Optical measurements are increasingly used in radiotherapy. In this paper we present, in detail, the design and implementation of a multi-channel optical system optimized for fast, high spatial resolution, dynamic body surface measurement in guided therapy. We include all algorithmic modifications and calibration procedures required to create a robust, practical system for clinical use. Comprehensive static and dynamic phantom validation measurements in the radiotherapy treatment room show: conformance with simultaneously measured cone beam CT data to within 1 mm over 62% ± 8% of the surface and 2 mm over 90% ± 3%; agreement with the measured radius of a precision geometrical phantom to within 1 mm; and true real-time performance with image capture through to surface display at 23 Hz. An example patient dataset is additionally included, indicating similar performance in the clinic.
Techniques for the automatic set up of the individual leaf positions of a Philips multi-leaf collimator system to cover a defined target volume are described. Tumour outline data for multi-field treatments may be obtained from one of two techniques, either from simulator images or from cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) slices. In the first technique, simulator images are digitized directly from image intensifier video signals or from conventional film radiographs using a CCD camera. Corrections for image distortion are carried out before reformatting the digitized images to a common data structure. Target outlines are subsequently traced interactively on the digital image to create an outline file. In the second technique, target volumes are defined on several individual CT slices and these are then used to obtain projected graphical views from any desired angle. In both techniques, a scaled graphical representation of leaf positions is then displayed and set relative to the outer edge of the target outline. Both techniques allow interactive repositioning of single leaves when required, or the operator can specify a margin around the projected target volume. Leaf prescription data files are created and are transferred via a Decnet-OSI-Opennet network link to an Intel microcomputer, which is used to drive the device itself. Examples of both techniques are given.
An evaluation of the suitability of eight existing phase unwrapping algorithms to be used in a real-time optical body surface sensor based on Fourier fringe profilometry is presented. The algorithms are assessed on both the robustness of the results they give and their speed of execution. The algorithms are evaluated using four sets of real human body surface data, each containing five-hundred frames, obtained from patients undergoing radiotherapy, where fringe discontinuity is significant. We also present modifications to an existing algorithm, noncontinuous quality-guided path algorithm (NCQUAL), in order to decrease its execution time by a factor of 4 to make it suitable for use in a real-time system. The results obtained from the modified algorithm are compared with those of the existing algorithms. Three suitable algorithms were identified: two-stage noncontinuous quality-guided path algorithm (TSNCQUAL)-the modified algorithm presented here-for online processing and Flynn's minimum discontinuity algorithm (FLYNN) and preconditioned conjugate gradient method (PCG) algorithms for enhanced accuracy in off-line processing.
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