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Physicians typically measure deep tendon reflexes visually, leading to ambiguity and disagreement over exact reflex classification. Millimeter-wave radar addresses this problem by providing an accurate, unambiguous measurement of reflex limb motion and features noncontact sensing for convenience and patient comfort. Radar spectrograms closely match optical motion capture results, supporting radar’s viability as a clinical assessment tool. This study analyzes data from 60 radar and motion capture measurement trials across four subjects. Six reflex characteristics are defined and extracted. The extracted parameters show a high level of agreement between the two different techniques, with a mean relative error of only 10.39%. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between hammer tap speed and reflex response speed, with maximum leg velocities showing a slope of 0.4. This study also quantifies and discusses the effects of hammer tap speed and leg length. An analytical model is derived to describe the patellar DTR system dynamics. In the future, physicians may use a specialized radar system to assess reflex performance quickly, accurately, and comfortably for a patient under test.

High-resolution X-ray imaging techniques, usually known as microradiography and micro-computed tomography (CT), have become highly required and frequently used tools for biology, biomedical and preclinical research. State-of-the-art micro-CT scanners are capable of achieving a spatial resolution of few micrometers or even less, thanks to the constant development of compact microfocus X-ray sources together with simultaneous progress in detector technologies. The current standard in X-ray detection is a digital imaging device containing read-out circuitry coupled with a scintillation sensor. Such detectors are available in a variety of different sizes, and are easy to use and relatively affordable. Nevertheless, the mentioned technology suffers from inherent limitations like, for example, undesirable generation of dark current, that compromise the quality of the provided data. This work demonstrates the applicability of Timepix large-area hybrid-pixel photon-counting detectors (PCDs) for high-resolution X-ray imaging in biology research. Photon-counting detection technology provides dark-current-free quantum-counting operation. Therefore, an enhanced contrast-to-noise ratio of the acquired data is achieved. Furthermore, the biased semiconductor sensor achieves almost ideal point-spread function (PSF) resulting in images with high spatial-resolution. Both above-mentioned features make PCDs to be excellent tools for high-resolution X-ray imaging especially for samples with low intrinsic absorption contrast. We evaluated the imaging performance of large-area Timepix detectors compared to a state-of-the-art flat-panel detector dedicated for high-resolution X-ray imaging. The presented data demonstrate the versatility of the used detectors as it covers a wide range of samples from laboratory animals to single-cell marine organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Radiation therapy treatment planning is a time-consuming, iterative process with potentially high inter-planner variability. Fully automated treatment planning processes could reduce a planner's active treatment planning time and remove inter-planner variability, with the potential to tremendously improve patient turnover and quality of care. In developing fully automated algorithms for treatment planning, we have two main objectives: to produce plans that are 1) Pareto optimal and 2) clinically acceptable. Here, we propose the Pareto optimal projection search (POPS) algorithm, which provides a general framework for directly searching the Pareto front. Methods: Our POPS algorithm is a novel automated planning method that combines two main search processes: 1) gradient-free search in the decision variable space and 2) projection of decision variables to the Pareto front using the bisection method. We demonstrate the performance of POPS by comparing with clinical treatment plans. As one possible quantitative measure of treatment plan quality, we construct a clinical acceptability scoring function (SF) modified from the previously developed general evaluation metric (GEM). Results: On a dataset of 21 prostate cases collected as part of clinical workflow, our proposed POPS algorithm produces Pareto optimal plans that are clinically acceptable in regards to dose conformity, dose homogeneity, and sparing of organs-at-risk. Conclusion: Our proposed POPS algorithm provides a general framework for fully automated treatment planning that achieves clinically acceptable dosimetric quality without requiring active planning from human planners. Significance: Our fully automated POPS algorithm addresses many key limitations of other automated planning approaches, and we anticipate that it will substantially improve treatment planning workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric pressure cold plasma generated using a radio frequency hollow cathode (RFHC) device recently showed its potent virucidal characteristics. For this purpose, the atmospheric pressure cold plasma of Ar was generated with a specially designed electrode using RF (13.56 MHz) power. In order to establish a correlation between the generated plasma species and its virucidal activity, systematic optical emission spectroscopy (OES) investigations were conducted on the plasma. OES studies revealed that the generated plasma using this device shows the emission of important species in the ultraviolet (UV) region and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the optimized operation condition, required for virucidal action. Furthermore, investigations revealed that similar active species can be generated by placing a commercial nebulizer in front of plasma. Investigations conducted on the aerosol capturing efficiency of N-95 mask revealed that cold plasma treatment leaves functional aspects of this medical personal protection equipment (PPE) unchanged. The results indicate that such an RF-HC device in combination with a nebulizer for introducing water mist in plasma can effectively destroy bacteriophage of Aeromonas bacteria at low operating power (70–90 W). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a high spatial resolution and sensitive detector particularly suitable for radiation dose measurements in radiotherapy at small fields and X-ray imaging applications. The detector is based on a silica optical fiber whose sensitive terminal is functionalized by grafting Ag-doped ZnS scintillating materials that emit blue luminescence under X-ray irradiation. Due to the small scintillating head of the detector, the acquisition signal is quite low, and it is measured by a sensitive photon counter plugged at the other terminal of the fiber. The weaker signal can be enhanced significantly by adding a metal coating over the scintillator. Therefore, this study presents the effect of metal thickness and density on the signal amplification at high irradiation energies of 6 MeV and 15 MeV using a Linear Accelerator (LINAC). In addition, the stem effect was characterized for regular to small field beam size and shows that the detector is almost free from stem contribution during high energy irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: an innovative non−thermal plasma (NTP) system constituted by a radiofrequency (RF) power generator directly coupled to a treatment probe is described and characterized. This system is intended to be applied as a medical device for therapeutic treatments. Methods: electrical characterization of the radiofrequency power generator supplying the treatment probe was performed. Meanwhile, generated NTP was optically analyzed. Obtained data were studied to establish the safety profile of plasma application on heat sensitive matter. Results: the NTP system was validated through bacterial deactivation trials, as well as, of being capable of deactivating carcinogenic cells. Besides promoting and accelerating wound closure in vivo performed in mice, demonstrating faster healing than that done with conventional treatments. Conclusion: the NTP system's characterization is an essential stage to determine the adequate application of the generated plasma over organic media. The therapeutic benefits of the NTP system were proved by the development of in vivo experiences involving laboratory mice. Significance: the generated NTP interacts with surrounding air particles producing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which, exhibit bactericidal and antiseptic effects due to their strong biochemical reactivity; functioning like critical mediators in animal physiology and promoting wound healing processes. These properties make the NTP system a feasible technology intended for therapeutic treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a visual computing approach to radiation therapy (RT) planning, based on spatial similarity within a patient cohort. In radiotherapy for head and neck cancer treatment, dosage to organs at risk surrounding a tumor is a large cause of treatment toxicity. Along with the availability of patient repositories, this situation has lead to clinician interest in understanding and predicting RT outcomes based on previously treated similar patients. To enable this type of analysis, we introduce a novel topology-based spatial similarity measure, T-SSIM, and a predictive algorithm based on this similarity measure. We couple the algorithm with a visual steering interface that intertwines visual encodings for the spatial data and statistical results, including a novel parallel-marker encoding that is spatially aware. We report quantitative results on a cohort of 165 patients, as well as a qualitative evaluation with domain experts in radiation oncology, data management, biostatistics, and medical imaging, who are collaborating remotely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Centre for Proton Therapy at the Paul Scherrer Institute, cancer patients are treated with a fixed beamline and in two gantries for ocular and nonocular malignancies, respectively. For the installation of a third gantry, a new patient safety system (PaSS) was developed and is subsequently being rolled out to update the existing areas. The aim of the PaSS is to interrupt the treatment whenever any subsystem detects a hazardous condition. To ensure correct treatment delivery, this system needs to be thoroughly tested as part of the regular quality assurance (QA) protocols as well as after any upgrade. In the legacy safety systems, unit testing required extensive use of resources: 2 weeks of work per area in the laboratory in addition to QA beam time. In order to significantly reduce the time, an automated PaSS test stand for unit testing was developed based on a PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation chassis with virtually unlimited I/Os that are synchronously stimulated or sampled at 1 MHz. It can emulate the rest of the facility using adapters to connect each type of interface. With it, the PaSS can be tested under arbitrary conditions. A VHSIC (very high speed integrated circuit) hardware description language-based formal language was developed to describe stimuli, expected behavior, and specific measurements, interpreted by a LabView runtime environment. This paper describes the tools and methodology being applied for unit testing and QA release tests for the new PaSS. It shows how automation and formalization made possible to increase the test coverage while significantly reducing the laboratory testing time and facility’s beam usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, cancer patients are treated with protons. The PSI Gantries work with Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) technology. For beam profile characterization, a new 2-D planar pixel detector based on Printed Circuit Board technology was developed. The main challenge of the design was the limited amount of 256 readout channels while several thousands of detector signals had to be processed. With PBS, only a few pixels will be hit by the proton beam and give a significant signal, while most of them will not capture any signal. On the detector design, the active area was divided into pixel arrays with equal size, while one array is such big to cover the whole size of the proton beam. By a so-called channel recycling technique, the same pixel number of all pixel arrays were connected together to one readout channel. The proof of concept was verified with a small detector. In the next step, the design was changed such, getting a full-scale detector for Gantry 2. The readout electronics board itself is also a development performed at PSI. A core component of the design is the ADAS1128 chip from ANALOG Devices featuring 128 input channels. The pixel detector is fully integrated into the therapy control system (TCS) through readout electronics with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. The FPGA technology allows to readout the detector synchronized to the beam delivery. This paper summarizes the features of the pixel detector design, the readout electronics, and shows the first experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation therapy is among the top three cancer treatments in current medical services. The novel noncoplanar radiation therapy which claimed the best characteristics in almost all dosimetric properties encountered the challenges of the potential collision and the long time delivering. In this paper, we proposed a brand new scheme which uses a combined method of the collision avoidance path planning based on an improved probability roadmap method (PRM) and the delivery sequence optimization based on a modified genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the problems in noncoplanar