Systematic analysis on the achievable accuracy of PT-PET through automated evaluation techniques


Systematic analysis on the achievable accuracy of PT-PET through automated evaluation techniques

Helmbrecht, S.; Kuess, P.; Birkfellner, W.; Enghardt, W.; Stützer, K.; Georg, D.; Fiedler, F.

Introduction: Particle Therapy - Positron Emission Tomography (PT-PET) is currently the only clinically applied method for in vivo verication of ion-beam radiotherapy during or close in time to the treatment.
Since a direct deduction of the delivered dose from the measured activity is not feasible, images are compared to a reference distribution. The achievable accuracy of two image analysis approaches was investigated by means of reproducible phantom benchmark tests. This is an objective method that exclude patient related factors of influence.
Material and Methods: Two types of phantoms were designed to produce well dened deviations in the activity distributions. Pure range dierences were simulated using the rst phantom type while the other emulated cavity structures. The phantoms were irradiated with 12C-ions. PT-PET measurements were performed by means of a camera system installed at the beamline. Dierent measurement time scenarios were investigated, assuming a PET scanner directly at the irradiation site or placed within the treatment room.
The images were analyzed by means of the Pearson Correlation Coecient (PCC) and a range calculation algorithm combined with a dedicated cavity lling detection method.
Results: Range dierences could be measured with an error of less than 2 mm. The range comparison algorithm yielded slightly better results than the PCC method. The lling of a cavity structure could be safely detected if its inner diameter was at least 5 mm.
Conclusion: Both approaches evaluate the PT-PET data in an objective way and deliver promising results for in-beam and in-room PET for clinical realistic dose rates.

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Publ.-Id: 20706