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DOE OSTI2012

DOE 2011 occupational radiation exposure

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Analysis within the Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) publishes the annual DOE Occupational Radiation Exposure Report to provide an overview of the status of radiation protection practices at DOE (including the National Nuclear Security Administration [NNSA]). The DOE 2011 Occupational Radiation Exposure Report provides an evaluation of DOE-wide performance regarding compliance with Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Part 835, Occupational Radiation Protection dose limits and as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) process requirements. In addition, the report provides data to DOE organizations responsible for developing policies for protection of individuals from the adverse health effects of radiation. The report provides a summary and an analysis of occupational radiation exposure information from the monitoring of individuals involved in DOE activities. The occupational radiation exposure information is analyzed in terms of aggregate data, dose to individuals, and dose by site over the past five years.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation of Attila and MCNP computational methods for dose and exposure estimation

Radiation transport calculations are often used to estimate dose or exposure to components and personnel surrounding a radiation source. The sources for these calculations are decaying radionuclides within various nuclear materials. Historically, dose calculations use MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle) transport code as the primary particle transport tool without a secondary computational tool to validate the results from the MCNP simulations [1]. The goal of this study is to make an independent check of the Monte Carlo solution from MCNP6 Version 6.2.1 with the discrete ordinates solution from Attila 10.2.0 Beta 3. As an example problem for this study, water-filled, stainless-steel vessels, modeled with an unstructured mesh (UM) with both MCNP and Attila [2], are exposed to 252Cf and 60Co point sources. This report also includes a discussion of the limitations of unstructured mesh in a MCNP calculation.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Activation estimates of the RHIC beam dump

In anticipation of the expiration of the RHIC ASE in December 2025 and the need to demonstrate compliance with nuclear facility rule (10CFR830), this study quantifies the radionuclide inventory and respective activity at the beam dumps by simulating a period of five years of operation using conservative assumptions. Simulations were performed with the Monte Carlo particle transport and interaction code FLUKA and its dosimetry results were compared with measured dose rate data, showing good agreement. The beam dump was deemed to constitute the main hotspot of residual radiation and also representative of a worst case scenario in terms of induced activation. The activation levels calculated indicate that the RHIC tunnel will be well below the thresholds of a DOE’s category-3 nuclear facility classification.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-72: Geant4 Simulations of Spot-Scanned Proton Beam Treatment Plans

Purpose: To evaluate density inhomogeneities which can effect dose distributions for real-time image gated spot-scanning proton therapy (RGPT), a dose calculation system, using treatment planning system VQA (Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo) spot position data, was developed based on Geant4. Methods: A Geant4 application was developed to simulate spot-scanned proton beams at Hokkaido University Hospital. A CT scan (0.98 × 0.98 × 1.25 mm) was performed for prostate cancer treatment with three or four inserted gold markers (diameter 1.5 mm, volume 1.77 mm3) in or near the target tumor. The CT data was read into VQA. A spot scanning plan was generated and exported to text files, specifying the beam energy and position of each spot. The text files were converted and read into our Geant4-based software. The spot position was converted into steering magnet field strength (in Tesla) for our beam nozzle. Individual protons were tracked from the vacuum chamber, through the helium chamber, steering magnets, dose monitors, etc., in a straight, horizontal line. The patient CT data was converted into materials with variable density and placed in a parametrized volume at the isocenter. Gold fiducial markers were represented in the CT data by two adjacent voxels (volume 2.38 mm3). 600,000 proton histories were tracked for each target spot. As one beam contained about 1,000 spots, approximately 600 million histories were recorded for each beam on a blade server. Two plans were considered: two beam horizontal opposed (90 and 270 degree) and three beam (0, 90 and 270 degree). Results: We are able to convert spot scanning plans from VQA and simulate them with our Geant4-based code. Our system can be used to evaluate the effect of dose reduction caused by gold markers used for RGPT. Conclusion: Our Geant4 application is able to calculate dose distributions for spot scanned proton therapy.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-212: Comparison of TG-43 Dosimetric Parameters of Low and High Energy Brachytherapy Sources Obtained by MCNP Code Versions of 4C, X and 5

