title: Use of multiplanar reformatted radiographic and digitally reconstructed radiographic images for planning conformal radiation therapy.
abstract: A three-dimensional treatment planning system capable of gantry, collimator, and table rotations is required for a noncoplanar conformal therapy. Unfortunately, such a system is not widely available. A method in which multiplanar reformatted radiographic (MPR) and digitally reconstructed radiographic (DRR) images are used is presented for conformal treatment of brain tumors. A head phantom containing a target volume was scanned on a computed tomographic (CT) simulator. The coronal MPR images were digitized on a treatment planning system to create a conformal block of the planned treatment field. The DRR images were generated on the CT simulator with the setup parameters calculated from the treatment planning system. A second set of conformal blocks was generated based on DRR images of the fields. The accuracy of the MPR- and DRR-generated blocks was verified on the vertex field. The differences between the actual planning target volume and the field edges of the MPR and DRR blocks were within +/- 4 mm and +/- 2 mm, respectively. The authors conclude that the MPR and DRR images could be successfully used to generate conformal blocks and for treatment planning of noncoplanar beams in radiation therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA.
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fein
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Milito
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shammo
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Coia
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed