Evaluation of brachytherapy implants using the “natural” volume-dose histogram

Riet, A. van 't; Loo, H.J. te; Mak, A.C.A.; Veen, R.E.; Ypma, A.F.G.V.M.; Bos, J.; Hoekstra, C.J.M.; Kroese, Marika C. Stenfert

doi:10.1016/0167-8140(93)90032-4

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Logarithmic scales have been used for brachytherapy DVHs, but the most convenient scale has been proposed by Anderson (1986) under the name of 'natural' DVHs. The 'natural' DVH has already been used for brachytherapy treatment planning evaluation (van't Riet et al 1993, Low and Williamson 1995, Langmack and Thomas 1995.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a dose-volume histogram computation program for brachytherapy

Panitsa¹,

Rosenwald²,

Kappas³

1998

Phys. Med. Biol.

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A dose-volume histogram (DVH) computation program was developed for brachytherapy treatment planning in an attempt to benefit from the DVH's ability to present graphically information on 3D dose distributions. The program is incorporated into a planning system that utilizes a pair of orthogonal radiographs to localize the radiation sources. DVHs are calculated for the volume of tissue enclosed by an isodose surface (e.g. half the value of the reference isodose). The calculation algorithm is based on a non-uniform random sampling that gives a denser point distribution at the centre of the implants. Our program was tested and proved to be fast enough for clinical use and sufficiently accurate (i.e. computation time of 20 s and less than 2% relative error for one point source, for 100,000 calculation points). The accuracy improves when a larger calculation point number is used, but the computation time also increases proportionally. The DVH is presented in the form of a simple graph or table, or as Anderson's 'natural' DVH graph. The cumulative DVH tables can be used to extract a series of indexes characterizing the homogeneity and the dose levels of the distribution in the treatment volume and the surrounding tissues. If a reference plan is available, the DVH results can be assessed relative to the reference plan's DVH.

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