Purpose: Different versions of MCNP code are widely used for dosimetry purposes. The purpose of this study is to compare different versions of the MCNP codes in dosimetric evaluation of different brachytherapy sources. Methods: The TG-43 parameters such as dose rate constant, radial dose function, and anisotropy function of different brachytherapy sources, i.e. Pd-103, I-125, Ir-192, and Cs-137 were calculated in water phantom. The results obtained by three versions of Monte Carlo codes (MCNP4C, MCNPX, MCNP5) were compared for low and high energy brachytherapy sources. Then the cross section library of MCNP4C code was changed to ENDF/B-VI release 8 which is used in MCNP5 and MCNPX codes. Finally, the TG-43 parameters obtained using the MCNP4C-revised code, were compared with other codes. Results: The results of these investigations indicate that for high energy sources, the differences in TG-43 parameters between the codes are less than 1% for Ir-192 and less than 0.5% for Cs-137. However for low energy sources like I-125 and Pd-103, large discrepancies are observed in the g(r) values obtained by MCNP4C and the two other codes. The differences between g(r) values calculated using MCNP4C and MCNP5 at the distance of 6cm were found to be about 17% and 28% for I-125 and Pd-103 respectively. The results obtained with MCNP4C-revised and MCNPX were similar. However, the maximum difference between the results obtained with the MCNP5 and MCNP4C-revised codes was 2% at 6cm. Conclusion: The results indicate that using MCNP4C code for dosimetry of low energy brachytherapy sources can cause large errors in the results. Therefore it is recommended not to use this code for low energy sources, unless its cross section library is changed. Since the results obtained with MCNP4C-revised and MCNPX were similar, it is concluded that the difference between MCNP4C and MCNPX is their cross section libraries.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Relationship Between Dose Rate and Decay Heat for Spent Nuclear Fuel Casks

Decay heat and dose rate are two important limits used for determining the allowable contents of spent fuel (SNF) in dry storage systems and transportation packages. While the decay heat limit is used to maintain fuel cladding integrity and ensure retrievability, dose rates are used to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements on radiation protection. Because both dose rate and decay heat result from decay of radioisotopes in SNF, this study is an attempt to examine the relationship between dose rate and decay heat for a given cask design. Dose rates were evaluated for 198 cask configurations, that include various SNF system designs (e.g., storage, transfer, transport), SNF characteristics (e.g., fuel types, burnup, cooling time), and loading maps (e.g., uniform loading, zone loading), while a constant decay heat was maintained. The decay heat was calculated using US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.54, Revision 2, and verified using ORIGEN sequence within SCALE code system. The ORIGEN outputs were used as source terms in the dose analysis using 198 different configurations. A computer script was developed to calculate the cooling time necessary to achieve a given decay heat for a given enrichment, assembly average burnup, assembly mass, and in-core history using a rootfinder algorithm. Initially the computer script was developed to provide cooling time and burnup calculations directly to the analysis of dose rates and decay heats, so a comparison between Used Nuclear Fuel-Storage Transportation and Disposal Analysis Resource Data System (UNF-ST&DARDS) results and RG3.54 data was made; results are included in the appendix to this document. However, an iterative approach was used to compute cooling time, and its accuracy did not depend on the results of the RG3.54r2 algorithm, although the algorithm was still used. The results of the evaluation presented herein clearly demonstrate that a given decay heat does not correspond to a unique dose rate for a variety of cask and package designs. There is no clear pattern to develop a correlation between decay heat and the source terms. Depending on burnup, enrichment, cask type, and loading pattern, dose rates varied for the exact same decay heat—in some cases by 400% for a given cask. For cases in which decay heat was held constant through selection of the appropriate cooling time, dose rates would decrease with increasing burnup, and in other cases, dose rates would increase. The large variation in dose rates for a constant decay heat indicates that casks loaded based on decay heat—that is allowing any burnup, cooling time, and enrichment combinations that yield the qualified decay heat limit(s) —cannot ensure that an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation or a spent fuel transportation package will meet the regulatory limits set forth by the respective regulations, i.e., 10 CFR 72 or 10 CFR 71.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-BRC-16: Theory and Clinical Implications of the Constant Dosimetric Leaf Gap (DLG) Approximation

