Aims and Objectives: The influence of target motion on the reconstructed internal target volume (ITV) for device-based (DB) external surrogate system and Smart deviceless (DL) 4-dimensional (4D) system were compared in a controlled phantom experiment. The volumetric changes in reconstructed ITVs from the average intensity projection (AveIP) images using DB method (Anzai Respiratory Gating System, ANZAI MEDICAL CO., LTD, Japan) and DL method (Smart deviceless 4D system by GE Medical Systems (Chicago, USA)) with the theoretical true volume (ITV_th) for moving target with the increasing target motion in anterior-posterior (A-P), lateral (left-right [L-R]) and inferior-superior (S-I) directions were assessed. Materials and Methods: 4D computed tomography (4DCT) of CIRS dynamic phantom (Computerized Imaging Reference Systems Inc., Norfolk, VA, USA) with 2.5 cm diameter spherical target of volume 8.2 cc programmed to move in a cos⁴(x) motion pattern placed in the lung volume were acquired for various target motion pattern using DB and DL method of gating. AveIP images of 10 phase binned image sets were generated and ITVs were delineated. Results: The maximum absolute percent differences between ITV_aveand ITV_thfor DL and DB methods were 15.91% and 4.94 % respectively for target motion of 5 mm in AP with 15 mm S-I direction. When the S-I motion was decreased to 10 mm, the observed % difference of the ITVs were also decreased to 12.5% and 0.3% for DL and DB method. When the lateral [L-R] motion was varied from 0 mm to 5 mm for S-I motion of 5 mm to 15 mm, the differences in the ITVs were significant (P = 0.004) with the maximum absolute percent difference of 18.61% and 4.94 % for DL and DB gating. With the simultaneous motion of the target in all the 3 directions, the difference in the reconstructed ITVs were statistically significant for DL method (P = 0.0002) and insignificant for DB method (P = 0.06) with an average increase of 10% in ITVDL against 2% in the ITVDB. The difference in ITVDL was significant for the target motion above 3 mm in A-P and L-R directions for S-I movement of above 10 mm (P = 0.0002). However, for low excursions of the target movement, no significant difference in the ITVs were observed (P > 0.06). In general, ITVDBs were closer to the ITVth (within 7.8%) than ITVDL (18.61%). Conclusion: The results showed that the DL method is an effective way of image sorting in 4D acquisition for smaller target excursion. When the target motion exceeds 3 mm in A-P and L-R directions with S-I more than 10 mm, DB method is the choice due to its accuracy in reproducing the absolute target volume.

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Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the dosimetric effects of rotational uncertainties in patient positioning on target coverage in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of multiple brain metastases using single isocenter volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Materials and Methods: Ten SRS cases with multiple brain metastases(2-8) planned with single isocenter non-coplanar VMAT technique were investigated in this study. Pitch, yaw and roll displacements of 1, 3 and 5° were simulated about isocenter along each axes and nine plans were obtained for each case. Gross tumor volume (GTV) coverage obtained on simulated plans were compared with the original plan on four metrics of mean dose (Dmean), minimum dose to GTV (Dmin), dose to 95% of GTV (D95) and the volume covered by the 95% of the prescribed dose (V95). Results: At 1° rotation about 4% of the PTV had V95 and D95 values <95%. The minimum dose obtained across all PTV was 85.1% and there was not much change in the mean dose values obtained. The PTV volume which had V95 and D95 values <95% were in the range of 0.05 - 0.07cc and at a radial distance of 6.2 cm - 7.2 cm. At 3° rotation almost 50% of the PTV had V95 and D95 values <95%. The minimum dose obtained across all PTV was 48.3% and the mean dose reduced to as low as 78.8%. At 5° rotation almost 74% of the PTV had V₉₅and D95 values <95%. The minimum dose obtained across all PTV was 21.2% and the mean dose reduced to as low as 49.2%. Conclusion: Our results indicate that correcting rotational uncertainties is critical in single-isocenter, multi-target SRS. For rotational deviations, radial distance of the target from isocenter along the respective axis has a strong influence on target coverage. For rotational setup deviation at a given radial distance larger targets tend to have lesser geometric miss compared to smaller targets. Mathematical model for spherical targets can be used to estimate V95 for given rotational errors.

