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At least 91 records · Page 5

SU-E-T-596: Axillary Nodes Radiotherapy Boost Field Dosimetric Impact Study: Oblique Field and Field Optimization in 3D Conventional Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment

Purpose: To evaluate dosimetric impact of two axillary nodes (AX) boost techniques: (1) posterior-oblique optimized field boost (POB), (2) traditional posterior-anterior boost (PAB) with field optimization (O-PAB), for a postmastectomy breast patient with positive axillary lymph nodes. Methods: Five patients, 3 left and 2 right chest walls, were included in this study. All patients were simulated in 5mm CT slice thickness. Supraclavicular (SC) and level I/II/III AX were contoured based on the RTOG atlas guideline. Five treatment plans, (1) tangential chest wall, (2) oblique SC including AX, (3) PAB, O-PAB and POB, were created for each patient. Three plan sums (PS) were generated by sum one of (3) plan with plan (1) and (2). The field optimization was done through PS dose distribution, which included a field adjustment, a fractional dose, a calculation location and a gantry angle selection for POB. A dosimetric impact was evaluated by comparing a SC and AX coverage, a PS maximum dose, an irradiated area percentage volume received dose over 105% prescription dose (V105), an ipsi-laterial mean lung dose (MLD), an ipsi-laterial mean humeral head dose (MHHD), a mean heart dose (MHD) (for left case only) and their DVH amount these three technique. Results: O-PAB, POB and PAB dosimetric results showed that there was no significant different on SC and AX coverage (p>0.43) and MHD (p>0.16). The benefit of sparing lung irradiation from PAB to O-PAB to POB was significant (p<0.004). PAB showed a highest PS maximum dose (p<0.005), V105 (p<0.023) and MLD (compared with OPAB, p=0.055). MHHD showed very sensitive to the patient arm positioning and anatomy. O-PAB convinced a lower MHHD than PAB (p=0.03). Conclusion: 3D CT contouring plays main role in accuracy radiotherapy. Dosimetric advantage of POB and O-PAB was observed for a better normal tissue irradiation sparing.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

An experimental measurement of galactic cosmic radiation dose in conventional aircraft between San Francisco and London compared to theoretical values for conventional and supersonic aircraft

These direct measurements are in fair agreement with computations made using a program which considers both basic cosmic ray atmospheric physics and the focusing effect of the earth's magnetic field. These measurements also agree with those made at supersonic jet aircraft altitudes in Rb-57 aircraft. It is concluded that experiments and theory show that the doses received at conventional jet aircraft altitudes are slightly higher than those encountered in supersonic flights at much higher altitudes.

Wallace, R.↗

Importance of dose-rate and cell proliferation in the evaluation of biological experimental results

The nuclei of cells within the bodies of astronauts traveling on extended missions outside the geomagnetosphere will experience single traversals of particles with high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) (e.g., one iron ion per one hundred years, on average) superimposed on a background of tracks with low LET (approximately one proton every two to three days, and one helium ion per month). In addition, some cell populations within the body will be proliferating, thus possibly providing increasing numbers of cells with 'initiated' targets for subsequent radiation hits. These temporal characteristics are not generally reproduced in laboratory experimental protocols. Implications of the differences in the temporal patterns of radiation delivery between conventionally designed radiation biology experiments and the pattern to be experienced in space are examined and the importance of dose-rate and cell proliferation are pointed out in the context of radiation risk assessment on long mission in space.

Curtis, S. B.↗

Autonomous Radiation Mapping and Quantification using an Unmanned Ground Vehicle. Part II - Autonomous Navigation

Nuclear sites across the Unites States and other nations in the world, are prone to extreme radiation effects. To understand the radiation hazards, plan the cleanup efforts; and to meet the quality standards and guidelines, it is important to accurately characterize any nuclear facility. One of the current methods in characterizing facilities is the use of advanced autonomous systems. These are safe, efficient, and cost-effective tools, which can safely deploy state-of-the-art instrumentation without exposing workers to radiation risks. Conventional methods of taking radiation measurements by hand within or around the containment areas, and analyzing the collected data to obtain the result are: Ineffective, Puts scientists at risk of Radiation, Not cost-effective. The platform uses the Robotic Operating Systems (ROS) to integrate multiple sensors seamlessly. It can operate near real time by using a distributed processing system to handle large amounts of data: Surrounding cameras, A multi-channel 3D Lidar, Manipulator arm, High-performance gamma-ray spectrometer.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Tunnel oxide passivating contact enabled by polysilicon on ultra-thin SiO 2 for advanced silicon radiation detectors