Purpose: Commercial dose calculation algorithms incorporate a single DLG value for a given beam energy that is applied across an entire treatment field. However, the physical processes associated with beam generation and dose delivery suggest that the DLG is not constant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the variation of DLG among all leaf pairs, to quantify how this variation impacts delivered dose, and to establish a novel method to correct dose distributions calculated using the approximation of constant DLG. Methods: A 2D diode array was used to measure the DLG for all 60 leaf pairs at several points along each leaf pair travel direction. This approach was validated by comparison to DLG values measured at select points using a 0.6 cc ion chamber with the standard formalism. In-house software was developed to enable incorporation of position dependent DLG values into dose distribution optimization and calculation. The accuracy of beam delivery of both the corrected and uncorrected treatment plans was studied through gamma pass rate evaluation. A comparison of DVH statistics in corrected and uncorrected treatment plans was made. Results: The outer 20 MLC leaf pairs (1.0 cm width) have DLG values that are 0.32 mm (mean) to 0.65 mm (maximum) lower than the central leaf-pair. VMAT plans using a large number of 1 cm wide leaves were more accurately delivered (gamma pass rate increased by 5%) and dose coverage was higher (D100 increased by 3%) when the 2D DLG was modeled. Conclusion: Using a constant DLG value for a given beam energy will result in dose optimization, dose calculation and treatment delivery inaccuracies that become significant for treatment plans with high modulation complexity scores delivered with 1 cm wide leaves.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Status of the MARS code

This report describes major features of the most recent version of the MARS code as well as ongoing developments. The list of features includes various options for geometry models, a beam line builder based on MADX code, import of geometry models in GDML format, use of structured and unstructured meshes for scoring purposes, an update to the recent TENDL library for a number of projectiles at low energies (up to 250 MeV), and a recently implemented method to calculate spatial distribution of residual dose in a single computer run without an intermediate source. Examples of the code application to various projects are presented as well.

Rakhno, Igor [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000265828058)↗
DOE OSTI2010

GEANT4 Application for the Simulation of the Head of a Siemens Primus Linac

The Monte Carlo simulation of the head of a Siemens Primus Linac used at Virgen Macarena Hospital (Sevilla, Spain) has been performed using the code GEANT4, version 9.2. In this work, the main features of the application built by our group are presented. They are mainly focused in the optimization of the performance of the simulation. The geometry, including the water phantom, has been entirely wrapped by a shielding volume which discards all the particles escaping far away through its walls. With this, a factor of four in the time spent by the simulation can be saved. An interface to read and write phase-space files in IAEA format has been also developed to save CPU time in our simulations. Finally, some calculations of the dose absorption in the water phantom have been done and compared with the results given by EGSnrc and with experimental data obtained for the calibration of the machine.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

WE-A-17A-07: Evaluation of a Grid-Based Boltzmann Solver for Nuclear Medicine Voxel-Based Dose Calculations

