Evaluation of GATE‐RTion (GATE/Geant4) Monte Carlo simulation settings for proton pencil beam scanning quality assurance

Winterhalter, Carla; Taylor, Michael; Boersma, D. J.; Elia, Alessio; Guatelli, Susanna; Mackay, Ranald I; Kirkby, K.J.; Maigne, Lydia; Ivanchenko, V.; Resch, Andreas; Sarrut, David; Sitch, P.; Vidal, M.; Grevillot, L.; Aitkenhead, A.

doi:10.1002/mp.14481

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In addition, typical simulation settings (e.g. : cut, step size) can be set-up as a compromise between speed and accuracy [5]. The dose scoring is handled by the so-called DoseActor attached to the cropped CT image, using the mass weighting algorithm, which is the most accurate method available in GATE for scoring the dose [25].…”

Section: Physics Settings and Dose Computationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The GATE-RTion recommended proton and carbon ion physics-builder were used [15], namely QGSP_BIC_HP_EMZ and Shielding_EMZ. Cut, tracking cut and step-limiter values were set as presented in Table 2, following recommendations from the literature [5,35], as a compromise between speed and accuracy. Further relevant details on the CT calibration and beam modeling details are provided in the following sections.…”

Section: Ideal Installation Configuration and Acceptancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the last decade, several groups have been working on the development and implementation of IDC systems, mostly for scanned proton beams. Different home-made implementations have been proposed and developments were usually tailored by facility specificities [3][4][5][6]. The implementation of a Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm in an IDC system was shown to illuminate dose computation issues from analytical algorithms implemented in TPS, which would not otherwise be detected using traditional experimental PSQA [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, GATE-RTion: a GATE/Geant4 release for clinical applications in scanned ion beam therapy [15] is available. It was validated for protons and carbon ions [5,6,[16][17][18][19] and developed to make the bridge between researchers and clinical users in facilities equipped with scanned ion beam delivery systems. Fragmentation spectra of both FLUKA and Geant4 have been validated in the past [20] and found compatible for clinical use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The GATE-RTion/IDEAL Independent Dose Calculation System for Light Ion Beam Therapy

et al. 2021

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Patient specific quality assurance can be improved using an independent dose calculation system. In addition, the implementation of such a system may support light ion beam therapy facilities in reducing the needs for beam time, by substituting some of the experimental patient-specific quality assurance procedures by independent dose calculation. The GATE-RTion-based IDEAL system for light ion beam therapy was developed for this purpose. It was built in a DICOM-in, DICOM-out fashion, for easy integration into a state-of-the-art technology-based workflow for scanned ion beam therapy. This article describes the IDEAL system, followed by its clinical implementation at MedAustron for proton and carbon ion beams. Medical physics acceptance and commissioning steps are presented together with key results: for 3D proton and carbon ion reference boxes, 97% of the points agreed within 5% from the measurements. Experimental validation of stopping powers using real pig samples were between 1.8% and 3.8% for soft tissues. Finally, five clinical cases are described, i.e. two proton and three carbon ion treatments. Dosimetric benchmarking against TPS calculations are presented and discussed in details. As expected, the IDEAL software evidenced limitations arising from the pencil beam algorithm available in the TPS for carbon ions, especially in the presence of air cavities. The IDEAL system was found to satisfy the clinical requirements for independent dose calculation of scanned ion beam delivery systems and is being clinically implemented at MedAustron. The open-source code as well as the documentation was released on the OpenGATE collaboration website, thus allowing for long term maintenance and future upgrades based on a more widespread utilization.

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Section: Physics Settings and Dose Computationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ideal Installation Configuration and Acceptancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The GATE-RTion/IDEAL Independent Dose Calculation System for Light Ion Beam Therapy

et al. 2021

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“…The Physics lists and parameters recommended by the GATE collaboration for proton therapy applications were used, namely the Binary Cascade (BIC) model for the hadronic interactions adding the low-energy electromagnetic processes. These parameters were considered with the GATE builder QGSP_BIC_HP_EMZ 41 . We implemented range cuts of 10 mm, 1 µm, and 0.5 and 0.2 µm for all the particles in the "world" (air), SV, and passivation and TEOS layers geometries, respectively.…”

Section: Monte Carlo Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microdosimetry Performance of The First Multi-Arrays of 3D-Cylindrical Microdetectors

