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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Design of a six-DOF motion tracking system based on a Stewart platform and ball-and-socket joints

This paper presents a six degree-of-freedom (DOF) real-time motion tracking system of measuring the position and the orientation for industrial robots in three-dimensional (3D) space. The proposed system is based on a typical Stewart platform design and utilizes six low-cost displacement sensors to monitor the motion of the Stewart platform. The advantage of the proposed system is its simple calibration and easy accessibility; the magnetic ball-and-socket joints used for rotational joints. With special measurement tools, the center of rotation of all twelve joints can be measured in 3D space at a glance. Following more than fifty measurements, the average root mean square (RMS) position accuracy error of the proposed device is less than 0.186 mm and the average of angular accuracy error is less than 0.160 °, making it suitable for monitoring the performance of industrial robot. As a result, a commercial robot is also tested by the proposed system to verify its usefulness.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-199: Evaluation of Motion Tracking Effects On Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy of Abdominal Targets

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of respiratory motion on the delivered dose distribution of CyberKnife motion tracking-based stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of abdominal targets. Methods: Four patients (two pancreas and two liver, and all with 4DCT scans) were retrospectively evaluated. A plan (3D plan) using CyberKnife Synchrony was optimized on the end-exhale phase in the CyberKnife's MultiPlan treatment planning system (TPS), with 40Gy prescribed in 5 fractions. A 4D plan was then created following the 4D planning utility in the MultiPlan TPS, by recalculating dose from the 3D plan beams on all 4DCT phases, with the same prescribed isodose line. The other seven phases of the 4DCT were then deformably registered to the end-exhale phase for 4D dose summation. Doses to the target and organs at risk (OAR) were compared between 3D and 4D plans for each patient. The mean and maximum doses to duodenum, liver, spinal cord and kidneys, and doses to 5cc of duodenum, 700cc of liver, 0.25cc of spinal cord and 200cc of kidneys were used. Results: Target coverage in the 4D plans was about 1% higher for two patients and about 9% lower in the other two. OAR dose differences between 3D and 4D varied among structures, with doses as much as 8.26Gy lower or as much as 5.41Gy higher observed in the 4D plans. Conclusion: The delivered dose can be significantly different from the planned dose for both the target and OAR close to the target, which is caused by the relative geometry change while the beams chase the moving target. Studies will be performed on more patients in the future. The differences of motion tracking versus passive motion management with the use of internal target volumes will also be investigated.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-BRA-09: Estimation of Motion Tracking Uncertainty for Real-Time Adaptive Imaging

Purpose: kV fluoroscopic imaging combined with MV treatment beam imaging has been investigated for intrafractional motion monitoring and correction. It is, however, subject to additional kV imaging dose to normal tissue. To balance tracking accuracy and imaging dose, we previously proposed an adaptive imaging strategy to dynamically decide future imaging type and moments based on motion tracking uncertainty. kV imaging may be used continuously for maximal accuracy or only when the position uncertainty (probability of out of threshold) is high if a preset imaging dose limit is considered. In this work, we propose more accurate methods to estimate tracking uncertainty through analyzing acquired data in real-time. Methods: We simulated motion tracking process based on a previously developed imaging framework (MV + initial seconds of kV imaging) using real-time breathing data from 42 patients. Motion tracking errors for each time point were collected together with the time point’s corresponding features, such as tumor motion speed and 2D tracking error of previous time points, etc. We tested three methods for error uncertainty estimation based on the features: conditional probability distribution, logistic regression modeling, and support vector machine (SVM) classification to detect errors exceeding a threshold. Results: For conditional probability distribution, polynomial regressions on three features (previous tracking error, prediction quality, and cosine of the angle between the trajectory and the treatment beam) showed strong correlation with the variation (uncertainty) of the mean 3D tracking error and its standard deviation: R-square = 0.94 and 0.90, respectively. The logistic regression and SVM classification successfully identified about 95% of tracking errors exceeding 2.5mm threshold. Conclusion: The proposed methods can reliably estimate the motion tracking uncertainty in real-time, which can be used to guide adaptive additional imaging to confirm the tumor is within the margin or initialize motion compensation if it is out of the margin.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-JeP1-02: A New Intra-Fractional Prostate Motion Tracking Method in Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Via 2D/3D Registration