Purpose: Grid-based Boltzmann solvers (GBBS) have been successfully implemented in radiation oncology clinics as dose calculations for e×ternal photon beams and 192Ir sealed-source brachytherapy. We report on the evaluation of a GBBS for nuclear medicine vo×el-based absorbed doses. Methods: Vo×el-S-values were calculated for monoenergetic betas and photons (1, 0.1, 0.01 MeV), 90Y, and 131I for 3 mm vo×el sizes using Monte Carlo (DOS×YZnrc) and GBBS (Attila 8.1-beta5, Transpire). The source distribution was uniform throughout a single vo×el. The material was an infinite 1.04 g/cc soft tissue slab. To e×plore convergence properties of the GBBS 3 tetrahedral meshes, 3 energy group structures, 3 different square Chebyschev-Legendre quadrature set orders (Sn), and 4×2013;7 spherical harmonic e×pansion terms (Pn) were investigated for a total of 168 discretizations per source. The mesh, energy group, and quadrature sets are 8×, 3×, and 16×, respectively, finer than the corresponding coarse discretization. GBBS cross sections were generated with full electronphoton-coupling using the vendors e×tended CEP×S code. For accuracy, percent differences (%Δ) in source vo×el absorbed doses between MC and GBBS are reported for the coarsest and finest discretization. For convergence, ratios of the two finest discretization solutions are reported along each variable. Results: For 1 MeV, 0.1 MeV, 0.01 MeV, Y90, and I-131 beta sources the %Δ in the source vo×el for (coarsest,finest) discretization were (+2.0,−6.4), (−8.0, −7.5), (−13.8, −13.4), (+0.9,−5.5), and (− 10.1,−9.0) respectively. The corresponding %Δ for photons were (+33.7,−7.1), (−9.4, −9.8), (−17.4, −15.2), and (−1.7,−7.7), respectively. For betas, the convergence ratio of mesh, energy, Sn, and Pn ranged from 0.991–1.000. For gammas, the convergence ratio of mesh, Sn, and Pn ranged from 0.998–1.003 while the ratio for energy ranged from 0.964–1.001. Conclusions: GBBS is promising for nuclear medicine vo×el-based dose calculations. Ongoing work includes evaluating GBBS in bone, lung, and realistic clinical PET/SPECT-based activity distributions. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01CA138986. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-137: Out-Of-Beam Dose for a Compact Double-Scattering Proton Beam Therapy System

Purpose: The out-of-beam dose is important for understanding the peripheral dose in radiation therapy. In proton radiotherapy, the study of out-of-beam dose is scarce and the treatment planning system (TPS) based on pencil beam algorithm cannot accurately predict the out-of-beam dose. This study investigates the out-of-beam dose for the single-room Mevion S250 double scattering proton therapy system using experimentally measured and treatment planning software generated data. The results are compared with those reported for conventional photon beam therapy. However, this study does not incorporate the neutron contribution in the scattered dose. Methods: A total of seven proton treatment plans were generated using Varian Eclipse TPS for three different sites (brain, lung, and pelvis) in an anthropomorphic phantom. Three field sizes of 5×5, 10×10, and 20×20 cm{sup 2} (lung only) with typical clinical range (13.3–22.8 g/cm{sup 2}) and modulation widths (5.3–14.0 g/cm{sup 2}) were used. A single beam was employed in each treatment plan to deliver a dose of 181.8 cGy (200.0 cGy (RBE)) to the selected target. The out-of-beam dose was measured at 2.0, 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 cm from the beam edge in the phantom using a thimble chamber (PTW TN31010). Results: The out-of-beam dose generally increased with field size, range, and volume irradiated. For all the plans, the scattered dose sharply fell off with distance. At 2.0 cm, the out-of-beam dose ranged from 0.35% to 2.16% of the delivered dose; however, the dose was clinically negligible (<0.3%) at a distance of 5.0 cm and greater. In photon therapy, the slightly greater out-of-beam dose was reported (TG36; 4%, 2%, and 1% for 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0 cm, respectively, using 6 MV beam). Conclusion: The measured out-of-beam dose in proton therapy excluding neutron contribution was observed higher than the TPS calculated dose and comparable to that of photon beam therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-366: Dosimetric Parameters Enhancement of 120-Leaf Millennium MLC Using EGSnrc and IAEA Phase-Space Data

Purpose: Recently, the multileaf collimators (MLC) have become an important part of any LINAC collimation systems because they reduce the treatment planning time and improves the conformity. Important factors that affects the MLCs collimation performance are leaves material composition and their thickness. In this study, we investigate the main dosimetric parameters of 120-leaf Millennium MLC including dose in the buildup point, physical penumbra as well as average and end leaf leakages. Effects of the leaves geometry and density on these parameters are evaluated Methods: From EGSnrc Monte Carlo code, BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc modules are used to evaluate the dosimetric parameters of a water phantom exposed to a Varian xi for 100cm SSD. Using IAEA phasespace data just above MLC (Z=46cm) and BEAMnrc, for the modified 120-leaf Millennium MLC a new phase space data at Z=52cm is produces. The MLC is modified both in leaf thickness and material composition. EGSgui code generates 521ICRU library for tungsten alloys. DOSXYZnrc with the new phase space evaluates the dose distribution in a water phantom of 60×60×20 cm3 with voxel size of 4×4×2 mm3. Using DOSXYZnrc dose distributions for open beam and closed beam as well as the leakages definition, end leakage, average leakage and physical penumbra are evaluated. Results: A new MLC with improved dosimetric parameters is proposed. The physical penumbra for proposed MLC is 4.7mm compared to 5.16 mm for Millennium. Average leakage in our design is reduced to 1.16% compared to 1.73% for Millennium, the end leaf leakage suggested design is also reduced to 4.86% compared to 7.26% of Millennium. Conclusion: The results show that the proposed MLC with enhanced dosimetric parameters could improve the conformity of treatment planning.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dosimetric and Late Radiation Toxicity Comparison Between Iodine-125 Brachytherapy and Stereotactic Radiation Therapy for Juxtapapillary Choroidal Melanoma

Purpose: To compare the dose distributions and late radiation toxicities for {sup 125}I brachytherapy (IBT) and stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) in the treatment of juxtapapillary choroidal melanoma. Methods: Ninety-four consecutive patients with juxtapapillary melanoma were reviewed: 30 have been treated with IBT and 64 with SRT. Iodine-125 brachytherapy cases were modeled with plaque simulator software for dosimetric analysis. The SRT dosimetric data were obtained from the Radionics XKnife RT3 software. Mean doses at predetermined intraocular points were calculated. Kaplan-Meier estimates determined the actuarial rates of late toxicities, and the log–rank test compared the estimates. Results: The median follow-up was 46 months in both cohorts. The 2 cohorts were balanced with respect to pretreatment clinical and tumor characteristics. Comparisons of radiation toxicity rates between the IBT and SRT cohorts yielded actuarial rates at 50 months for cataracts of 62% and 75% (P=.1), for neovascular glaucoma 8% and 47% (P=.002), for radiation retinopathy 59% and 89% (P=.0001), and for radiation papillopathy 39% and 74% (P=.003), respectively. Dosimetric comparisons between the IBT and SRT cohorts yielded mean doses of 12.8 and 14.1 Gy (P=.56) for the lens center, 17.6 and 19.7 Gy (P=.44) for the lens posterior pole, 13.9 and 10.8 Gy (P=.30) for the ciliary body, 61.9 and 69.7 Gy (P=.03) for optic disc center, and 48.9 and 60.1 Gy (P<.0001) for retina at 5-mm distance from tumor margin, respectively. Conclusions: Late radiation-induced toxicities were greater with SRT, which is secondary to the high-dose exposure inherent to the technique as compared with IBT. When technically feasible, IBT is preferred to treat juxtapapillary choroidal melanoma.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-53: Treatment Planning with Inhomogeneity Correction for Intraoperative Radiotherapy Using KV X-Ray Beams

Purpose: The current standard in dose calculation for intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) using the ZEISS Intrabeam 50 kV x-ray system is based on depth dose measurements in water and no heterogeneous tissue effect has been taken into account. We propose an algorithm for pre-treatment planning including inhomogeneity correction based on data of depth dose measurements in various tissue phantoms for kV x-rays. Methods: Direct depth dose measurements were made in air, water, inner bone and cortical bone phantoms for the Intrabeam 50 kV x-rays with a needle applicator. The data were modelled by a function of power law combining exponential with different parameters. Those phantom slabs used in the measurements were scanned to obtain CT numbers. The x-ray beam initiated from the source isocenter is ray-traced through tissues. The corresponding doses will be deposited/assigned at different depths. On the boundary of tissue/organ changes, the x-ray beam will be re-traced in new tissue/organ starting at an equivalent depth with the same dose. In principle, a volumetric dose distribution can be generated if enough directional beams are traced. In practice, a several typical rays traced may be adequate in providing estimates of maximum dose to the organ at risk and minimum dose in the target volume. Results: Depth dose measurements and modeling are shown in Figure 1. The dose versus CT number is shown in Figure 2. A computer program has been written for Kypho-IORT planning using those data. A direct measurement through 2 mm solid water, 2 mm inner bone, and 1 mm solid water yields a dose rate of 7.7 Gy/min. Our calculation shows 8.1±0.4 Gy/min, consistent with the measurement within 5%. Conclusion: The proposed method can be used to more accurately calculate the dose by taking into account the heterogeneous effect. The further validation includes comparison with Monte Carlo simulation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-605: A New Design for a Rotating Gamma Knife. Monte Carlo Simulation