Conventional silicon junction detectors encounter significant carrier recombination within the heavily doped p⁺ and n⁺ layers, as well as beneath the metal contact regions, creating the so-called “dead layers”, especially on the detector side. In this study, we present the tunnel oxide passivating contact with doped polysilicon on oxide, which demonstrates exceptional surface passivation and carrier selectivity. The key innovation lies in an ultra-thin (~ 1.5 nm) interfacial oxide layer that facilitates efficient majority carrier transportation via tunneling while effectively block minority carriers. Remarkably low saturation current densities, ranging from 5 to 10 fA/cm² even with the metal contact, underscore the superiority of both n-type and p-type tunnel oxide passivating contacts. In contrast, conventional p–n junction or high-low junction exhibit saturation current densities ranging from 10 to 90 fA/cm² in the studied p⁺ and n⁺ layers with surface passivation schemes due to Auger recombination and surface recombination, and 1000–6000 fA/cm² with metal contacts due to intense metal-induced recombination at the interface. These findings indicate the potential and superiority of implementing n-type tunnel oxide passivating contact on the detector side and p-type contact on the back side for advanced silicon radiation detectors. This approach would enable thorough collection of generated charge carriers along the track of incident ionizing radiation particles, leading to improved energy resolution and reduced noise levels.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

UH-FLUX: Compact, Energy Efficient Superconducting Asymmetric Energy Recovery LINAC for Ultra-high Fluxes of X-ray and THz Radiation

The conventional ERLs have limited peak beam current because increasing the beam charge and repetition rate leads to appearance of the beam break-up instabilities. At this stage the highest current, from the SRF ERL, is around 300 mA. A single-turn (the beam will be transported through the accelerating section, interaction point and deceleration section of the AERL only once) Asymmetric Energy Recovery LINAC (AERL) is proposed. The RF cells in different sections of the cavity are tuned in such a way that only operating mode is uniform inside all of the cells. The AERL will drive the electron beams with typical energies of 10 - 30 MeV and peak currents above 1 A, enabling the generation of high flux UV/X-rays and high power coherent THz radiation. We aim to build a copper prototype of the RF cavity for a compact AERL to study its EM properties. The final goal is to build AERL based on the superconducting RF cavity. Preliminary design for AERL's cavity has been developed and will be presented. The results of numerical and analytical models and the next steps toward the AERL operation will also be discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Three-dimensional, Time-Resolved, Intrafraction Motion Monitoring Throughout Stereotactic Liver Radiation Therapy on a Conventional Linear Accelerator

Purpose: To investigate the time-resolved 3-dimensional (3D) internal motion throughout stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) of tumors in the liver using standard x-ray imagers of a conventional linear accelerator. Methods and Materials: Ten patients with implanted gold markers received 11 treatment courses of 3-fraction SBRT in a stereotactic body-frame on a conventional linear accelerator. Two pretreatment and 1 posttreatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were acquired during each fraction. The CBCT projection images were used to estimate the internal 3D marker motion during CBCT acquisition with 11-Hz resolution by a monoscopic probability-based method. Throughout the treatment delivery by conformal or volumetric modulated arc fields, simultaneous MV portal imaging (8 Hz) and orthogonal kV imaging (5 Hz) were applied to determine the 3D marker motion using either MV/kV triangulation or the monoscopic method when marker segmentation was unachievable in either MV or kV images. The accuracy of monoscopic motion estimation was quantified by also applying monoscopic estimation as a test for all treatments during which MV/kV triangulation was possible. Results: Root-mean-square deviations between monoscopic estimations and triangulations were less than 1.0 mm. The mean 3D intrafraction and intrafield motion ranges during liver SBRT were 17.6 mm (range, 5.6-39.5 mm) and 11.3 mm (2.1-35.5mm), respectively. The risk of large intrafraction baseline shifts correlated with intrafield respiratory motion range. The mean 3D intrafractional marker displacement relative to the first CBCT was 3.4 mm (range, 0.7-14.5 mm). The 3D displacements exceeded 8.8 mm 10% of the time. Conclusions: Highly detailed time-resolved internal 3D motion was determined throughout liver SBRT using standard imaging equipment. Considerable intrafraction motion was observed. The demonstrated methods provide a widely available approach for motion monitoring that, combined with motion-adaptive treatment techniques, has the potential to improve the accuracy of radiation therapy for moving targets.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Radiation-Induced Large Vessel Cerebral Vasculopathy in Pediatric Patients With Brain Tumors Treated With Proton Radiation Therapy

