accelerator used was a Racetrack Microtron at the Karolinska University Hospital using 50 MV scanned photon beams. From photonuclear cross-section data integrated over the 50 MV photon fluence spectrum the predicted PET signal was calculated and compared with experimental measurements. Since measured PET images change with time post irradiation, as a result of the different decay times of the radionuclides, the signals from activated 12C, 16O and 14N within the irradiated volume could be separated from each other. Most information is obtained from the carbon and oxygen radionuclides which are the most abundant elements in soft tissue. The predicted and measured overall positron activities are almost equal (−3%) while the predicted activity originating from nitrogen is overestimated by almost a factor of two, possibly due to experimental noise. Based on the results obtained in this first feasibility study the great value of a combined radiotherapy–PET–CT unit is indicated in order to fully exploit the high activity signal from oxygen immediately after treatment and to avoid patient repositioning. With an RT–PET–CT unit a high signal could be collected even at a dose level of 2 Gy and the acquisition time for the PET could be reduced considerably. Real patient dose delivery verification by means of PET imaging seems to be applicable provided that biological transport processes such as capillary blood flow containing mobile 15O and 11C in the activated tissue volume can be accounted for.
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| 6. |
- Janek Strååt, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical application of in vivo treatment delivery verification based on PET/CT imaging of positron activity induced at high energy photon therapy
- 2013
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 58:16, s. 5541-5553
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to investigate in vivo verification of radiation treatment with high energy photon beams using PET/CT to image the induced positron activity. The measurements of the positron activation induced in a preoperative rectal cancer patient and a prostate cancer patient following 50 MV photon treatments are presented. A total dose of 5 and 8 Gy, respectively, were delivered to the tumors. Imaging was performed with a 64-slice PET/CT scanner for 30 min, starting 7 min after the end of the treatment. The CT volume from the PET/CT and the treatment planning CT were coregistered by matching anatomical reference points in the patient. The treatment delivery was imaged in vivo based on the distribution of the induced positron emitters produced by photonuclear reactions in tissue mapped on to the associated dose distribution of the treatment plan. The results showed that spatial distribution of induced activity in both patients agreed well with the delivered beam portals of the treatment plans in the entrance subcutaneous fat regions but less so in blood and oxygen rich soft tissues. For the preoperative rectal cancer patient however, a 2 +/- (0.5) cm misalignment was observed in the cranial-caudal direction of the patient between the induced activity distribution and treatment plan, indicating a beam patient setup error. No misalignment of this kind was seen in the prostate cancer patient. However, due to a fast patient setup error in the PET/CT scanner a slight mis-position of the patient in the PET/CT was observed in all three planes, resulting in a deformed activity distribution compared to the treatment plan. The present study indicates that the induced positron emitters by high energy photon beams can be measured quite accurately using PET imaging of subcutaneous fat to allow portal verification of the delivered treatment beams. Measurement of the induced activity in the patient 7 min after receiving 5 Gy involved count rates which were about 20 times lower than that of a patient undergoing standard F-18-FDG treatment. When using a combination of short lived nuclides such as O-15 (half-life: 2 min) and C-11 (half-life: 20 min) with low activity it is not optimal to use clinical reconstruction protocols. Thus, it might be desirable to further optimize reconstruction parameters as well as to address hardware improvements in realizing in vivo treatment verification with PET/CT in the future. A significant improvement with regard to O-15 imaging could also be expected by having the PET/CT unit located close to the radiation treatment room.
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| 7. |
- Mavroidis, Panayiotis, et al.
(författare)
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Statistical methods for clinical verification of dose-response parameters related to esophageal stricture and AVM obliteration from radiotherapy
- 2004
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 49:16, s. 3797-3816
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this work is to provide some statistical methods for evaluating the predictive strength of radiobiological models and the validity of dose-response parameters for tumour control and normal tissue complications. This is accomplished by associating the expected complication rates, which are calculated using different models, with the clinical follow-up records. These methods are applied to 77 patients who received radiation treatment for head and neck cancer and 85 patients who were treated for arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The three-dimensional dose distribution delivered to esophagus and AVM nidus and the clinical follow-up results were available for each patient. Dose-response parameters derived by a maximum likelihood fitting were used as a reference to evaluate their compatibility with the examined treatment methodologies. The impact of the parameter uncertainties on the dose-response curves is demonstrated. The clinical utilization of the radiobiological parameters is illustrated. The radiobiological models (relative seriality and linear Poisson) and the reference parameters are validated to prove their suitability in reproducing the treatment outcome pattern of the patient material studied (through the probability of finding a worse fit, area under the ROC curve and chi2 test). The analysis was carried out for the upper 5 cm of the esophagus (proximal esophagus) where all the strictures are formed, and the total volume of AVM. The estimated confidence intervals of the dose-response curves appear to have a significant supporting role on their clinical implementation and use.
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