Purpose: Intra-fractional prostate motion leads uncertainty on delivered dose in radiotherapy and may cause significant dose deviation from the planned dose distribution. This is especially a concern in scenarios with a high dose per fraction and hence a long delivery time, e.g. stereotactic body radiotherapy. Knowledge about intra-fractional prostate motion is valuable to address this problem, e.g. by reconstructing delivered dose and performing adaptation. This study proposes a new approach to determine intra-fractional prostate motion in VMAT via 2D/3D maker registration. Methods: At our institution, each patient has three markers implanted in the prostate. During treatment delivery, kV triggered images were taken every three seconds to acquire 2D projection of 3D anatomy at the direction orthogonal to the therapeutic beam. Projected marker locations were identified on each projection image using template matching with geometric constraints. 3D prostate translation and rotation for each triggered image were obtained by solving an optimization problem, such that the calculated marker locations match the measured ones. Inter-image motion smoothness was employed as a constraint. We tested this method in simulation studies with five realistic prostate motion trajectories acquired via Calypso and in real phantom experiments. Results: For the simulation case, the motion range for these patients was 0.5∼6.0 mm. Root mean square (RMS) error of calculated motion along left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP) and cranial-caudal (CC) directions were 0.26mm, 0.36mm, and 0.016mm, respectively. The motion range in the phantom study along LR, AP, and CC directions were 15mm, 20mm and 10mm. The mean RMS errors along these directions were 1.99mm, 1.37mm and 0.22mm. Conclusion: A new prostate motion tracking algorithm based on kV triggered images has been developed and validated. Clinically acceptable accuracy has been achieved.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Guided versus Surrogate-Based Motion Tracking in Liver Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Comparative Study

Purpose: This study applied automatic feature detection on cine–magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) liver images in order to provide a prospective comparison between MRI-guided and surrogate-based tracking methods for motion-compensated liver radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: In a population of 30 subjects (5 volunteers plus 25 patients), 2 oblique sagittal slices were acquired across the liver at high temporal resolution. An algorithm based on scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) was used to extract and track multiple features throughout the image sequence. The position of abdominal markers was also measured directly from the image series, and the internal motion of each feature was quantified through multiparametric analysis. Surrogate-based tumor tracking with a state-of-the-art external/internal correlation model was simulated. The geometrical tracking error was measured, and its correlation with external motion parameters was also investigated. Finally, the potential gain in tracking accuracy relying on MRI guidance was quantified as a function of the maximum allowed tracking error. Results: An average of 45 features was extracted for each subject across the whole liver. The multi-parametric motion analysis reported relevant inter- and intrasubject variability, highlighting the value of patient-specific and spatially-distributed measurements. Surrogate-based tracking errors (relative to the motion amplitude) were were in the range 7% to 23% (1.02-3.57mm) and were significantly influenced by external motion parameters. The gain of MRI guidance compared to surrogate-based motion tracking was larger than 30% in 50% of the subjects when considering a 1.5-mm tracking error tolerance. Conclusions: Automatic feature detection applied to cine-MRI allows detailed liver motion description to be obtained. Such information was used to quantify the performance of surrogate-based tracking methods and to provide a prospective comparison with respect to MRI-guided radiation therapy, which could support the definition of patient-specific optimal treatment strategies.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2016

WE-DE-BRA-11: A Study of Motion Tracking Accuracy of Robotic Radiosurgery Using a Novel CCD Camera Based End-To-End Test System