radiation therapy. A uniform sampling strategy, an improved connection strategy, and an efficient local planner are introduced to optimize the roadmap result and accelerate the roadmap construction. The GA is improved by the elitist selection, the local search strategy, and the similar substitution strategy to achieve a better performance both in convergence rate and optimal solution. Experiments are carried out on the simulation platform with typical therapy system models. The results show that our proposed methods work well with the radiation therapy system in a compact working area. Collision is avoided and time consumption is reduced. We believe that our proposed algorithms could solve the problems in current radiation therapy and promote their clinic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) is an emerging cancer therapy, which uses bursts of short duration, alternating polarity, high-voltage electrical pulses to focally ablate tumors. Here, we present a preliminary investigation of the combinatorial effects of H-FIRE and ionizing radiation. In vitro cell cultures were exposed to bursts of 500 ns pulses and single radiation doses of 2 or 20 Gy then analyzed for 14 days. H-FIRE and radiation therapy (RT) appear to induce different delayed cell death mechanisms and in all treatment groups combinatorial therapy resulted in lower overall viabilities. These results indicate that in vivo investigation of the antitumor efficacy of combined H-FIRE and RT is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, cancer patients are treated with protons. Proton therapy at PSI has a long history and started in the 1980s. More than 30 years later, a new gantry has recently been installed in the existing facility. This new machine has been delivered by an industry partner. A big challenge is the integration of the vendor’s safety system into the existing PSI environment. Different interface standards and the complexity of the system made it necessary to find a technical solution connecting an industry system to the existing PSI infrastructure. A novel very flexible distributed IO system based on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology was developed, supporting many different IO interface standards and high-speed communication links connecting the device to a PSI standard versa module eurocard-bus input output controller. This paper summarizes the features of the hardware technology, the FPGA framework with its high-speed communication link protocol, and presents our first measurement results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective preclinical research is a vital component in the development of MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) and its translation to clinic. In this review, we seek to outline the challenges at hand for effective preclinical research, survey different solutions, and underline best practices. Furthermore, we summarize efforts to build and characterize dedicated preclinical MRgFUS equipment, including lab prototypes and available commercial products. Finally, we discuss constraints and considerations specific to using clinical MRgFUS equipment in preclinical research. Specifically, we examine additional hardware that has been used to adapt clinical MRgFUS equipment to better position, constrain, and image preclinical subjects, as well as software solutions that have been used to extend the potential and capabilities of clinical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Modern stereotactic radiation therapy modalities utilize small beams and large dose gradients to deliver radiation in few fractions, reducing the possibility to correct for mistakes during the treatment process. Therefore, in order to ensure best possible treatment for the patient, quality assurance for such treatments necessitates a stable, linear, and sensitive radiation detector with high spatial resolution and radiation hardness. In this work, two silicon detector arrays with high spatial resolution have been characterized by 6 MV and 18 MV medical LINAC irradiation, and 5.5 MeV He2+ heavy ion microprobe. A maximum discrepancy of 0.6 mm in field size has been found when comparing to two-dimensional radiochromic film dose profile, and charge collection efficiency obtained by means of ion beam induced charge collection (IBICC) is 66% when operating the array in photovoltaic mode. Radiation damage study by photons and photoneutrons is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cancer is a leading cause of death in veterinary patients. Forms of radiation therapy were used to treat these patients as early as 1896. Dr. Edward Gillette spearheaded veterinary oncology at Colorado State University (CSU). He recognized that a successful program would require well trained personnel together with modern modalities. His motivation presented a dilemma since fiscal realities in veterinary practice are modest compared to clinical practices in humans. In 1981 the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences commissioned the first clinical linear accelerator dedicated to the treatment of naturally occurring tumors in veterinary patients and translational research. This refurbished Varian Clinac 6 was capable of delivering photon and electron beams generated in an isocentric gantry with flexible beam collimation. Commercially available clinical accelerators are designed exclusively for human medicine. This paper chronicles the adaption of this early electron accelerator to veterinary patients without compromising the accuracy and precision expected in human radiation therapy. Broad challenges were encountered in dosimetry, treatment planning and patient positioning. Dr. Thomas Borak and Mr. Robert Scott formed a team approach to medical physics, engineering and maintenance. Translational research focuses on treatment of pet animals to evaluate novel therapeutics and foster an understanding of mechanisms impacting tumor control. The clinical accelerator, together with scientists, technicians and students at CSU pioneered translational research in radiation oncology. Veterinary oncology today is a mature and thriving discipline, based on modern clinical capabilities for cancer treatment in animals as well as a strong research component that benefits both veterinary and human medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The increase of computational environments dedicated to the simulation of nanoparticles (NP)-X-Rays interactions has opened new perspectives in computer-aided-design of nanostructured materials for biomedical applications. Several published studies have shown a crucial need of standardization of these numerical simulations. That is why, a robustness multivariate analysis was performed in this paper. A gold nanoparticle (GNP) of 100 nm diameter was selected as a standard nanosystem activated by a X-ray source placed just below the NP. Two response variables were examined: the dose enhancement in