A product available commercially for making dental impressions, Jeltrate®Plus, was evaluated as a tissue equivalent bolus material. Jeltrate®Plus was found to be tissue equivalent in 6 and 15 MV photon energy beams and 6, 12, and 20 MeV electron energy beams. As a first step, different preparations for making the bolus material were investigated and an optimal mixture was determined to be two parts Jeltrate®Plus powder to three parts water by weight. A suitable method for storing the material was found to be in a water filled plastic container. Since the product is fairly inexpensive and is easily and quickly made and moulded into different shapes, it is an excellent bolus material to use when treating irregular patient contours.PACS number(s): 87.53.–j, 87.66.–a
importance. For any given treatment plan dataset (which includes all of the plan parameters, resulting 3D dose, and input target and critical structures), an OMH is computed as follows: (1) each metric result is extracted and the corresponding performance bin derived; (2) the bin result is multiplied by its relative weight; (3) results are tallied over all metrics; and (4) the plan quality is presented as a line graph with the weighted count of "objectives met" on the y-axis and the increasing objectives (i.e., performance bins) on the x-axis. Effectiveness of OMH to assess plan quality was studied for multiple plans produced for 3 breast patient datasets (intact, postmastectomy, and with expander). Competing plans were compared across multiple planners, planning systems, and modalities (i.e., VMAT vs. proton). Results: OMH curves allow rapid interpretation of otherwise complex data. Analysis is similar to how cumulative DVHs are analyzed for target coverage. For the collection of breast plans analyzed, OMH analyses facilitate (1) identification of any "unacceptable" results, as indicated by a gap at the top of the graph; (2) knowing how many metrics (and cumulative clinical weights) achieved each performance level or better; and (3) objectively comparing multiple plans, free of any potential subjectivity or bias. Conclusion: OMH analysis of plan quality is effective, efficient, and objective. Adopting this method could be valuable in day-today plan review. OMH could also be used to fairly compare competing modalities and to help justify payment based not on specific technology used, but instead on actual quality achieved.
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