Purpose: A novel end-to-end test system using a CCD camera and a scintillator based phantom (XRV-124, Logos Systems Int’l) capable of measuring the beam-by-beam delivery accuracy of Robotic Radiosurgery (CyberKnife) was developed and reported in our previous work. This work investigates its application in assessing the motion tracking (Synchrony) accuracy for CyberKnife. Methods: A QA plan with Anterior and Lateral beams (with 4 different collimator sizes) was created (Multiplan v5.3) for the XRV-124 phantom. The phantom was placed on a motion platform (superior and inferior movement), and the plans were delivered on the CyberKnife M6 system using four motion patterns: static, Sine- wave, Sine with 15° phase shift, and a patient breathing pattern composed of 2cm maximum motion with 4 second breathing cycle. Under integral recording mode, the time-averaged beam vectors (X, Y, Z) were measured by the phantom and compared with static delivery. In dynamic recording mode, the beam spots were recorded at a rate of 10 frames/second. The beam vector deviation from average position was evaluated against the various breathing patterns. Results: The average beam position of the six deliveries with no motion and three deliveries with Synchrony tracking on ideal motion (sinewave without phase shift) all agree within −0.03±0.00 mm, 0.10±0.04, and 0.04±0.03 in the X, Y, and X directions. Radiation beam width (FWHM) variations are within ±0.03 mm. Dynamic video record showed submillimeter tracking stability for both regular and irregular breathing pattern; however the tracking error up to 3.5 mm was observed when a 15 degree phase shift was introduced. Conclusion: The XRV-124 system is able to provide 3D and 4D targeting accuracy for CyberKnife delivery with Synchrony. The experimental results showed sub-millimeter delivery in phantom with excellent correlation in target to breathing motion. The accuracy was degraded when irregular motion and phase shift was introduced.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-142: Performance Study of Automatic Image-Segmentation Algorithms in Motion Tracking Via MR-IGRT

Purpose: Evaluate commonly used segmentation algorithms on a commercially available real-time MR image guided radiotherapy (MR-IGRT) system (ViewRay), compare the strengths and weaknesses of each method, with the purpose of improving motion tracking for more accurate radiotherapy. Methods: MR motion images of bladder, kidney, duodenum, and liver tumor were acquired for three patients using a commercial on-board MR imaging system and an imaging protocol used during MR-IGRT. A series of 40 frames were selected for each case to cover at least 3 respiratory cycles. Thresholding, Canny edge detection, fuzzy k-means (FKM), k-harmonic means (KHM), and reaction-diffusion level set evolution (RD-LSE), along with the ViewRay treatment planning and delivery system (TPDS) were included in the comparisons. To evaluate the segmentation results, an expert manual contouring of the organs or tumor from a physician was used as a ground-truth. Metrics value of sensitivity, specificity, Jaccard similarity, and Dice coefficient were computed for comparison. Results: In the segmentation of single image frame, all methods successfully segmented the bladder and kidney, but only FKM, KHM and TPDS were able to segment the liver tumor and the duodenum. For segmenting motion image series, the TPDS method had the highest sensitivity, Jarccard, and Dice coefficients in segmenting bladder and kidney, while FKM and KHM had a slightly higher specificity. A similar pattern was observed when segmenting the liver tumor and the duodenum. The Canny method is not suitable for consistently segmenting motion frames in an automated process, while thresholding and RD-LSE cannot consistently segment a liver tumor and the duodenum. Conclusion: The study compared six different segmentation methods and showed the effectiveness of the ViewRay TPDS algorithm in segmenting motion images during MR-IGRT. Future studies include a selection of conformal segmentation methods based on image/organ-specific information, different filtering methods and their influences on the segmentation results. Parag Parikh receives research grant from ViewRay. Sasa Mutic has consulting and research agreements with ViewRay. Yanle Hu receives travel reimbursement from ViewRay. Iwan Kawrakow and James Dempsey are ViewRay employees.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

TH-CD-207A-03: A Surface Deformation Driven Respiratory Model for Organ Motion Tracking in Lung Cancer Radiotherapy