seven different spatial regions of interest around the NP and the duration of the experiments. Nine factors were pre-identified as potentially critical. A Plackett-Burman design of numerical experiments was applied to estimate and test the effects of each simulation factors on the examined responses. Four factors—the working volume, the spatial resolution, the spatial cutoff, and the computational mode (parallelization)—do not significantly affect the dose deposition results and none except the last one may reduce the computational duration. The energy cutoff may cause significant variations of the dose enhancement in some specific regions of interest: the higher the cutoff, the closer the secondary particles will stop from the GNP. By contrast, the Auger effect as well as the choice of the physical medium and the fluence level clearly appear as critical simulation parameters. Consequently, these four factors may be compulsory examined before comparing and interpreting any simulation results coming from different simulation sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Ongoing research in the use of electromagnetic stimulation as coadjuvant in fracture healing has led the authors to begin generating computer models in order to predict cellular growth changes when cells are electromagnetically stimulated. By generating these models, scientists will be able to better understand how electromagnetic fields affect cellular development. The experimental design integrated a cellular culture bioreactor along with an external magnetic stimulation system, which allowed for dermal models to be exposed to controlled magnetic fields. Methods: Initially, it was necessary to analyze the static growth of Normal Human Skin Fibroblast (NHSF) cells when they were exposed to Extremely Low Frequency – Electromagnetic Fields (ELF-EMFs). Using optimal conditions for the NHSF culture, from stimulation signal to scaffolding material, we were able to perform the dynamic flow stimulation experiments. Results: The following systems were developed: (1) a bioreactor aimed at cellular tissue culture, and (2) Helmholtz coils capable of generating stimulation signals for the cultured tissue. The authors were able to appreciate the quantified values of cellular density diluted in all the experiment samples that were taken and overall, the irradiated samples displayed an average increase of 53% higher cellular density for the same amount of initial cellular seeding when the cells were exposed to a 1 mT, 60 Hz magnetic field signal. Conclusion: ELF-EMF's indeed alter NHSF cell growth rates and it is the challenge of the authors to continue investigating what cellular mechanisms are altered when cells are exposed to ELF-EMF's [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the radiation treatment planning optimization for Volumetric-Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). A nonlinear mixed integer programming model is formulated, then the linearization technique is used, and the resulting mixed integer programming model is solved by a heuristic approach based on the Nested-Partitions framework. The approach partitions the feasible region iteratively and constructs a feasible solution by solving the LP relaxation of the original problem. We design two partition strategies: partition by column and expansion from center of aperture. Numerical results with clinical cases show the efficiency of the proposed model and algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Respiration coaching is one of the key factors for radiation therapies. However, there are relatively few studies relating to respiration coaching, and most of them use audio or visual cues. In this paper, we show that a tactile phantom sensation moving continuously on the back can be used to adequately coach respiration timing. By using the tactile modality, the device rarely interferes with other communication channels used by therapists. The phantom sensation simplifies the mechanical structure. Several parameters were studied to obtain optimal performance when utilizing the phantom sensation. In a series of experiments, we determined the proper position and duty ratio for the actuators. To evaluate the device performance, we conducted an interference test (Kraepelin test), and the results suggest that the developed device interferes little with cognitive tasks. The experiments suggest that participants can easily understand stimulation on the back in terms of respiration guidance and properly follow changes in the cycle period with changes in respiration activity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the most interesting questions in bioelectromagnetics is why there is a difference between results of experiments performed in various labs in 'identical' conditions. One of the possible reasons is the difference of investigated objects, especially while performing experiments in vivo. However, the authors, as engineers, would like to focus readers' attention on the technical aspects of exposure systems, especially the presence and role of mutual interaction between biological objects under test (OUT) and the exposure system, the interactions between the objects, the role of polarization, the similarity of real exposure to that applied in experiments etc. All these factors may alter the results of experiments and lead to false conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultra-thin 3-D detector (U3DTHIN) with a 10-\mum-thick active region has been proposed to apply for microdosimetry in heavy ion therapy where the ion beam incidence is normal to the detector. The advantage of the detector is that the detector substrate below the silicon-on-insulator layer has been etched away. Extremely small columnar 3-D electrodes allow the detector to be fully depleted at very low biases with a minimum dead region due to their size. In this paper, a charge collection study of the U3DTHIN detector carried out using an ion beam-induced charge collection (IBICC) technique is presented. The IBICC study utilized a microbeam of 5.5 MeV He^2 + and 20 MeV^12C ions focused to approximately 1-\mum diameter. Full charge collection was observed from a bias as low as -10 V. A comparison of the detector response when irradiated from the front and rear side is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The potential of using fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) devices as dosimeters for radiation cancer therapy is investigated. The response of long-channel FDSOI MOSFETs to radiation from a linear accelerator under various clinical conditions has been measured. Linear response of the device threshold voltage, Vth, is observed for typical interventional energy X-rays up to absorbed doses as high as 160 Gy. The device response is observed to be strongly influenced by the application of a substrate bias, Vbg, with sensitivity improvements of up to 20 \times observed for Vbg =+ 5~\V compared to Vbg = 