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the incidence, time to development, imaging patterns, risk factors, and clinical significance of large vessel cerebral vasculopathy in pediatric patients with brain tumors treated with proton radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: A retrospective study was performed on 75 consecutive pediatric patients with primary brain tumors treated with proton radiation therapy. Radiation-induced large vessel cerebral vasculopathy (RLVCV) was defined as intracranial large vessel arterial stenosis or occlusion confirmed on magnetic resonance angiography, computed tomographic angiography, catheter angiography, or a combination of these within an anatomic region with previous exposure to proton beam therapy and not present before radiation therapy. Clinical records were used to determine the incidence, timing, radiation dose to the large vessels, and clinical significance associated with the development of large vessel vasculopathy in these patients. Results: RLVCV was present in 5 of 75 (6.7%) patients and included tumor pathologic features of craniopharyngioma (n=2), ATRT (n=1), medulloblastoma (n=1), and anaplastic astrocytoma (n=1). The median time from completion of radiation therapy to development was 1.5 years (mean, 3.0 years; range, 1.0-7.5 years). Neither mean age at the time of radiation therapy (5.1 years) nor mean radiation therapy dose to the large vessels (54.5 Gy) was a statistically significant risk factor. Four of the 5 patients with RLVCV presented with acute stroke and demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging evidence of acute infarcts in the expected vascular distributions. Angiography studies demonstrated collateral vessel formation in only 2 of the patients with RLVCV. No patients demonstrated acute hemorrhage or aneurysm. Two patients were treated with pial synangiomatosis surgery. Conclusions: RLVCV can occur in pediatric patients with brain tumors treated with proton radiation therapy. Further studies are necessary to determine potential risk factors for large vessel vasculopathy with proton radiation therapy in comparison with conventional photon radiation therapy.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Terahertz plasmonic laser radiating in an ultra-narrow beam

Plasmonic lasers (spasers) generate coherent surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and could be realized at subwavelength dimensions in metallic cavities for applications in nanoscale optics. Plasmonic cavities are also utilized for terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs), which are the brightest available solid-state sources of terahertz radiation. A long standing challenge for spasers that are utilized as nanoscale sources of radiation, is their poor coupling to the far-field radiation. Unlike conventional lasers that could produce directional beams, spasers have highly divergent radiation patterns due to their subwavelength apertures. Here, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a new technique for implementing distributed feedback (DFB) that is distinct from any other previously utilized DFB schemes for semiconductor lasers. The so-termed antenna-feedback scheme leads to single-mode operation in plasmonic lasers, couples the resonant SPP mode to a highly directional far-field radiation pattern, and integrates hybrid SPPs in surrounding medium into the operation of the DFB lasers. Experimentally, the antenna-feedback method, which does not require the phase matching to a well-defined effective index, is implemented for terahertz QCLs, and single-mode terahertz QCLs with a beam divergence as small as 4°×4° are demonstrated, which is the narrowest beam reported for any terahertz QCL to date. Moreover, in contrast to a negligible radiative field in conventional photonic band-edge lasers, in which the periodicity follows the integer multiple of half-wavelengths inside the active medium, antenna-feedback breaks this integer limit for the first time and enhances the radiative field of the lasing mode. Terahertz lasers with narrow-beam emission will find applications for integrated as well as standoff terahertz spectroscopy and sensing. Furthermore, the antenna-feedback scheme is generally applicable to any plasmonic laser with a Fabry–Perot cavity irrespective of its operating wavelength and could bring plasmonic lasers closer to practical applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Pretreatment [{sup 18}F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose Positron Emission Tomography Maximum Standardized Uptake Value as Predictor of Distant Metastasis in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Definitive Radiation Therapy: Rethinking the Role of Positron Emission Tomography in Personalizing Treatment Based on Risk Status

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether the preradiation maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) of the primary tumor for [{sup 18}F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) has a prognostic significance in patients with Stage T1 or T2N0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with curative radiation therapy, whether conventional or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods and Materials: Between January 2007 and December 2011, a total of 163 patients (180 tumors) with medically inoperable histologically proven Stage T1 or T2N0 NSCLC and treated with radiation therapy (both conventional and SBRT) were entered in a research ethics board approved database. All patients received pretreatment FDG-PET / computed tomography (CT) at 1 institution with consistent acquisition technique. The medical records and radiologic images of these patients were analyzed. Results: The overall survival at 2 years and 3 years for the whole group was 76% and 67%, respectively. The mean and median SUV{sub max} were 8.1 and 7, respectively. Progression-free survival at 2 years with SUV{sub max} <7 was better than that of the patients with tumor SUV{sub max} ≥7 (67% vs 51%; P=.0096). Tumors with SUV{sub max} ≥7 were associated with a worse regional recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival. In the multivariate analysis, SUV{sub max} ≥7 was an independent prognostic factor for distant metastasis-free survival. Conclusion: In early-stage NSCLC managed with radiation alone, patients with SUV{sub max} ≥7 on FDG-PET / CT scan have poorer outcomes and high risk of progression, possibly because of aggressive biology. There is a potential role for adjuvant therapies for these high-risk patients with intent to improve outcomes.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Numerical and Experimental Study of a Novel Additively Manufactured Metal-Polymer Composite Heat-Exchanger for Liquid Cooling Electronics

In order to meet increasing power-dissipation requirements of the electronics industry, compact, low-cost, and lightweight heat exchangers (HXs) are desired. With proper design, materials, and manufacture, polymer composite heat exchangers could meet these requirements. This paper presents a novel crossflow air-to-water, low-cost, and lightweight metal-polymer composite HX. This HX, which is entirely additively manufactured, utilizes a novel cross-media approach that provides direct heat exchange between air and liquid sides by using connecting fins. A robust numerical model was developed, which includes the dimensional effects of additive manufacturing. The study consists of a simplified 3D CFD model based on ellipsoidal-shaped staggered tube banks for the laminar range. It then uses an analytical approach to compute entire HX performance. The model is validated experimentally within 8% for thermal performance, 12% for air-side impedance, and 18% for water-side impedance. Finally, HX is compared with a conventional CPU radiator and performs within 10% of the conventional unit for reasonable flow rates and pressure-drop ranges. Moreover, HX also provides added design and cost advantages over the conventional unit, which makes the HX a potential candidate for electronic cooling applications.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Freeze-In dark matter with displaced signatures at colliders

Dark matter, X, may be generated by new physics at the TeV scale during an early matter-dominated (MD) era that ends at temperature T{sub R}≪ TeV. Compared to the conventional radiation-dominated (RD) results, yields from both Freeze-Out and Freeze-In processes are greatly suppressed by dilution from entropy production, making Freeze-Out less plausible while allowing successful Freeze-In with a much larger coupling strength. Freeze-In is typically dominated by the decay of a particle B of the thermal bath, B→X. For a large fraction of the relevant cosmological parameter space, the decay rate required to produce the observed dark matter abundance leads to displaced signals at LHC and future colliders, for any m{sub X} in the range keV <m{sub X}<m{sub B} and for values of m{sub B} accessible to these colliders. This result applies whether the early MD era arises after conventional inflation, when T{sub R} is the usual reheat temperature, or is a generic MD era with an alternative origin. In the former case, if m{sub X} is sufficiently large to be measured from kinematics, the reheat temperature T{sub R} can be extracted. Our result is independent of the particular particle physics implementation of B→X, and can occur via any operator of dimension less than 8 (4) for a post-inflation (general MD) cosmology. An interesting example is provided by DFS axion theories with TeV-scale supersymmetry and axino dark matter of mass GeV to TeV, which is typically overproduced in a conventional RD cosmology. If B is the higgsino, h-tilde, Higgs, W and Z particles appear at the displaced decays, h-tilde→ha-tilde, Za-tilde and h-tilde{sup ±}→W{sup ±}a-tilde. The scale of axion physics, f, is predicted to be in the range (3×10{sup 8}−10{sup 12}) GeV and, over much of this range, can be extracted from the decay length.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Brachytherapy Improves Biochemical Failure–Free Survival in Low- and Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer Compared With Conventionally Fractionated External Beam Radiation Therapy: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis

Purpose: To compare, in a retrospective study, biochemical failure-free survival (bFFS) and overall survival (OS) in low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients who received brachytherapy (BT) (either low-dose-rate brachytherapy [LDR-BT] or high-dose-rate brachytherapy with external beam radiation therapy [HDR-BT+EBRT]) versus external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) alone. Methods and Materials: Patient data were obtained from the ProCaRS database, which contains 7974 prostate cancer patients treated with primary radiation therapy at four Canadian cancer institutions from 1994 to 2010. Propensity score matching was used to obtain the following 3 matched cohorts with balanced baseline prognostic factors: (1) low-risk LDR-BT versus EBRT; (2) intermediate-risk LDR-BT versus EBRT; and (3) intermediate-risk HDR-BT+EBRT versus EBRT. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to compare differences in bFFS (primary endpoint) and OS in the 3 matched groups. Results: Propensity score matching created acceptable balance in the baseline prognostic factors in all matches. Final matches included 2 1:1 matches in the intermediate-risk cohorts, LDR-BT versus EBRT (total n=254) and HDR-BT+EBRT versus EBRT (total n=388), and one 4:1 match in the low-risk cohort (LDR-BT:EBRT, total n=400). Median follow-up ranged from 2.7 to 7.3 years for the 3 matched cohorts. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that all BT treatment options were associated with statistically significant improvements in bFFS when compared with EBRT in all cohorts (intermediate-risk EBRT vs LDR-BT hazard ratio [HR] 4.58, P=.001; intermediate-risk EBRT vs HDR-BT+EBRT HR 2.08, P=.007; low-risk EBRT vs LDR-BT HR 2.90, P=.004). No significant difference in OS was found in all comparisons (intermediate-risk EBRT vs LDR-BT HR 1.27, P=.687; intermediate-risk EBRT vs HDR-BT+EBRT HR 1.55, P=.470; low-risk LDR-BT vs EBRT HR 1.41, P=.500). Conclusions: Propensity score matched analysis showed that BT options led to statistically significant improvements in bFFS in low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer patient populations.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Evidence for Radiation-Induced Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation as a Major Cause of Radiation-Induced Death in Ferrets

Purpose: The studies reported here were performed as part of a program in space radiation biology in which proton radiation like that present in solar particle events, as well as conventional gamma radiation, were being evaluated in terms of the ability to affect hemostasis. Methods and Materials: Ferrets were exposed to 0 to 2 Gy of whole-body proton or gamma radiation and monitored for 30 days. Blood was analyzed for blood cell counts, platelet clumping, thromboelastometry, and fibrin clot formation. Results: The lethal dose of radiation to 50% of the population (LD{sub 50}) of the ferrets was established at ∼1.5 Gy, with 100% mortality at 2 Gy. Hypocoagulability was present as early as day 7 postirradiation, with animals unable to generate a stable clot and exhibiting signs of platelet aggregation, thrombocytopenia, and fibrin clots in blood vessels of organs. Platelet counts were at normal levels during the early time points postirradiation when coagulopathies were present and becoming progressively more severe; platelet counts were greatly reduced at the time of the white blood cell nadir of 13 days. Conclusions: Data presented here provide evidence that death at the LD{sub 50} in ferrets is most likely due to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). These data question the current hypothesis that death at relatively low doses of radiation is due solely to the cell-killing effects of hematopoietic cells. The recognition that radiation-induced DIC is the most likely mechanism of death in ferrets raises the question of whether DIC is a contributing mechanism to radiation-induced death at relatively low doses in large mammals.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Quantitative Analysis of Charge Injection and Discharging of Si Nanocrystals and Arrays by Electrostatic Force Microscopy

NASA requirements for computing and memory for microspacecraft emphasize high density, low power, small size, and radiation hardness. The distributed nature of storage elements in nanocrystal floating-gate memories leads to intrinsic fault tolerance and radiation hardness. Conventional floating-gate non-volatile memories are more susceptible to radiation damage. Nanocrystal-based memories also offer the possibility of faster, lower power operation. In the pursuit of filling these requirements, the following tasks have been accomplished: (1) Si nanocrystal charging has been accomplished with conducting-tip AFM; (2) Both individual nanocrystals on an oxide surface and nanocrystals formed by implantation have been charged; (3) Discharging is consistent with tunneling through a field-lowered oxide barrier; (4) Modeling of the response of the AFM to trapped charge has allowed estimation of the quantity of trapped charge; and (5) Initial attempts to fabricate competitive nanocrystal non-volatile memories have been extremely successful.

Bell, L. D.↗