Bachiller‐Perea

Zhang

Fleta

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Purpose: The present work reports on the microdosimetry measurements performed with the two first multi-arrays of microdosimeters with the highest radiation sensitive surface covered so far. The sensors are based on new silicon-based radiation detectors with a novel 3D cylindrical architecture. Methodology: Each system consists of arrays of independent microdetectors covering 2 mm×2 mm and 0.4 mm×12 cm radiation sensitive areas, the sensor distributions are arranged in layouts of 11×11 microdetectors and 3×3 multi-arrays, respectively. We have performed proton irradiations at several energies to compare the microdosimetry performance of the two systems, which have different spatial resolution and detection surface. The unit-cell of both arrays is a new type of 3D cylindrical diode with a 25 µm diameter and a 20 µm depth that results in a well-defined and isolated radiation sensitive micro-volume etched inside a silicon wafer. Measurements were carried out at the Accélérateur Linéaire et Tandem à Orsay (ALTO) facility by irradiating the two detection systems with monoenergetic proton beams from 6 to 18 MeV at clinical-equivalent fluence rates. Results: The microdosimetry quantities were obtained with a spatial resolution of 200 µm and 600 µm for the 11×11 system and for the 3×3 multi-array system, respectively. Experimental results were compared with Monte Carlo simulations and an overall good agreement was found. Conclusion: We have studied the microdosimetry response under clinical equivalent fluence rate of the first multi-arrays of 3D cylindrical microdetectors covering several centimeters of sensitive area. The good performance of both microdetector arrays demonstrates that this architecture and both configurations can be used clinically as microdosimeters for measuring the lineal energy distributions and, thus, for RBE optimization of hadron therapy treatments. Likewise, the results have shown that the devices can be also employed as a multipurpose device for beam monitoring in particle accelerators.

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Commissioning and clinical implementation of an independent dose calculation system for scanned proton beams

Dreindl,

Bolsa‐Ferruz,

Fayos‐Sola

et al. 2024

J Applied Clin Med Phys

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PurposeExperimental patient‐specific QA (PSQA) is a time and resource‐intensive process, with a poor sensitivity in detecting errors. Radiation therapy facilities aim to substitute it by means of independent dose calculation (IDC) in combination with a comprehensive beam delivery QA program. This paper reports on the commissioning of the IDC software tool myQA iON (IBA Dosimetry) for proton therapy and its clinical implementation at the MedAustron Ion Therapy Center.MethodsThe IDC commissioning work included the validation of the beam model, the implementation and validation of clinical CT protocols, and the evaluation of patient treatment data. Dose difference maps, gamma index distributions, and pass rates (GPR) have been reviewed. The performance of the IDC tool has been assessed and clinical workflows, simulation settings, and GPR tolerances have been defined.ResultsBeam model validation showed agreement of ranges within ± 0.2 mm, Bragg‐Peak widths within ± 0.1 mm, and spot sizes at various air gaps within ± 5% compared to physical measurements. Simulated dose in 2D reference fields deviated by ‐0.3% ± 0.5%, while 3D dose distributions differed by 1.8% on average to measurements. Validation of the CT calibration resulted in systematic differences of 2.0% between IDC and experimental data for tissue like samples. GPRs of 99.4 ± 0.6% were found for head, head and neck, and pediatric CT protocols on a 2%/2 mm gamma criterion. GPRs for the adult abdomen protocol were at 98.9% on average with 3%/3 mm. Root causes of GPR outliers, for example, implants were identified and evaluated.ConclusionIDC has been successfully commissioned and integrated into the MedAustron clinical workflow for protons in 2021. IDC has been stepwise and safely substituting experimental PSQA since February 2021. The initial reduction of proton experimental PSQA was about 25% and reached up to 90% after 1 year.

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Evaluation of GATE‐RTion (GATE/Geant4) Monte Carlo simulation settings for proton pencil beam scanning quality assurance

Cited by 25 publications

References 28 publications

The GATE-RTion/IDEAL Independent Dose Calculation System for Light Ion Beam Therapy

The GATE-RTion/IDEAL Independent Dose Calculation System for Light Ion Beam Therapy

Microdosimetry Performance of The First Multi-Arrays of 3D-Cylindrical Microdetectors

Commissioning and clinical implementation of an independent dose calculation system for scanned proton beams

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