0. The results have been used to calibrate numerical simulations that show the design space for using FDSOI variable capacitors (varactors) as passive wireless radiation dosimeters suitable for in vivo implantation. Simulation studies show that a design space exists to realize wireless sensors with both high quality factor (Q > 20 at 1 GHz) and good sensitivity (\Delta f/f = 0.12\% /\Gy). These results indicate the promise of FDSOI to realize a new, convenient class of in vivo dosimeters for radiation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the main criteria for choosing a thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) is its sensitivity to the radiations under investigation. Increasing the heating rate during readout often appears necessary to reduce the time between the measurements and the dose evaluation, especially in routine dosimetry. However, doing this degrades the radiation sensitivity of common dosimeters, as illustrated in this work for the TLD500 dosimeter. It is shown that the germanium-doped optical fiber (GDF) is not only more sensitive to radiation than these COTS dosimeters but, unlike them, its sensitivity is enhanced when the heating rate increases. The physical origin of this rare effect of sensitivity enhancement is probably due to the temperature dependence of the recombination rate by which the detrapped electrons upon stimulation are transferred to the luminescent centers. The effect of light exposure on the dose information stored in both GDF and a commercial TLD is also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We demonstrate the feasibility of using high-frequency microwaves for tissue ablation by comparing the performance of a 10 GHz microwave ablation system with that of a 1.9 GHz system. Two sets of floating sleeve dipole antennas operating at these frequencies were designed and fabricated for use in ex vivo experiments with bovine livers. Combined electromagnetic and transient thermal simulations were conducted to analyze the performance of these antennas. Subsequently, a total of 16 ablation experiments (eight at 1.9 GHz and eight at 10.0 GHz) were conducted at a power level of 42 W for either 5 or 10 min. In all cases, the 1.9 and 10 GHz experiments resulted in comparable ablation zone dimensions. Temperature monitoring probes revealed faster heating rates in the immediate vicinity of the 10.0 GHz antenna compared to the 1.9 GHz antenna, along with a slightly delayed onset of heating farther from the 10 GHz antenna, suggesting that heat conduction plays a greater role at higher microwave frequencies in achieving a comparably sized ablation zone. The results obtained from these experiments agree very well with the combined electromagnetic/thermal simulation results. These simulations and experiments show that using lower frequency microwaves does not offer any significant advantages, in terms of the achievable ablation zones, over using higher frequency microwaves. Indeed, it is demonstrated that high-frequency microwave antennas may be used to create reasonably large ablation zones. Higher frequencies offer the advantage of smaller antenna size, which is expected to lead to less invasive interstitial devices and may possibly lead to the development of more compact multielement arrays with heating properties not available from single-element antennas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, a novel reduced order prioritized algorithm is presented for optimization in radiation therapy treatment planning. The proposed method consists of three stages. In the first stage, the intensity space was sampled by solving a series of unconstrained optimization problems. The objective function of the first stage is expressed as a scalarized weighted sum of partial objectives for the target and organ at risk. Latin hypercube sampling was utilized to define the weights for each run of the unconstrained optimizations. In the second stage, principal component analysis is applied to the solutions determined in the first stage to identify the major eigen modes in the intensities space, significantly reducing the number of independent variables. In the third stage, treatment planning goals/objectives are prioritized, and the problem is solved in the reduced order space. After each objective is optimized, that objective function is converted into a constraint for the lower-priority objectives. In the current formulation, a slip factor is used to relax the hard constraints for planning target volume (PTV) coverage. The applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated for one prostate and one lung intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatment plan. Upon completion of the sequential prioritized optimization, the mean dose at the rectum and bladder was reduced by 21.3% and 22.4%, respectively. Additionally, we investigated the effect of the slip factor ‘s’ on PTV coverage and we found minimal degradation of the tumor dose (∼4%). Finally, the speed up factors upon the dimensionality reduction were as high as 49.9 without compromising the quality of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Adapting acquisition electronics to new detector designs has often led to complications and compromises. As we developed depth-of-interaction detector designs based on both discrete crystal arrays (dMiCE) and monolithic crystals (cMiCE) concepts, we found that our previous electronics design was inadequate to the task and launched a design effort we have termed our Phase II electronics. The system is based on a basic card design (the Phase II board) that has a large field programmable gate array (FPGA) with sufficient static RAM to support a variety of pulse processing algorithms our group has developed–including timing estimation, pulse integration with pileup correction, and statistical estimation of the event location in the detector. Here we report on the initial development and testing of the Phase II digital board as a basic building block for data acquisition systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A precise estimation of the photon spectra emitted by radiation therapy Linacs is especially important to accurately estimate the dose received by patients in order to improve treatment plannings. Moreover the knowledge of the spectra is useful to perform routinely Quality Control procedures of these equipments. In this work we propose the use of the Elekta Linac EPID (Electronic Portal Imaging Device) to obtain the fluence spectrum emitted by this unit. To that, several images using different thicknesses of solid water slabs have been taken with the EPID, setting 100UM, a 10cm×10cm field size and a 6MeV energy beam. The relation between the signal response recorded by the EPID with several solid water slabs and the primary photon spectrum emitted is calculated by means of a Response matrix, which has been performed via Monte Carlo simulations. To that, the MCNP5 code has been used