title: Distortions induced by radioactive seeds into interstitial brachytherapy dose distributions.
abstract: In a previous article, we presented development and verification of an integral transport equation-based deterministic algorithm for computing three-dimensional brachytherapy dose distributions. Recently, we have included fluorescence radiation physics and parallel computation to the standing algorithms so that we can compute dose distributions for a large set of seeds without resorting to the superposition methods. The introduction of parallel computing capability provided a means to compute the dose distribution for multiple seeds in a simultaneous manner. This provided a way to study strong heterogeneity and shadow effects induced by the presence of multiple seeds in an interstitial brachytherapy implant. This article presents the algorithm for computing fluorescence radiation, algorithm for parallel computing, and display results for an 81-seed implant that has a perfect and imperfect lattice. The dosimetry data for a single model 6711 seeds is presented for verification and heterogeneity factor computations using simultaneous and superposition techniques are presented.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University Applied Sciences Complex II, Ames, Iowa 50011-3042, USA.
authors.forename: Chuanyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Feyzi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Inanc
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Modrick
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D001822:Body Burden; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007496:Iridium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008954:Models, Biological; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D007496:Iridium Radioisotopes