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S Stathakis

Publications and source records attributed to S Stathakis.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A practical Monte Carlo MU verification tool for IMRT quality assurance.

Quality assurance (QA) for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning and beam delivery, using ionization chamber measurements and film dosimetry in a phantom, is time consuming. The Monte Carlo method is the most accurate method for radiotherapy dose calculation. However, a major drawback of Monte Carlo dose calculation as currently implemented is its slow speed. The goal of this work is to bring the efficiency of Monte Carlo into a practical range by developing a fast Monte Carlo monitor unit (MU) verification tool for IMRT. A special estimator for dose at a point called the point detector has been used in this research. The point detector uses the next event estimation (NEE) method to calculate the photon energy fluence at a point of interest and then converts it to collision kerma by the mass energy absorption coefficient assuming the presence of transient charged particle equilibrium. The MU verification tool has been validated by comparing the calculation results with measurements. It can be used for both patient dose verification and phantom QA calculation. The dynamic leaf-sequence log file is used to rebuild the actual MLC leaf sequence in order to predict the dose actually received by the patient. Dose calculations for 20 patient plans have been performed using the point detector method. Results were compared with direct Monte Carlo simulations using EGS4/MCSIM, which is a well-benchmarked Monte Carlo code. The results between the point detector and MCSIM agreed to within 2%. A factor of 20 speedup can be achieved with the point detector method compared with direct Monte Carlo simulations.

Body Burden↗
PubMed2006

Characterization of megavoltage electron beams delivered through a photon multi-leaf collimator (pMLC).

A study is presented that characterizes megavoltage electron beams delivered through an existing double-focused photon multi-leaf collimator (pMLC) using film measurements in a solid water phantom. Machine output stability and linearity were evaluated as well as the effect of source-to-surface distance (SSD) and field size on the penumbra for electron energies between 6 and 18 MeV over an SSD range of 60-100 cm. Penumbra variations as a function of field size, depth of measurement and the influence of the jaws were also studied. Field abutment, field flatness and target coverage for segmented beams were also addressed. The measured field size for electrons transported through the pMLC was the same as that for an x-ray beam up to SSDs of 70 cm. At larger SSD, the lower energy electron fields deviated from the projected field. Penumbra data indicated that 60 cm SSD was the most favourable treatment distance. Backprojection of P(20-80) penumbra data yielded a virtual source position located at 98.9 cm from the surface for 18 MeV electrons. For 6 MeV electrons, the virtual source position was at a distance of 82.6 cm. Penumbra values were smaller for small beam slits and reached a near-constant value for field widths larger than 5 cm. The influence of the jaws had a small effect on the penumbra. The R90 values ranged from 1.4 to 4.8 cm between 6 and 21 MeV as measured at 60 cm SSD for a 9 x 9 cm2 field. Uniformity and penumbra improvement could be demonstrated using weighted abutted fields especially useful for small segments. No detectable electron leakage through the pMLC was observed. Bremsstrahlung measurements taken at 60 cm SSD for a 9 x 9 cm2 field as shaped by the pMLC compared within 1% to bremsstrahlung measurements taken at 100 cm SSD for a 10 x 10 cm2 electron applicator field at 100 cm SSD.

Electrons↗