• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.278-283
• /
• 2013

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide and the number of women breast cancer patient was increased continuously. Most of breast cancer patient has suffered from unnecessary radiation exposure to heart, lung. Low radiation dose to the heart could lead to the worsening of preexisting cardiovascular lesions caused by radiation induced pneumonitis. Also, several statistical reports demonstrated that left-sided breast cancer patient showed higher mortality than right-sided breast cancer patient because of heart disease. In radiation therapy, Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) technique which the patient takes a deep inspiration and holds during treatment and could move the heart away from the chest wall and lung, has showed to lead to reduction in cardiac volume and to minimize the unnecessary radiation exposure to heart during treatment. In this study, we investigated the displacement of heart using DIBH CT data compared to free-breathing (FB) CT data and radiation exposure to heart. Treatment planning was performed on the computed tomography (CT) datasets of 10 patients who had received lumpectomy treatments. Heart, lung and both breasts were outlined. The prescribed dose was 50 Gy divided into 28 fractions. The dose distributions in all the plans were required to fulfill the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurement specifications that include 100% coverage of the CTV with ${\geq}95%$ of the prescribed dose and that the volume inside the CTV receiving >107% of the prescribed dose should be minimized. Scar boost irradiation was not performed in this study. Displacement of heart was measured by calculating the distance between center of heart and left breast. For the evaluation of radiation dose to heart, minimum, maximum and mean dose to heart were calculated. The present study demonstrates that cardiac dose during left-sided breast radiotherapy can be reduced by applying DIBH breathing control technique.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2010

Purpose: In every time radiation therapy set up errors occur because internal anatomical organs move due to breathing and change of patient's position. These errors may affect the change of dose distribution between target area and normal structure. This study investigates the usefulness of body-fix in clinical treatment. Materials and Methods: Among 55~60 aged male patients who has hepatocellular carcinoma in area of liver's couinaud classification, we chose 10 patients and divided two groups by using body-fix or not. When applying body-fix, we maintained a vacuum of 80 mbar pressure by using vacuum pump (Medical intelligence, Germany). Patients had free breathing with supine position. After working to fuse and consist MV-CT (megavoltage computed tomography) with KV-CT (kilovoltage computed tomography) obtained by 5 times treatments, we compared and analyzed set up errors occurred to (Right to Left, RL) of X axis, (Anterioposterio, AP) of Z axis, (Cranicoudal, CC) of Y axis. Results: Average Set up errors through image fusion showed that group A moved $0.3{\pm}1.1\;mm$ (Cranicoudal, CC), $-1.1{\pm}0.7\;mm$ (Right to Left, RL), $-0.2{\pm}0.7\;mm$ (Anterioposterio, AP) and group B moved $0.62{\pm}1.94\;mm$ (Cranicoudal, CC), $-3.62{\pm}1.5\;mm$ (Right to Left, RL), $-0.22{\pm}1.2\;mm$ (Anterioposterio, AP). Deviations of X, Y and Z axis directions by applying body-fix indicated that maximum X axis was 5.5 mm, Y axis was 19.8 mm and Z axis was 3.2 mm. In relation to analysis of error directions, consistency doesn't exist for every patient but by using body-fix showed that the result of stable aspect in spite of changes of everyday's patient position and breathing. Conclusion: Using body-fix for liver cancer patient is considered effectively for tomotherapy. Because deviations between group A and B exist but they were stable and regular.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.45-52
• /
• 2024

