Springer Science and Business Media LLC

The minimal dose covering 90 % of the prostate volume—D 90—is arguably the most important dosimetric parameter in low-dose-rate prostate seed brachytherapy. In this study an analysis of the measurement uncertainties in D 90 from low-dose-rate prostate seed brachytherapy was conducted for two common treatment procedures with two different post-implant dosimetry methods. The analysis was undertaken in order to determine the magnitude of D 90 uncertainty, how the magnitude of the uncertainty varied when D 90 was calculated using different dosimetry methods, and which factors were the major contributors to the uncertainty. The analysis considered the prostate as being homogeneous and tissue equivalent and made use of published data, as well as original data collected specifically for this analysis, and was performed according to the Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM). It was found that when prostate imaging and seed implantation were conducted in two separate sessions using only CT images for post-implant analysis, the expanded uncertainty in D 90 values were about 25 % at the 95 % confidence interval. When prostate imaging and seed implantation were conducted during a single session using CT and ultrasound images for post-implant analysis, the expanded uncertainty in D 90 values were about 33 %. Methods for reducing these uncertainty levels are discussed. It was found that variations in contouring the target tissue made the largest contribution to D 90 uncertainty, while the uncertainty in seed source strength made only a small contribution. It is important that clinicians appreciate the overall magnitude of D 90 uncertainty and understand the factors that affect it so that clinical decisions are soundly based, and resources are appropriately allocated.

In the present study, the effects of airway blockage in chronic bronchitis disease on the flow patterns and transport/deposition of micro-particles in a human symmetric triple bifurcation lung airway model, i.e., Weibel’s generations G3–G6 was investigated. A computational fluid and particle dynamics model was implemented, validated and applied in order to evaluate the airflow and particle transport/deposition in central airways. Three breathing patterns, i.e., resting, light activity and moderate exercise, were considered. Using Lagrangian approach for particle tracking and random particle injection, an unsteady particle tracking method was performed to simulate the transport and deposition of micron-sized aerosol particles in human central airways. Assuming laminar, quasi-steady, three-dimensional air flow and spherical non-interacting particles in sequentially bifurcating rigid airways, airflow patterns and particle transport/deposition in healthy and chronic bronchitis (CB) affected airways were evaluated and compared. Comparison of deposition efficiency (DE) of aerosols in healthy and occluded airways showed that at the same flow rates DE values are typically larger in occluded airways. While in healthy airways, particles deposit mainly around the carinal ridges and flow dividers—due to direct inertial impaction, in CB affected airways they deposit mainly on the tubular surfaces of blocked airways because of gravitational sedimentation.

QRS complex detection usually provides the fundamentals to automated electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis. In this paper, a new approach of QRS complex detection without the stage of noise suppression was developed and evaluated, which was based on the combination of two techniques: matched filtering and triangle character analysis. Firstly, a template of QRS complex was selected automatically by the triangle character in ECG, and then it was time-reversed after removing its direct current component. Secondly, matched filtering was implemented at low computational cost by finite impulse response, which further enhanced QRS complex and attenuated non-QRS regions containing P-wave, T-wave and various noise components. Subsequently, triangle structure-based threshold decision was processed to detect QRS complexes. And RR intervals and triangle structures were further analyzed for the reduction of false-positive and false-negative detections. Finally, the performance of the proposed algorithm was tested on all 48 records of the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database. The results demonstrated that the detection rate reached 99.62 %, the sensitivity got 99.78 %, and the positive prediction was 99.85 %. In addition, the proposed method was able to identify QRS complexes reliably even under the condition of poor signal quality.

The accuracy of a computed tomography (CT)-relative electron density (RED) curve may have an indirect impact on the accuracy of dose calculation by a treatment planning system (TPS). This effect has not been previously quantified for input of different CT-RED curves from different CT-scan units in the Monaco TPS. This study aims to evaluate the effect of CT-RED curve on the dose calculation by the Monaco radiotherapy TPS. Four CT images of the CIRS phantom were obtained by different CT scanners. The accuracy of the dose calculation in the three algorithms of the Monaco TPS (Monte Carlo, collapse cone, and pencil beam) is also evaluated based on TECDOC 1583. The CT-RED curves from the CT scanners were transferred to the Monaco TPS to audit the different algorithms of the TPS. The dose values were measured with an ionization chamber in the CIRS phantom. Then, the dose values were calculated by the Monaco algorithms in the corresponding points. For the Monaco TPS and based on TECDOC 1583, the accuracy of the dose calculation in all the three algorithms is within the agreement criteria for most of the points evaluated. For low dose regions, the differences between the calculated and measured dose values are higher than the agreement criteria in a number of points. For the majority of the points, the algorithms underestimate the calculated dose values. It was also found that the use of different CT-RED curves can lead to minor discrepancies in the dose calculation by the Monaco TPS, especially in low dose regions. However, it appears that these differences are not clinically significant in most of the cases.

Quality assurance of medical linear accelerators includes dosimetric parameter measurement of therapeutic electron beams e.g. relative dose at a depth of 80 % (R80). This parameter must be within a tolerance of 0.2 cm of the declared value. Cumbersome water tank measurements can be regarded as a benchmark to measure electron depth dose curves. A mini-phantom was designed and built, in which a strip of GAFCHROMIC® EBT2 film could be encased tightly for electron beam depth dose measurement. Depth dose data were measured for an ELEKTA Sl25 MLC, ELEKTA Precise, and ELEKTA Synergy (Elekta Oncology Systems, Crawley, UK) machines. The electron beam energy range was between 4 and 22 MeV among the machines. A 10 × 10 cm2 electron applicator with 95 cm source-surface-distance was used on all the machines. 24 h after irradiation, the EBT2 film strips were scanned on Canon CanoScan N670U scanner. Afterwards, the data were analysed with in-house developed software that entailed optical density to dose conversion, and optimal fitting of the PDD data to de-noise the raw data. From the PDD data R80 values were solved for and compared with acceptance values. A series of tests were also carried out to validate the use of the scanner for film Dosimetry. These tests are presented in this study. It was found that this method of R80 evaluation was reliable with good agreement with benchmark water tank measurements using a commercial parallel plate ionization chamber as the radiation detector. The EBT2 film data yielded R80 values that were on average 0.06 cm different from benchmark water tank measured R80 values.

Australian primary standards of air kerma and absorbed dose are realized in60Co gamma rays. To calibrate the megavoltage photon beams from linear accelerators, radiotherapy centres have their ionization chamber calibrated in a60Co beam and then use a protocol to transfer this calibration to the higher energy. The radiotherapy community is in the process of changing from the ACPSEM Protocol (Second Edition 1998) based on an air kerma calibration to the IAEA’s TRS-398 Code of Practice, based on an absorbed dose to water calibration. To evaluate the shift in absorbed dose resulting from the new protocol, the absorbed dose should be determined using both protocols and compared. We present a formula for this shift which can be used to check the result. To use this formula the centre needs to measure a displacement correction and know the ratio of the air kerma to absorbed dose to water calibration factors at60Co. We calculate the change they should expect by using the average ratio of the air kerma and absorbed dose to water calibration factors for NE2571 and NE2561 chambers, based on Australian standards, and by estimating the displacement correction from published depth dose data. We find the absorbed dose in a megavoltage photon beam to increase by between 0.1 and 0.6% for NE2571 chambers and between 0.7 and 1.1% for NE2561 chambers, for beams up to 35 MV. The dose measured using TRS-398 is always higher.