Purpose: To propose and validate a novel real-time surface-mesh-based internal organ-external surface motion and deformation tracking method for lung cancer radiotherapy. Methods: Deformation vector fields (DVFs) which characterizes the internal and external motion are obtained by registering the internal organ and tumor contours and external surface meshes to a reference phase in the 4D CT images using a recent developed local topology preserved non-rigid point matching algorithm (TOP). A composite matrix is constructed by combing the estimated internal and external DVFs. Principle component analysis (PCA) is then applied on the composite matrix to extract principal motion characteristics and finally yield the respiratory motion model parameters which correlates the internal and external motion and deformation. The accuracy of the respiratory motion model is evaluated using a 4D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) synthetic phantom and three lung cancer cases. The center of mass (COM) difference is used to measure the tumor motion tracking accuracy, and the Dice’s coefficient (DC), percent error (PE) and Housdourf’s distance (HD) are used to measure the agreement between the predicted and ground truth tumor shape. Results: The mean COM is 0.84±0.49mm and 0.50±0.47mm for the phantom and patient data respectively. The mean DC, PE and HD are 0.93±0.01, 0.13±0.03 and 1.24±0.34 voxels for the phantom, and 0.91±0.04, 0.17±0.07 and 3.93±2.12 voxels for the three lung cancer patients, respectively. Conclusions: We have proposed and validate a real-time surface-mesh-based organ motion and deformation tracking method with an internal-external motion modeling. The preliminary results conducted on a synthetic 4D NCAT phantom and 4D CT images from three lung cancer cases show that the proposed method is reliable and accurate in tracking both the tumor motion trajectory and deformation, which can serve as a potential tool for real-time organ motion and deformation monitoring in lung cancer radiotherapy. This work is supported in part by grant from VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no 81428019 and no 81301940), the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (2015A030313302)and the 2015 Pearl River S&T Nova Program of Guangzhou (201506010096).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-D-207-01: Markerless Respiratory Motion Tracking with Contrast Enhanced Thoracic Cone Beam CT Projections

Purpose: To develop a novel technique to enhance the image contrast of clinical cone beam CT projections and extract respiratory signals based on anatomical motion using the modified Amsterdam Shroud (AS) method to benefit image guided radiation therapy. Methods: Thoracic cone beam CT projections acquired prior to treatment were preprocessed to increase their contrast for better respiratory signal extraction. Air intensity on raw images was firstly estimated and then applied to correct the projections to generate new attenuation images that were subsequently improved with deeper anatomy feature enhancement through taking logarithm operation, derivative along superior-inferior direction, respectively. All pixels on individual post-processed two dimensional images were horizontally summed to one column and all projections were combined side by side to create an AS image from which patient’s respiratory signal was extracted. The impact of gantry rotation on the breathing signal rendering was also investigated. Ten projection image sets from five lung cancer patients acquired with the Varian Onboard Imager on 21iX Clinac (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) were employed to assess the proposed technique. Results: Application of the air correction on raw projections showed that more than an order of magnitude of contrast enhancement was achievable. The typical contrast on the raw projections is around 0.02 while that on attenuation images could greater than 0.5. Clear and stable breathing signal can be reliably extracted from the new images while the uncorrected projection sets failed to yield clear signals most of the time. Conclusion: Anatomy feature plays a key role in yielding breathing signal from the projection images using the AS technique. The air correction process facilitated the contrast enhancement significantly and attenuation images thus obtained provides a practical solution to obtaining markerless breathing motion tracking.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Topological Approach for Motion Track Discrimination

Detecting small targets at range is difficult because there is not enough spatial information present in an image sub-region containing the target to use correlation-based methods to differentiate it from dynamic confusers present in the scene. Moreover, this lack of spatial information also disqualifies the use of most state-of-the-art deep learning image-based classifiers. Here, we use characteristics of target tracks extracted from video sequences as data from which to derive distinguishing topological features that help robustly differentiate targets of interest from confusers. In particular, we calculate persistent homology from time-delayed embeddings of dynamic statistics calculated from motion tracks extracted from a wide field-of-view video stream. In short, we use topological methods to extract features related to target motion dynamics that are useful for classification and disambiguation and show that small targets can be detected at range with high probability.