Purpose: to determine the characteristics of the 60Co beam emerging from a new design of a rotating Gamma Knife system and to calculate 3D dose distributions at the isocenter for different source configurations and collimator openings. Methods: We employed the BEAM-Monte Carlo code to realistically model the geometry design, including 30 60Co source capsules, two circular primary collimators (diameter of 6.6mm and 6.1mm) and four different changeable collimators. The shielding of the head design was also simulated. The sources (2.8mm diameter) are distributed in six groups in the spherical geometry. Each source is individually collimated to obtained four different circular fields at the isocenter (3mm, 3.5mm, 6mm and 8mm).The phase-space particles reaching the scoring plane below the primary collimation assembly were recorded and the BEAMDP code was used to determine the fluence and energy spectra of the particles emerging from each source-collimator configuration. The dose distributions at the isocenter plane (397.6mm from the source) were calculated in a spherical component module for the circular field sizes studied. Results: The energy spectra below the head assembly and primary collimators have been obtained, which exhibited the typical 60Co peaks and a small low-energy tail due to scattered photons (from about 200keV to 1MeV). The scattered component of the spectra represents about 8 % of the total number of photons reaching the scoring plane. The radial photon fluence does not vary significantly inside the collimator openings. The spectra of particles from different source groups are compared. Conclusion: The 60Co beam emerging from each source configuration was characterized, which can be used to establish a generic source model for all the sources for fast MC dose calculation. Further investigations are needed to determine the dose variations as a result of partial switching on/off different groups of sources for advanced Gamma Knife SRS/SBRT planning.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-J-86: Functional Conformal Planning for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy with CT-Pulmonary Ventilation Imaging

Purpose: To evaluate the functional planning using CT-pulmonary ventilation imaging for conformal SBRT. Methods: The CT-pulmonary ventilation image was generated using the Jacobian metric in the in-house program with the NiftyReg software package. Using the ventilation image, the normal lung was split into three lung regions for functionality (high, moderate and low). The anatomical plan (AP) and functional plan (FP) were made for ten lung SBRT patients. For the AP, the beam angles were optimized with the dose-volume constraints for the normal lung sparing and the PTV coverage. For the FP, the gantry angles were also optimized with the additional constraint for high functional lung. The MLC aperture shapes were adjusted to the PTV with the additional 5 mm margin. The dosimetric parameters for PTV, the functional volumes, spinal cord and so on were compared in both plans. Results: Compared to the AP, the FP showed better dose sparing for high- and moderate-functional lungs with similar PTV coverage while not taking care of the low functional lung (High:−12.9±9.26% Moderate: −2.0±7.09%, Low: +4.1±12.2%). For the other normal organs, the FP and AP showed similar dose sparing in the eight patients. However, the FP showed that the maximum doses for spinal cord were increased with the significant increment of 16.4Gy and 21.0Gy in other two patients, respectively. Because the beam direction optimizer chose the unexpected directions passing through the spinal cord. Conclusion: Even the functional conformal SBRT can selectively reduce high- and moderatefunctional lung while keeping the PTV coverage. However, it would be careful that the optimizer would choose unexpected beam angles and the dose sparing for the other normal organs can be worse. Therefore, the planner needs to control the dose-volume constraints and also limit the beam angles in order to achieve the expected dose sparing and coverage.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

