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Sommer, L.B.* ; Kampfer, S.* ; Chemnitz, T.* ; Breitkreutz, H.* ; Combs, S.E. ; Wilkens, J.J.*

Pencil beam kernel-based dose calculations on CT data for a mixed neutron-gamma fission field applying tissue correction factors.

Phys. Med. Biol. 69:045022 (2024)
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Open Access Gold (Paid Option)
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Objective. For fast neutron therapy with mixed neutron and gamma radiation at the fission neutron therapy facility MEDAPP at the research reactor FRM II in Garching, no clinical dose calculation software was available in the past. Here, we present a customized solution for research purposes to overcome this lack of three-dimensional dose calculation. Approach. The applied dose calculation method is based on two sets of decomposed pencil beam kernels for neutron and gamma radiation. The decomposition was performed using measured output factors and simulated depth dose curves and beam profiles in water as reference medium. While measurements were performed by applying the two-chamber dosimetry method, simulated data was generated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. For the calculation of neutron dose deposition on CT data, tissue-specific correction factors were generated for soft tissue, bone, and lung tissue for the MEDAPP neutron spectrum. The pencil beam calculations were evaluated with reference to Monte Carlo calculations regarding accuracy and time efficiency. Main results. In water, dose distributions calculated using the pencil beam approach reproduced the input from Monte Carlo simulations. For heterogeneous media, an assessment of the tissue-specific correction factors with reference to Monte Carlo simulations for different tissue configurations showed promising results. Especially for scenarios where no lung tissue is present, the dose calculation could be highly improved by the applied correction method. Significance. With the presented approach, time-efficient dose calculations on CT data and treatment plan evaluations for research purposes are now available for MEDAPP.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Fast Fission Neutron Therapy ; Fast Neutron Dose Calculation ; Fission Neutron Source ; Pencil Beam Kernel; Therapy; Medapp
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0031-9155
e-ISSN 1361-6560
Quellenangaben Volume: 69, Issue: 4, Pages: , Article Number: 045022 Supplement: ,
Publisher Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP)
Publishing Place Bristol
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Grants German Research Foundation (DFG)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschafthttps://doi.org/10.13039/501100001659