Emerson, Tegan H.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Crossed beam roof target for motion tracking

A system for detecting motion between a first body and a second body includes first and second detector-emitter pairs, disposed on the first body, and configured to transmit and receive first and second optical beams, respectively. At least a first optical rotator is disposed on the second body and configured to receive and reflect at least one of the first and second optical beams. First and second detectors of the detector-emitter pairs are configured to detect the first and second optical beams, respectively. Each of the first and second detectors is configured to detect motion between the first and second bodies in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs). The first optical rotator includes a V-notch oriented to form an apex of an isosceles triangle with respect to a base of the isosceles triangle formed by the first and second detector-emitter pairs. The V-notch is configured to receive the first optical beam and reflect the first optical beam to both the first and second detectors. The V-notch is also configured to receive the second optical beam and reflect the second optical beam to both the first and second detectors.

Olczak, Eugene↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-D-207-05: Real-Time Intrafractional Motion Tracking During VMAT Delivery Using a Conventional Elekta CBCT System

Purpose: Real-time kV projection streaming capability has become recently available for Elekta XVI version 5.0. This study aims to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of real-time fiducial marker tracking during CBCT acquisition with or without simultaneous VMAT delivery using a conventional Elekta linear accelerator. Methods: A client computer was connected to an on-board kV imaging system computer, and receives and processes projection images immediately after image acquisition. In-house marker tracking software based on FFT normalized cross-correlation was developed and installed in the client computer. Three gold fiducial markers with 3 mm length were implanted in a pelvis-shaped phantom with 36 cm width. The phantom was placed on a programmable motion platform oscillating in anterior-posterior and superior-inferior directions simultaneously. The marker motion was tracked in real-time for (1) a kV-only CBCT scan with treatment beam off and (2) a kV CBCT scan during a 6-MV VMAT delivery. The exposure parameters per projection were 120 kVp and 1.6 mAs. Tracking accuracy was assessed by comparing superior-inferior positions between the programmed and tracked trajectories. Results: The projection images were successfully transferred to the client computer at a frequency of about 5 Hz. In the kV-only scan, highly accurate marker tracking was achieved over the entire range of cone-beam projection angles (detection rate / tracking error were 100.0% / 0.6±0.5 mm). In the kV-VMAT scan, MV-scatter degraded image quality, particularly for lateral projections passing through the thickest part of the phantom (kV source angle ranging 70°-110° and 250°-290°), resulting in a reduced detection rate (90.5%). If the lateral projections are excluded, tracking performance was comparable to the kV-only case (detection rate / tracking error were 100.0% / 0.8±0.5 mm). Conclusion: Our phantom study demonstrated a promising Result for real-time motion tracking using a conventional Elekta linear accelerator. MV-scatter suppression is needed to improve tracking accuracy during MV delivery. This research is funded by Motion Management Research Grant from Elekta.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1977

The optimization of self-phased arrays for diurnal motion tracking of synchronous satellites

The diurnal motion of a synchronous satellite necessitates mechanical tracking when a large aperture, high gain antenna is employed at the earth terminal. An alternative solution to this tracking problem is to use a self phased array consisting of a number of fixed pointed elements, each with moderate directivity. Non-mechanical tracking and adequate directive gain are achieved electronically by phase coherent summing of the element outputs. The element beamwidths provide overlapping area coverage of the satellite motion but introduce a diurnal variation into the array gain. The optimum element beamwidth and pointing direction of these elements can be obtained under the condition that the array gain is maximized simultaneously with the minimization of the diurnal variation.