In this study, an AI-based algorithm was developed to prevent image quality deterioration and reading errors due to patient movement in PET/CT examinations that use radioisotopes in medical institutions to test cancer and other diseases. Using the Mothion Free software developed using, we checked the degree of correction of movement due to breathing, evaluated its usefulness, and conducted a study for clinical application. The experimental method was to use an RPM Phantom to inject the radioisotope 18F-FDG into a vacuum vial and a sphere of a NEMA IEC body Phantom of different sizes, and to produce images by directing the movement of the radioisotope into a moving lesion during respiration. The vacuum vial had different degrees of movement at different positions, and the spheres of the NEMA IEC body Phantom of different sizes produced different sizes of lesions. Through the acquired images, the lesion volume, maximum SUV, and average SUV were each measured to quantitatively evaluate the degree of motion correction by Motion Free. The average SUV of vacuum vial A, with a large degree of movement, was reduced by 23.36 %, and the error rate of vacuum vial B, with a small degree of movement, was reduced by 29.3 %. The average SUV error rate at the sphere 37mm and 22mm of the NEMA IEC body Phantom was reduced by 29.3 % and 26.51 %, respectively. The average error rate of the four measurements from which the error rate was calculated decreased by 30.03 %, indicating a more accurate average SUV value. In this study, only two-dimensional movements could be produced, so in order to obtain more accurate data, a Phantom that can embody the actual breathing movement of the human body was used, and if the diversity of the range of movement was configured, a more accurate evaluation of usability could be made.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.123-135
• /
• 2012

Purpose: It is essential to minimize the movement of tumor due to respiratory movement at the time of respiration controlled radiotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer patient. Accordingly, this Study aims to evaluate the usefulness of restricted respiratory period by comparing and analyzing the treatment plans that apply free and restricted respiration period respectively. Materials and Methods: After having conducted training on 9 non-small cell lung cancer patients (tumor n=10) from April to December 2011 by using 'signal monitored-breathing (guided- breathing)' method for the 'free respiratory period' measured on the basis of the regular respiratory period of the patents and 'restricted respiratory period' that was intentionally reduced, total of 10 CT images for each of the respiration phases were acquired by carrying out 4D CT for treatment planning purpose by using RPM and 4-dimensional computed tomography simulator. Visual gross tumor volume (GTV) and internal target volume (ITV) that each of the observer 1 and observer 2 has set were measured and compared on the CT image of each respiratory interval. Moreover, the amplitude of movement of tumor was measured by measuring the center of mass (COM) at the phase of 0% which is the end-inspiration (EI) and at the phase of 50% which is the end-exhalation (EE). In addition, both observers established treatment plan that applied the 2 respiratory periods, and mean dose to normal lung (MDTNL) was compared and analyzed through dose-volume histogram (DVH). Moreover, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of the normal lung volume was compared by using dose-volume histogram analysis program (DVH analyzer v.1) and statistical analysis was performed in order to carry out quantitative evaluation of the measured data. Results: As the result of the analysis of the treatment plan that applied the 'restricted respiratory period' of the observer 1 and observer 2, there was reduction rate of 38.75% in the 3-dimensional direction movement of the tumor in comparison to the 'free respiratory period' in the case of the observer 1, while there reduction rate was 41.10% in the case of the observer 2. The results of measurement and comparison of the volumes, GTV and ITV, there was reduction rate of $14.96{\pm}9.44%$ for observer 1 and $19.86{\pm}10.62%$ for observer 2 in the case of GTV, while there was reduction rate of $8.91{\pm}5.91%$ for observer 1 and $15.52{\pm}9.01%$ for observer 2 in the case of ITV. The results of analysis and comparison of MDTNL and NTCP illustrated the reduction rate of MDTNL $3.98{\pm}5.62%$ for observer 1 and $7.62{\pm}10.29%$ for observer 2 in the case of MDTNL, while there was reduction rate of $21.70{\pm}28.27%$ for observer 1 and $37.83{\pm}49.93%$ for observer 2 in the case of NTCP. In addition, the results of analysis of correlation between the resultant values of the 2 observers, while there was significant difference between the observers for the 'free respiratory period', there was no significantly different reduction rates between the observers for 'restricted respiratory period. Conclusion: It was possible to verify the usefulness and appropriateness of 'restricted respiratory period' at the time of respiration controlled radiotherapy on non-small cell lung cancer patient as the treatment plan that applied 'restricted respiratory period' illustrated relative reduction in the evaluation factors in comparison to the 'free respiratory period.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.96-102
• /
• 2020