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Introduction: Clinical evaluation of a two-dimensional (2D) liquid-filled ion chamber detector array used in the verification of highly modulated small beams of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been conducted. Materials and Methods: Measurements with the Octavius 1000 SRS (PTW, Freiburg, Germany) detector with 977 liquid-filled ion chambers were compared against EDR2 film and PTW Octavius Seven29. The performance of detector array has been evaluated on ten SBRT patient plans. Dose profiles of individual and composite fields' calculated using Pinnacle³ treatment planning system were compared against measurements with Octavius 1000 SRS detector array, EDR2 film, and Octavius Seven29 detector. Gamma index and profile comparison were used in the evaluation and assessment of the detector's performance. Results: The Gamma index measurements show agreement between Pinnacle³ computations and Octavius 1000 SRS array, PTW Octavius Seven29, and EDR2 film for >90% of the points using 2%, 2 mm tolerance criteria. Profiles obtained with the Octavius 1000 SRS were in agreement with the EDR2 film profiles, demonstrating the detector's superior sampling rate. Conclusions: The Octavius 1000 SRS is a dosimetrically accurate device to perform quality assurance checks in SBRT treatments. The broad range of measurements performed in this study quantified the dosimetric accuracy of Octavius 1000 SRS detector in the clinical setup of the small fields in radiotherapy.

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Aim: This study validated the RapidArc (RA) delivery using a volumetric ArcCHECK phantom as per the guidelines proposed in Task Group Report 119 from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task group 119 (AAPM TG 119). This study also investigated the impact of the Acuros XB (AXB) algorithm in comparison to analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA) on the RA dose calculations in the homogeneous medium of the ArcCHECK phantom. Materials and Methods: A volumetric ArcCHECK phantom along with AAPM TG 119 tests was used to evaluate the RA plans and verify the dose delivery for photon beam of 6 MV energy. Results: The RA planning results were comparable and satisfied the planning criteria stated in the TG 119 report for all test cases. The average percentage gamma passing rates for the AAA-calculated plans were 98.5 (standard deviation [SD]: 0.6), 98.5 (SD: 1.3), and 98.1 (SD: 2.0) and for the AXB-calculated plans were 95.1 (SD: 1.8), 96.1 (SD: 1.3), and 94.0 (SD: 0.9) for the Clinac-iX (6 MV) and TrueBeam (TB)-STx (6 MV_filtered beam [FB] and 6 MV_flattening filter-free beam [FFFB]), respectively. For ion chamber measurements, the average percentage dose differences for the AAA-calculated plans were 1.5 (SD: 2.5), 2.7 (SD: 1.4), and 1.4(SD: 2.7) and for AXB-calculated plans were 2.3 (SD: 1.6), 3.2 (SD: 1.5), and 2.3 (SD: 2.0) for Clinac-iX (6 MV) and TB-STx (6 MV_FB and 6 MV_FFFB), respectively. Conclusion: Thus, the ArcCHECK can successfully be utilized for the validation of the RA delivery. The AXB has potential to perform dose calculations comparable to those of the AAA for RA plans in the homogeneous medium of the ArcCHECK phantom.