to simulate the EPID signal response obtained after irradiation with consecutive monoenergetic beams for different slabs. Each row of the Response Matrix represents the Monte Carlo EPID signal registered using a specific energy bin. Since this matrix is ill conditioned we have applied the Truncated Singular Value Decomposition algorithms to unfold the spectra. Results have been compared with theoretical spectrum, showing that the mixed methodology (experimental-Monte Carlo simulation) can offer an accurate way to determinate the photon spectrum in radiation therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Low-temperature atmospheric-pressure plasma jets (APPJs) are being increasingly used in surface activation, cleaning, wound care, and sterilization applications. The development of successful applications using these systems depends on the ability to tailor the active species generated in the plasma jets to match the treatment requirements. This paper presents an investigation of the effect of sinusoidal drive frequency (20–140 kHz), on a helium discharge formed using an APPJ. The discharge was formed in a large-orifice 16-mm-diameter quartz tube with a treatment area of \approx\! 2\ \cm^2 at the nozzle exit. Optical, polychromic emission, and thermographic imaging data were correlated with electrical measurements. These measurements indicated that the coupling efficiency was frequency dependent. As a result of differences in coupling efficiency, variations in active species (\N2, \N2^{+}, O, and NO) present in the discharge were observed. The concentration of active species was also dependent on the distance from the powered electrodes. As well as altering the concentration of active species in the discharge, changes in frequency resulted in higher discharge temperatures (25 ^\circ\C at 20 kHz to 40 ^\circ\C at 80 kHz). The temperature was measured on the quartz tube, and steady state was reached after 120 s. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the frequency/distance dependence on the active species in the discharge. This dependence makes it possible to control the active species present at the plasma jet orifice by tailoring the frequency and tube length. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research computing in radiation therapy is transitioning from small-scale computing to large software systems. Accelerator-mounted imaging devices collect multiple images at every treatment fraction, creating datasets of hundreds of images per patient. Compounding this challenge is the fact that software infrastructure upgrades are difficult to manage in academic environments, due to inadequate experience in large-scale software development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for the treatment of cancer enables accurate placement of radiation dose on the cancerous region. However, the deformation of soft tissue during the course of treatment, such as in cervical cancer, presents significant challenges for the delineation of the target volume and other structures of interest. Furthermore, the presence and regression of pathologies such as tumors may violate registration constraints and cause registration errors. In this paper, automatic segmentation, nonrigid registration and tumor detection in cervical magnetic resonance (MR) data are addressed simultaneously using a unified Bayesian framework. The proposed novel method can generate a tumor probability map while progressively identifying the boundary of an organ of interest based on the achieved nonrigid transformation. The method is able to handle the challenges of significant tumor regression and its effect on surrounding tissues. The new method was compared to various currently existing algorithms on a set of 36 MR data from six patients, each patient has six T2-weighted MR cervical images. The results show that the proposed approach achieves an accuracy comparable to manual segmentation and it significantly outperforms the existing registration algorithms. In addition, the tumor detection result generated by the proposed method has a high agreement with manual delineation by a qualified clinician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A slotted waveguide antenna, as part of a wireless battery system for a bone fixation implant called the Echidna Pin is proposed. The antenna has 3-dB beamwidth of 65^\circ in both E- and H-planes and its gain is 7.7 dBi at 21 GHz. The proposed antenna is conformal to the body of the pin and uses the pin as a waveguide. It is shown that placing a small Perspex plate after the waveguide launcher allows satisfactory return loss performance at all resonant frequencies as the length of the waveguide changes. The pin is used in distraction osteogenesis and allows the distance between the two surgically broken pieces of bone to be changed, thus expanding both soft tissue and bone volume simultaneously. The wireless battery system allows reception of RF power and eliminates the need for daily manipulations on an externally fitted device, or an operation on the body to change the length of the pin. It also makes the treatment significantly less painful for the patient and reduces the risk of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: At the present, treatment planning systems (TPS) used in radiotherapy treatments use determinist correlations based on measurements in water to evaluate doses in the volume of interest and dose distributions around it. Nevertheless, it is well known that doses assigned with this type of planner can be problematic, especially in the presence of heterogeneities. The present work has developed a computational model using the Monte Carlo (MC) code MCNP5 (Monte Carlo N-Particle) for the simulation of a 6MeV photon beam emitted by Elekta Precise medical linear accelerator treatment head. The model includes the major components of the accelerator head and the cube-shaped heterogeneous water tank “RFA-300”. A low-density heterogeneity has been placed inside this water tank. It consists of a extruded polystyrene piece (97% air and 3% polystyrene) whose dimensions are 30cm×10cm×8cm and with a density of 0.0311g/cm3. Calculations were performed for a photon beam setting 10cm×10cm and 20cm×20cm irradiation field sizes at 100cm distance from source. The MC simulation is able to predict the absorbed dose distribution within the water tank using the *F8 or FMESH4 tally. These results have been compared with experimental values measured at the Hospital Clínic Universitari de Valencia. Dosimetric parameters calculated by simulation at the water tank and the experimental measures agreed, with an average deviation inside the heterogeneity region of 3%. Simulation results have been also compared with dose curves predicted by a commercial TPS in the same irradiation conditions, focusing attention on the accuracy that both systems reach in the dose calculation at the interphase zone and inside the heterogeneity. In contrast, TPS