The integration of the dose-guided radiation therapy process on a clinical workstation

摘要

With the recent advancements in in-room patient imaging devices and the development of corresponding image correction methods on Megavoltage cone-beam CT images, daily or weekly calculations of actual absorbed treatment dose are feasible. In order for such procedures to be used clinically, an efficient workflow process must be established. To facilitate this goal, a new standalone workstation prototype has been developed which integrates all of the necessary steps for dose-guided radiation therapy (DGRT). The available functions include patient image correction (for the cupping and missing data artifacts), calibration, completion, recontouring, and dose recalculation. Dose comparison tools are also available to track the dosimetric impact of anatomy and positioning changes through the course of treatment. Here, we present the integration process of this new workstation to ensure accurate image correction and dose calculation. We validate the image correction by comparing the corrected cone-beam image with the planning kVCT image to verify that the corrected image is properly calibrated to the proper Hounsficld Units. For dose calculation, we compare the results of the Konrad-based DGRT workstation to the results of Pinnacle3 Treatment Planning System.