Oral cancer surgery changes the morphologic characteristics of the human upper airway. These changes can affect the flow patterns. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with transient solver were performed to numerically investigate the air flows in the human upper airways depending oral cancer surgery. 3D reconstructed models were obtained from 2D CT images of one patient. For the boundary condition, the realistic breathing cycle of human was applied. The hydraulic diameters of cross-sections for post-surgical model are changed greatly along streamwise direction, so these variations can cause higher wall shear stress and flow disturbance compared to pre-surgical model. The recirculation flows observed in the protruding region result in the relatively large pressure drop. These results can be helpful to understand the flow variations after resection surgery of oral cancer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.85 no.3
• /
• pp.566-578
• /
• 2024

Purpose This study investigated whether the respiratory phase during pleural puncture in CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) affects complications. Materials and Methods We conducted a retrospective review of 477 lung biopsy CT scans performed during free breathing. The respiratory phases during pleural puncture were determined based on the table position of the targeted nodule using CT scans obtained during free breathing. We compared the rates of complications among the inspiratory, mid-, and expiratory respiratory phases. Logistic regression analysis was performed to control confounding factors associated with pneumothorax. Results Among the 477 procedures, pleural puncture was performed during the expiratory phase in 227 (47.6%), during the mid-phase in 108 (22.6%), and during the inspiratory phase in 142 (29.8%). The incidence of pneumothorax was significantly lower in the expiratory puncture group (40/227, 17.6%; p = 0.035) and significantly higher in the mid-phase puncture group (31/108, 28.7%; p = 0.048). After controlling for confounding factors, expiratory-phase puncture was found to be an independent protective factor against pneumothorax (odds ratio = 0.571; 95% confidence interval = 0.360-0.906; p = 0.017). Conclusion Our findings suggest that pleural puncture during the expiratory phase may reduce the risk of pneumothorax during image guided PTNB.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.829-839
• /
• 2021

Objective: To compare the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced radial T1-weighted gradient-echo 3-tesla (3T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) for the detection of visceral pleural surface invasion (VPSI). Visceral pleural invasion by non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be classified into two types: PL1 (without VPSI), invasion of the elastic layer of the visceral pleura without reaching the visceral pleural surface, and PL2 (with VPSI), full invasion of the visceral pleura. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three patients with pathologically confirmed VPSI by NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed. Multidetector CT and contrast-enhanced 3T MRI with a free-breathing radial three-dimensional fat-suppressed volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) pulse sequence were compared in terms of the length of contact, angle of mass margin, and arch distance-to-maximum tumor diameter ratio. Supplemental evaluation of the tumor-pleura interface (smooth versus irregular) could only be performed with MRI (not discernible on CT). Results: At the tumor-pleura interface, radial VIBE MRI revealed a smooth margin in 20 of 21 patients without VPSI and an irregular margin in 10 of 12 patients with VPSI, yielding an accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and F-score for VPSI detection of 91%, 83%, 95%, 91%, 91%, and 87%, respectively. The McNemar test and receiver operating characteristics curve analysis revealed no significant differences between the diagnostic accuracies of CT and MRI for evaluating the contact length, angle of mass margin, or arch distance-to-maximum tumor diameter ratio as predictors of VPSI. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced radial T1-weighted gradient-echo 3T MRI and CT were equal in terms of the contact length, angle of mass margin, and arch distance-to-maximum tumor diameter ratio. The advantage of MRI is its clear depiction of the tumor-pleura interface margin, facilitating VPSI detection.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.149-159
• /
• 2016