results overestimate the dose inside the heterogeneity and after it, with a maximum deviation of 7% for the 6MeV photon beam and a field size of 20cm×20cm. We can conclude that the algorithms of computation of the TPS are not able to predict the variation of dose in the heterogeneous zones with the same accuracy as MC methods, since MCNP5 provides more trustworthy results and fits the experimental values better in the heterogeneous region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Experience during percutaneous ion beam therapy at Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung showed that the treatment can be improved by in-vivo dose monitoring that is independent of the irradiation device and based on positron emission tomography. It has been studied whether a similar technique can be implemented for high energy photon therapy. Simulation shows that the dose is closely related to the distribution of the annihilation points of positrons emerging from pair production. Design parameters of a detector system have been assessed which is capable of registering annihilation radiation during treatment. A test system has been assembled which can be operated with various scintillator crystals and avalanche photodiodes. A custom digital signal processing system has been implemented. Phantom experiments at a clinical linear accelerator disclosed a severe background that does not solely stem from scattered primary photons but from radiation directly emitted from the treatment head. It was not possible to shield the detectors sufficiently and thus there was no success in identifying annihilation radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a new optical computed tomography (Optical-CT) scanner for the verification of the radiation dose schemes delivered in modern radiotherapy applications. The optical-CT scanner is capable of providing rapid relative 3-D dosimetry with high spatial resolution with the use of normoxic N-Vinylpyrrolidone based polymer gel dosimeter. The scanner employs a diffuse uncollimated light illumination beam, a computer controlled motorized rotation stage and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. Various test experiments were performed to determine the performance characteristics of the optical-CT apparatus. Attenuation coefficient (μ) versus dose calibration data were generated from two calibration experiments using gel containers of two different diameters. All irradiations were performed using a 6 MV linear accelerator. A comparison of the reconstructed images between optical-CT scans using refractive index (RI) matching fluid and corresponding scans performed in free space was demonstrated. The dose readout of a test irradiation model was found to be in good agreement with independent readout performed by MR imaging. The findings presented in this study suggest that polymer dosimeters combined with the new optical-CT scanner constitute a potentially feasible method capable of measuring complex 3-D dose distributions with high resolution and in a wide dose range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work is mainly focused on developing a methodology to obtain portal dosimetry with an amorphous silicon electronic portal image device (EPID) by means of Monte Carlo simulations and experimental measures. According to this, pixel intensity values of portal images have been compared with dose measured from an ionization chamber and dose obtained from Monte Carlo simulations. To that, several images were acquired with the Elekta iView GT EPID using an attenuator phantom slab (10cm thickness of solid water) and a 6MV photon energy beam with different monitor units. The average pixel value in a region of interest (ROI) centered at the beam selecting each image was extracted and compared to dose measures performed with the ionization chamber. These parameters were found to be linearly correlated with the number of monitor units (MU). Since, MCNP5 simulations allow calculating the deposited dose in the ROI within the phosphor layer of the EPID model, we can compare the portal dose with the simulated transit dose in order to perform a treatment control. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Commercial planning systems used in radiotherapy treatments use determinist correlations to evaluate dose distribution around regions of interest. Estimated dose with this type of planners can be problematic, especially when analyzing heterogeneous zones. The present work is focused in quantifying the dose distribution in a heterogeneous medium irradiated by a 6MeV photon beam emitted by an Elekta Precise Radiotherapy Unit head. Dose mapping inside the heterogeneous water phantom has been simulated with the photon and electron transport with Monte Carlo computer code MCNP5 and also, using a commercial treatment planning software in the same irradiation conditions. The calculated results were compared with experimental relative dose curves. This comparison shows that inside the heterogeneity region, the commercial algorithms are not able to predict the variation of dose in the heterogeneous zones with the same precision as MCNP5. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this work is to provide the reconstruction of a real human voxelized phantom by means of a MatLab ® program and the simulation of the irradiation of such phantom with the photon beam generated in a Theratron 780 ® (MDS Nordion) 60Co radiotherapy unit, by using the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle), version 5. The project results in 3D dose mapping calculations inside the voxelized antropomorphic head phantom. The program provides the voxelization by first processing the CT slices; the process follows a two-dimensional pixel and material identification algorithm on each slice and three-dimensional interpolation in order to describe the phantom geometry via small cubic cells, resulting in an MCNP input deck format output. Dose rates are calculated by using the MCNP5 tool FMESH, superimposed mesh tally, which gives the track length estimation of the particle flux in units of particles/cm2. Furthermore, the particle flux is converted into dose by using the conversion coefficients extracted from the NIST Physical Reference Data. The voxelization using a three-dimensional interpolation technique in combination with the use of the FMESH tool of the MCNP Monte Carlo code offers an optimal simulation which results in 3D dose mapping calculations inside anthropomorphic phantoms. This tool is very useful in radiation treatment assessments, in which voxelized phantoms are widely utilized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of the present work is to study the performance of scintillators currently used in PET and animal PET systems, under conditions met in radiation therapy and PET/CT imaging. The results of this study will be useful in applications where both CT and PET photons as well as megavoltage cone beam CT (MV CBCT) photons could be detected using a common detector unit. To this aim crystal samples of GSO, LSO, LYSO, LuYAP and YAP scintillators, doped with cerium (Ce3+) were examined under a wide energy range of photon energies. Evaluation was performed by determining the absolute luminescence efficiency (emitted light flux over incident X-ray exposure) in the energy range employed in X-ray CT, in Nuclear Medicine (70 keV up to 662 keV) and in radiotherapy 6 MV (approx. 