Theobold, D. M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-BRA-10: Marker Free Lung Tumor Motion Tracking by An Active Contour Model On Cone Beam CT Projections for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy of Lung Cancer

Purpose: To develop a novel strategy to extract the lung tumor motion from cone beam CT (CBCT) projections by an active contour model with interpolated respiration learned from diaphragm motion. Methods: Tumor tracking on CBCT projections was accomplished with the templates derived from planning CT (pCT). There are three major steps in the proposed algorithm: 1) The pCT was modified to form two CT sets: a tumor removed pCT and a tumor only pCT, the respective digitally reconstructed radiographs DRRtr and DRRto following the same geometry of the CBCT projections were generated correspondingly. 2) The DRRtr was rigidly registered with the CBCT projections on the frame-by-frame basis. Difference images between CBCT projections and the registered DRRtr were generated where the tumor visibility was appreciably enhanced. 3) An active contour method was applied to track the tumor motion on the tumor enhanced projections with DRRto as templates to initialize the tumor tracking while the respiratory motion was compensated for by interpolating the diaphragm motion estimated by our novel constrained linear regression approach. CBCT and pCT from five patients undergoing stereotactic body radiotherapy were included in addition to scans from a Quasar phantom programmed with known motion. Manual tumor tracking was performed on CBCT projections and was compared to the automatic tracking to evaluate the algorithm accuracy. Results: The phantom study showed that the error between the automatic tracking and the ground truth was within 0.2mm. For the patients the discrepancy between the calculation and the manual tracking was between 1.4 and 2.2 mm depending on the location and shape of the lung tumor. Similar patterns were observed in the frequency domain. Conclusion: The new algorithm demonstrated the feasibility to track the lung tumor from noisy CBCT projections, providing a potential solution to better motion management for lung radiation therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1993

Tracking motions from satellite water vapor imagery: Quantitative applications to hurricane track forecasting

Water vapor imagery from GOES satellites has been available for over a decade. These data are used extensively, mainly in a qualitative mode, by forecasters in the United States (Weldon and Holmes, 1991). Some attempts have been made at quantifying the data by tracking features in time sequences of the imagery (Stewart et al., 1985; Hayden and Stewart, 1987). For a variety of reasons, applications of this approach have produced marginal results (Velden, 1990). Recently, METEOSAT-3 (M-3) was repositioned at 50W by the European Space Agency, in order to provide complete coverage of the Atlantic Ocean. Data from this satellite are being transmitted to the U.S. for operational use. Compared with the GOES satellite, the M-3 has a superior resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in its water vapor channel, which translates into improved automated tracking capabilities. During a period in 1992 which included the Atlantic hurricane season, water vapor tracking algorithms were applied to the M-3 data in order to evaluate the coverage, accuracy and model impact of the derived vectors. Data sets were produced during several tropical cyclone cases, including Hurricane Andrew. In this paper, the M-3 water vapor wind sets are assessed, and their impact on a hurricane track forecast model is examined.

Velden, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1990

An ice-motion tracking system at the Alaska SAR facility

An operational system for extracting ice-motion information from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is being developed as part of the Alaska SAR Facility. This geophysical processing system (GPS) will derive ice-motion information by automated analysis of image sequences acquired by radars on the European ERS-1, Japanese ERS-1, and Canadian RADARSAT remote sensing satellites. The algorithm consists of a novel combination of feature-based and area-based techniques for the tracking of ice floes that undergo translation and rotation between imaging passes. The system performs automatic selection of the image pairs for input to the matching routines using an ice-motion estimator. It is designed to have a daily throughput of ten image pairs. A description is given of the GPS system, including an overview of the ice-motion-tracking algorithm, the system architecture, and the ice-motion products that will be available for distribution to geophysical data users.

