Commissioning and clinical implementation of an independent dose calculation system for scanned proton beams

Ralf Dreindl*, Marta Bolsa-Ferruz, Rosa Fayos-Sola, Fatima Padilla Cabal, Lukas Scheuchenpflug, Alessio Elia, Antonio Amico, Antonio Carlino, Markus Stock, Loïc Grevillot

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal article (peer-reviewed)Journal article

Abstract

PURPOSE: Experimental patient-specific QA (PSQA) is a time and resource-intensive process, with a poor sensitivity in detecting errors. Radiation therapy facilities aim to substitute it by means of independent dose calculation (IDC) in combination with a comprehensive beam delivery QA program. This paper reports on the commissioning of the IDC software tool myQA iON (IBA Dosimetry) for proton therapy and its clinical implementation at the MedAustron Ion Therapy Center.

METHODS: The IDC commissioning work included the validation of the beam model, the implementation and validation of clinical CT protocols, and the evaluation of patient treatment data. Dose difference maps, gamma index distributions, and pass rates (GPR) have been reviewed. The performance of the IDC tool has been assessed and clinical workflows, simulation settings, and GPR tolerances have been defined.

RESULTS: Beam model validation showed agreement of ranges within ± 0.2 mm, Bragg-Peak widths within ± 0.1 mm, and spot sizes at various air gaps within ± 5% compared to physical measurements. Simulated dose in 2D reference fields deviated by -0.3% ± 0.5%, while 3D dose distributions differed by 1.8% on average to measurements. Validation of the CT calibration resulted in systematic differences of 2.0% between IDC and experimental data for tissue like samples. GPRs of 99.4 ± 0.6% were found for head, head and neck, and pediatric CT protocols on a 2%/2 mm gamma criterion. GPRs for the adult abdomen protocol were at 98.9% on average with 3%/3 mm. Root causes of GPR outliers, for example, implants were identified and evaluated.

CONCLUSION: IDC has been successfully commissioned and integrated into the MedAustron clinical workflow for protons in 2021. IDC has been stepwise and safely substituting experimental PSQA since February 2021. The initial reduction of proton experimental PSQA was about 25% and reached up to 90% after 1 year.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere14328
Pages (from-to)e14328
JournalJournal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics
Volume25
Issue number5
Early online date29 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Algorithms
  • Calibration
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms/radiotherapy
  • Organs at Risk/radiation effects
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Proton Therapy/methods
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care/standards
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods
  • Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated/methods
  • Software
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods

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