2.0 MeV mean energy)-18 MV (approx. 4.5 MeV mean energy). Measurements were performed using an experimental set-up based on a photomultiplier coupled to a light integration sphere. The emission spectrum under X-ray excitation was measured, using an optical grating monochromator, to determine the spectral compatibility to optical photon detectors incorporated in medical imaging systems. Maximum absolute luminescence efficiency values were observed at 70 keV for YAP:Ce and LuYAP:Ce and at 140 keV for LSO:Ce, LYSO:Ce and GSO:Ce. Highest absolute efficiency between the scintillators examined was observed for LSO:Ce, followed by LYSO:Ce. The detector optical gain (DOG) exhibited a significant variation with the increase of energy between 70 keV to 2.0 MeV. All scintillators exhibited low compatibility when combined with GaAsP (G5645) photodetector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative reconstruction of cone beam X-ray computed tomography (CT) datasets requires accurate modeling of scatter, beam-hardening, beam profile, and detector response. Typically, commercial imaging systems use fast empirical corrections that are designed to reduce visible artifacts due to incomplete modeling of the image formation process. In contrast, Monte Carlo (MC) methods are much more accurate but are relatively slow. Scatter kernel superposition (SKS) methods offer a balance between accuracy and computational practicality. We show how a single SKS algorithm can be employed to correct both kilovoltage (kV) energy (diagnostic) and megavoltage (MV) energy (treatment) X-ray images. Using MC models of kV and MV imaging systems, we map intensities recorded on an amorphous silicon flat panel detector to water-equivalent thicknesses (WETs). Scattergrams are derived from acquired projection images using scatter kernels indexed by the local WET values and are then iteratively refined using a scatter magnitude bounding scheme that allows the algorithm to accommodate the very high scatter-to-primary ratios encountered in kV imaging. The algorithm recovers radiological thicknesses to within 9% of the true value at both kV and megavolt energies. Nonuniformity in CT reconstructions of homogeneous phantoms is reduced by an average of 76% over a wide range of beam energies and phantom geometries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, positron emission tomography (PET) is the only available technique for an in-situ, non-invasive monitoring of the dose delivery precision in highly conformal ion beam therapy. At the heavy ion therapy facility at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) Darmstadt, Germany, an in-beam PET scanner is operated for quality assurance monitoring, simultaneously to the therapeutic irradiation. The dedicated reconstruction algorithm and data acquisition system were developed to fit specific conditions of in-beam PET (dual-head, limited-angle geometry, very low counting statistics). In this work we propose a precise technique for calculating and processing the geometric component of the system matrix and analyze the influence of the system matrix on the quality of reconstructed in-beam PET image. We show that for in-beam PET data the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm is robust to errors in the system matrix and produces acceptable results even for a system matrix calculated with poor quality, whereas the quality of images reconstructed with the randomly filled subsets expectation maximization algorithm (RFS-EM) depends more on the accuracy of the system matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planning of intensity modulated radiation therapy cancer treatment poses an inverse problem and is usually solved by optimization methods. Treatment planning, in a majority of cases, requires restrictions to be imposed on the healthy organs, sensitive to the radiation, which justifies the use of constrained optimization. The application of these techniques in treatment planning usually involves serious complications and limitations due to the huge number of variables appearing in the planning process. This leads to large computation times and memory requirements. In this paper, strategies and algorithmic issues are proposed in order to cope with these limitations. The proposed methods have been applied and tested in real cases of prostate cancer, obtaining satisfactory results regarding computational limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the present paper is to quantify, in homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms, the differences between experimentally measured dose distributions inside it, and those calculated by the simulation of different transport models using the Monte Carlo computer code MCNP. This objective has been achieved simulating the electron and photon transport in a water phantom irradiated by a Theratron 780 (MDS Nordion) 60Co radiotherapy unit, which has been realistically modeled, considering field sizes from 5 cm × 5 cm to 20 cm × 20 cm. The source description and characteristics of the incident beam have been slightly modified in order to study the results variations of these models. Different methodologies have also been applied to speed up the calculations with the aim of applying MCNP efficiently in radiotherapy treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of an experimental investigation are reported on photoconductive response of Pyrex, Quartz and Vycor. This research was conducted as a feasibility study for developing a new gamma dose measurement device based on the principle of photoconductivity. However, data collected in this study are equally valuable for various other applications where these materials are to be used in high radiation field. Our experiments and analyzes indicated that the selected dosimeter materials exhibit photoconductivity and respond to changes in gamma dose rate within a useful range. Pyrex glass suffered radiation damage at a relatively high dose rate of 0.25 Gys-1. Quartz and Vycor exhibit significant advantages over Pyrex as dosimeter material. However, their limit of operability was found to be at a dose rate of approximately 28 mGy s-1. Vycor dosimeter in particular appears promising for gamma measurement applications. From an endurance point of view, Quartz appears to be the most suitable material for applications in high dose rate conditions, in that photo-currents in Quartz were observed to be minimum [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]