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Purpose/Aim: Ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation is harmful to cells and living organisms that cause direct and indirect DNA damage. UVC can also increase the inflammatory genes expression such as COX-2 that results in elevated oxidative stress that plays a role in radiation-induced bystander effect (BSE). Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have used widely in commercial and medical products and the toxicological risks of AgNPs must be determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the direct and BSEs of UVC radiation and AgNPs on TK6 cell line. Materials and Methods: TK6 cells were exposed to AgNPs (10 μg/ml, 1 h). Then, they were exposed to UVC and to determine the BSEs of radiation, the irradiated cells media were transferred to nonirradiated cells. Expression level of H2AX and COX-2 mRNAs were examined by quantitative real-time PCR and 8-OHdG formation was examined by ELISA. The cell viability examined by MTT assay. Results: P < 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. The results showed that the mean expression level of H2AX mRNA in the AgNPs + UVC group increased significantly in comparison with UVC group. 8-OHdG increased significantly in the BSE of UV group in comparison with sham control of BSE. COX-2 mRNA increased significantly in the BSE of AgNPs + UVC with sham control in BSE. Conclusions: Our findings showed the induced DNA damage in TK6 cell by AgNPs and UVC radiation and also were seen BSE.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to validate the performance characteristics of in-house developed four-dimensional (4D) dynamic phantom (FDDP). Materials and Methods: There are three target inserts of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 cm diameter. The targets were driven in sinusoidal pattern in the longitudinal direction, using the combinations of amplitudes of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 cm with frequencies of 0.2 and 0.25 Hz. The amplitude and frequency of motion were measured manually, and by using Real-Time Position Management (RPM) system also. The static, free-breathing, and 4D computed tomography (CT) scans of the phantom were acquired with 1.0 mm slice thickness. The 4DCT scans were sorted into 0%–90% phase, and the maximum intensity projection (MIP) images were also generated. The static, free-breathing, and 4DCT data sets and MIP images were contoured to get V_Static, V_FB, V₀₀......V₉₀, and internal target volume ITV_MIP, respectively. The individual phase volumes were summed to obtain V_4D. The length of the target in the motion was measured using MIP image and compared with theoretical length (TL). The variation of 3D displacement vector of individual phase volume with respect to V₀₀with the phase of motion was studied at amplitude and frequency of 1.0 cm and 0.25 Hz, respectively. The degree of similarity between V_FBand V_4Dand V_FBand ITV_MIPwas also studied for all the target sizes at amplitude and frequency of 1.0 cm and 0.2 Hz and 1.0 cm and 0.25 Hz, respectively. Results: The amplitude and frequency of motion agreed within the limits of uncertainty with the manually and RPM measured values. The length of target in the motion matched within 1.0 mm with TL. The 3D displacement of individual phase volume showed no target size dependence, and the degree of similarity between V_FBand V_4Dand V_FBand ITV_MIPdecreases with increase in the displacement between the two volumes. Conclusions: The mechanical and imaging performances of FDDP were found within the acceptable limits. Therefore, this phantom can be used for quality assurance of 4D imaging process in radiotherapy.

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Context: Photon-counting detectors and breast computed tomography imaging have been an active area of research. With these detectors, photons are assigned an equal weight and weighting schemes can be enabled. More weight can be assigned to lower energies, resulting in an increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Aims: The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate an energy weighting imaging technique to improve the CNR of simulated breast phantoms and to improve tumour detection. Materials and Methods: Breast phantoms consisting of adipose, glandular, malignant tissues and iodine contrast were constructed with BreastSimulator software. The phantoms were used in egs_cbct simulations for energies ranging between 20 and 65 keV from which multiple images were reconstructed. A new CNR-based image weighting method was proposed based on the CNR values obtained from the images. This method improves on previous methods and can be applied to complicated phantoms since no structural information is needed. Results: An increase in the CNR can be seen for lower energies. A sharp increase in the CNR is seen just above the K-edge for the phantoms with the iodine contrast. The CNR-based image weighting leads to a 68.47% (1.68-fold) increase in the CNR for the malignant tissue without iodine. For the malignant tissue with iodine contrast, the increase in the CNR was 96.14% (1.96-fold). Conclusions: The new proposed CNR-based image weighting scheme is easy to implement and can be used for complicated phantoms with varying structures. A large increase in the CNR is seen with or without the use of iodine contrast.

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Purpose/Aim: In this work, we examined the possible effects of ionizing radiation (IR) on biomechanical properties of the membrane–cytoskeleton of human erythrocytes, after X-ray irradiation. Materials and Methods: Whole human blood from three healthy middle-aged volunteers was drawn by venipuncture and stored in tubes containing anticoagulant. Six blood samples were collected for each volunteer. Five of them were irradiated in the range of 0.1 Gy–2.0 Gy doses and one was used as control. The morphology and the elastic modulus of the erythrocytes were examined using atomic force microscopy and just few drops of whole blood. Results: No morphological changes appeared according to the shape and the morphology of the erythrocytes. The elastic modulus of the irradiated samples was reduced with the increase of radiation dose. The findings indicate that X-ray irradiation affects the biomechanical properties of erythrocyte cytoskeleton. The mean value of Young's modulus of all the irradiated blood samples was significant difference from the control at a level,P < 0.01. Conclusions: The elastic modulus of the erythrocytes could be an indicator of the adverse effect in the human blood generated by IR exposure through a radiotherapy treatment.

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