TU-H-BRC-05: Stereotactic Radiosurgery Optimized with Orthovoltage Beams

Purpose: To achieve improved stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) dose distributions using orthovoltage energy fluence modulation with inverse planning optimization techniques. Methods: A pencil beam model was used to calculate dose distributions from the institution’s orthovoltage unit at 250 kVp. Kernels for the model were derived using Monte Carlo methods as well as measurements with radiochromic film. The orthovoltage photon spectra, modulated by varying thicknesses of attenuating material, were approximated using open-source software. A genetic algorithm search heuristic routine was used to optimize added tungsten filtration thicknesses to approach rectangular function dose distributions at depth. Optimizations were performed for depths of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 cm, with cone sizes of 8, 10, and 12 mm. Results: Circularly-symmetric tungsten filters were designed based on the results of the optimization, to modulate the orthovoltage beam across the aperture of an SRS cone collimator. For each depth and cone size combination examined, the beam flatness and 80–20% and 90–10% penumbrae were calculated for both standard, open cone-collimated beams as well as for the optimized, filtered beams. For all configurations tested, the modulated beams were able to achieve improved penumbra widths and flatness statistics at depth, with flatness improving between 33 and 52%, and penumbrae improving between 18 and 25% for the modulated beams compared to the unmodulated beams. Conclusion: A methodology has been described that may be used to optimize the spatial distribution of added filtration material in an orthovoltage SRS beam to result in dose distributions at depth with improved flatness and penumbrae compared to standard open cones. This work provides the mathematical foundation for a novel, orthovoltage energy fluence-modulated SRS system.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Preclinical investigation for developing injectable fiducial markers using a mixture of BaSO{sub 4} and biodegradable polymer for proton therapy

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of mixture of BaSO{sub 4} and biodegradable polymer as an injectable nonmetallic fiducial marker to reduce artifacts in x-ray images, decrease the absorbed dose distortion in proton therapy, and replace permanent metal markers. Methods: Two samples were made with 90 wt. % polymer phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and 10 wt. % BaSO{sub 4} (B1) or 20 wt. % BaSO{sub 4} (B2). Two animal models (mice and rats) were used. To test the injectability and in vivo gelation, a volume of 200 μl at a pH 5.8 were injected into the Sprague-Dawley rats. After sacrificing the rats over time, the authors checked the gel morphology. Detectability of the markers in the x-ray images was tested for two sizes (diameters of 1 and 2 mm) for B1 and B2. Four samples were injected into BALB/C mice. The polymer mixed with BaSO{sub 4} transform from SOL at 20 °C with a pH of 6.0 to GEL in the living body at 37 °C with a pH of 7.4, so the size of the fiducial marker could be controlled by adjusting the injected volume. The detectability of the BaSO{sub 4} marker was measured in x-ray images of cone beam CT (CBCT), on-board imager [anterior–posterior (AP), lateral], and fluoroscopy (AP, lateral) using a Novalis-TX (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) repeatedly over 4 months. The volume, HU, and artifacts for the markers were measured in the CBCT images. Artifacts were compared to those of gold marker by analyzing the HU distribution. The dose distortion in proton therapy was computed by using a Monte Carlo (MC) code. A cylindrical shaped marker (diameter: 1 or 2 mm, length: 3 mm) made of gold, stainless-steel [304], titanium, and 20 wt. % BaSO{sub 4} was positioned at the center of the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) in parallel or perpendicular to the beam entrance. The dose distortion was measured on the depth dose profile across the markers. Results: Transformation to GEL and the biodegradation were verified. All BaSO{sub 4} markers could be detected in the CBCT. In the OBI and fluoroscopy images, all markers visible in the AP, but only B2(2 mm) could be identified in the lateral images. Changes of BaSO{sub 4} position were not detected in vivo (mice). The volume of the markers decreased by up to 65% and the HU increased by 22%, on average. The mean HU values around the B1, B2, and gold markers were 121.30 [standard deviation (SD): 54.86], 126.31 (SD: 62.13), and 1070.7 (SD: 235.16), respectively. The MC-simulated dose distortion for the BaSO{sub 4} markers was less than that of the commercially used markers. The dose reduction due to the gold marker was largest (15.05%) followed by stainless steel (7.92%) and titanium (6.92%). Dose reduction by B2 (2 mm) was 4.75% and 0.53% in parallel and perpendicular orientations, respectively. Conclusions: BaSO{sub 4} mixed with PBS is a good contrast agent in biodegradable polymer marker because of minimal artifacts in x-ray images and minimal dose reduction in proton therapy. The flexibility of the size is considered to be an advantage of this material over solid type fiducials.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