Kwok, Ronald↗
DOE OSTI2014

Three-dimensional liver motion tracking using real-time two-dimensional MRI

Purpose: Combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and linear accelerators for radiotherapy (MR-Linacs) are currently under development. MRI is noninvasive and nonionizing and can produce images with high soft tissue contrast. However, new tracking methods are required to obtain fast real-time spatial target localization. This study develops and evaluates a method for tracking three-dimensional (3D) respiratory liver motion in two-dimensional (2D) real-time MRI image series with high temporal and spatial resolution. Methods: The proposed method for 3D tracking in 2D real-time MRI series has three steps: (1) Recording of a 3D MRI scan and selection of a blood vessel (or tumor) structure to be tracked in subsequent 2D MRI series. (2) Generation of a library of 2D image templates oriented parallel to the 2D MRI image series by reslicing and resampling the 3D MRI scan. (3) 3D tracking of the selected structure in each real-time 2D image by finding the template and template position that yield the highest normalized cross correlation coefficient with the image. Since the tracked structure has a known 3D position relative to each template, the selection and 2D localization of a specific template translates into quantification of both the through-plane and in-plane position of the structure. As a proof of principle, 3D tracking of liver blood vessel structures was performed in five healthy volunteers in two 5.4 Hz axial, sagittal, and coronal real-time 2D MRI series of 30 s duration. In each 2D MRI series, the 3D localization was carried out twice, using nonoverlapping template libraries, which resulted in a total of 12 estimated 3D trajectories per volunteer. Validation tests carried out to support the tracking algorithm included quantification of the breathing induced 3D liver motion and liver motion directionality for the volunteers, and comparison of 2D MRI estimated positions of a structure in a watermelon with the actual positions. Results: Axial, sagittal, and coronal 2D MRI series yielded 3D respiratory motion curves for all volunteers. The motion directionality and amplitude were very similar when measured directly as in-plane motion or estimated indirectly as through-plane motion. The mean peak-to-peak breathing amplitude was 1.6 mm (left-right), 11.0 mm (craniocaudal), and 2.5 mm (anterior-posterior). The position of the watermelon structure was estimated in 2D MRI images with a root-mean-square error of 0.52 mm (in-plane) and 0.87 mm (through-plane). Conclusions: A method for 3D tracking in 2D MRI series was developed and demonstrated for liver tracking in volunteers. The method would allow real-time 3D localization with integrated MR-Linac systems.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-BRA-08: Diaphragm Motion Tracking Based On KV CBCT Projections with a Constrained Linear Regression Optimization

Purpose: To develop a novel strategy to extract the respiratory motion of the thoracic diaphragm from kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) projections by a constrained linear regression optimization technique. Methods: A parabolic function was identified as the geometric model and was employed to fit the shape of the diaphragm on the CBCT projections. The search was initialized by five manually placed seeds on a pre-selected projection image. Temporal redundancies, the enabling phenomenology in video compression and encoding techniques, inherent in the dynamic properties of the diaphragm motion together with the geometrical shape of the diaphragm boundary and the associated algebraic constraint that significantly reduced the searching space of viable parabolic parameters was integrated, which can be effectively optimized by a constrained linear regression approach on the subsequent projections. The innovative algebraic constraints stipulating the kinetic range of the motion and the spatial constraint preventing any unphysical deviations was able to obtain the optimal contour of the diaphragm with minimal initialization. The algorithm was assessed by a fluoroscopic movie acquired at anteriorposterior fixed direction and kilovoltage CBCT projection image sets from four lung and two liver patients. The automatic tracing by the proposed algorithm and manual tracking by a human operator were compared in both space and frequency domains. Results: The error between the estimated and manual detections for the fluoroscopic movie was 0.54mm with standard deviation (SD) of 0.45mm, while the average error for the CBCT projections was 0.79mm with SD of 0.64mm for all enrolled patients. The submillimeter accuracy outcome exhibits the promise of the proposed constrained linear regression approach to track the diaphragm motion on rotational projection images. Conclusion: The new algorithm will provide a potential solution to rendering diaphragm motion and ultimately improving tumor motion management for radiation therapy of cancer patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