Commissioning of MRI-guided gynaecological brachytherapy using an MR-linac

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of use of an 1.5 T magnetic resonance (MR)-linear accelerator MR-linac for imaging in gynaecologic high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy.
Method: Commissioning measurements for MR images quality control, geometric distortion, dwell position accuracy, applicator reconstruction and end-to-end test for a tandem-and-ring applicator were performed following the recommendations of American Brachytherapy Society, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements and Report of the Brachytherapy Working Group of the Spanish Society of Medical Physics. The values for MR-based IGABT were compared to the corresponding values with computed tomography (CT).
Results: Measured distorsions for the MR images were less than 0.50 mm compared to the CT images. The differences between 3D displacements for all dwell positions were 0.66 mm and 0.62 mm for the tandem and ring, respectively. The maximum difference is 0.64 mm for the distances from the applicator tip obtained using the films. The CT and MR dose differences for the right and left ‘A’ points were 0.9% and -0.7%, respectively. Similar results were observed in terms of dose distribution for CT and MR. The gamma passing rate was 99.3% and 99.5%, respectively.
Conclusion: The use of MR images from an MR-linac used in a radiotherapy service for gynaecological brachytherapy was proved to be feasible, safe and precise as the geometrical differences were less than 1 mm, and the dosimetric differences were less than 1% when comparing to the use of CT images for the same purpose.