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Development of trajectory-based techniques for the stereotactic volumetric modulated arc therapy of cranial lesions

University of British Columbia

Introduction: Stereotactic Radiosurgery is the delivery of a large, highly focused radiation dose to well defined targets. This thesis explores linac-based inverse planning algorithms that can be implemented to improve the dosimetric and delivery performance of volumetric modulated arc therapy treatments for these indications. Methods: In this work, algorithms for couch-gantry and collimator-gantry trajectory optimization were developed. Treatment plans calculated with these algorithms were compared dosimetrically to conventional methods used for treatment planning. Additionally, the clinical feasibility of the methods developed were tested by performing end-to-end patient-specific quality assurance on prospective treatments and by developing machine specific quality assurance for the intra-treatment movement of the couch and collimator. Results: This thesis introduces a robust method for optimizing the trajectory of the couch by delivering treatments along patient generalized trajectories. These treatments were able to dosimetrically outperform dynamic conformal arcs, and had higher delivery efficiency than multi-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy. Similarly, collimator trajectory optimization was shown to reduce the dose bath when compared with the clinical standard of care. These methods were shown to be safe for delivery using phantom verification studies. Conclusion: This thesis outlines methods for stereotactic radiosurgery which show dosimetric improvement over previous methodology and are clinically feasible.

Text

2018-12-19

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/68103

Physics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/