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of the breathing exercise,we analyzed the change in the RPM signal and the diaphragm imagebefore 4D respiratory gated radiation therapy planning of lung cancer patients. Materials and Methods : The breathing training was enforced on 11 patients getting the 4D respiratory gated radiation therapy from April, 2016 until August. At the same time, RPM signal and diaphragm image was obtained respiration training total three steps in step 1 signal acquisition of free-breathing state, 2 steps respiratory signal acquisition through the guide of the respiratory signal, 3 steps, won the regular respiration signal to the description and repeat training. And then, acquired the minimum value, maximum value, average value, and a standard deviation of the inspiration and expiration in RPM signal and diaphragm image in each steps. Were normalized by the value of the step 1, to convert the 2,3 steps to the other distribution ratio (%), by evaluating the change in the interior of the respiratory motion of the patient, it was evaluated breathing exercise usefulness of each patient. Results : The mean value and the standard deviation of each step were obtained with the procedure 1 of the RPM signal and the diaphragm amplitude as a 100% reference. In the RPM signal, the amplitudes and standard deviations of four patients (36.4%, eleven) decreased by 18.1%, 27.6% on average in 3 steps, and 2 patients (18.2%, 11 people) had standard deviation, It decreased by an average of 36.5%. Meanwhile, the other four patients (36.4%, eleven) decreased by an average of only amplitude 13.1%. In Step 3, the amplitude of the diaphragm image decreased by 30% on average of 9 patients (81.8%, 11 people), and the average of 2 patients (18.2%, 11 people) increased by 7.3%. However, the amplitudes of RPM signals and diaphragm image in 3steps were reduced by 52.6% and 42.1% on average from all patients, respectively, compared to the 2 steps. Relationship between RPM signal and diaphragm image amplitude difference was consistent with patterns of movement 1, 2 and 3steps, respectively, except for No. 2 No. 10 patients. Conclusion : It is possible to induce an optimized respiratory cycle when respiratory training is done. By conducting respiratory training before treatment, it was possible to expect the effect of predicting the movement of the lung which could control the patient's respiration. Ultimately, it can be said that breathing exercises are useful because it is possible to minimize the systematic error of radiotherapy, expect more accurate treatment. In this study, it is limited to research analyzed based on data on respiratory training before treatment, and it will be necessary to verify with the actual CT plan and the data acquired during treatment in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
• /
• 2002.09a
• /
• pp.136-137
• /
• 2002

We have been researching upgrade version of a stereotactic whole body frame, used for evaluating daily setup accuracy of the patient positioning during fractionated extra-cranial stereotactic radiotherapy. Currently, we are focusing on the development of a new stereotactic whole body frame, and then will handle organ movement produced by breathing at the next stage. MeV-Green is chosen for the best immobilizer possible and the epoxy board is for the frame with the dimension of 110 em in length, 50 cm in width in order to maximize transmission rate of the beam from lateral or posterior direction and to fit CT and PET scanners with an aperture of 55 cm at least. The key point of an upgraded stereotactic whole body frame will be set on the collision-free rotation of the gantry with the frame, and the development of the checking structure for the daily patient repositioning regarding internal target.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.20
• /
• pp.9033-9038
• /
• 2014

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) based volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for locally advanced left sided breast cancer patients undergoing radical mastectomy. DIBH immobilizes the tumor bed providing dosimetric benefits over free breathing (FB). Materials and Methods: Ten left sided post mastectomy patients were immobilized in a supine position with both the arms lifted above the head on a hemi-body vaclock. Two thermoplastic masks were prepared for each patient, one for normal free breathing and a second made with breath-hold to maintain reproducibility. DIBH CT scans were performed in the prospective mode of the Varian real time position management (RPM) system. The planning target volume (PTV) included the left chest wall and supraclavicular nodes and PTV prescription dose was 5000cGy in 25 fractions. DIBH-3DCRT planning was performed with the single iso-centre technique using a 6MV photon beam and the field-in-field technique. VMAT plans for FB and DIBH contained two partial arcs ($179^{\circ}-300^{\circ}CCW/CW$). Dose volume histograms of PTV and OAR's were analyzed for DIBH-VMAT, FB-VMAT and DIBH-3DCRT. In DIBH mode daily orthogonal ($0^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$) KV images were taken to determine the setup variability and weekly twice CBCT to verify gating threshold level reproducibility. Results: DIBH-VMAT reduced the lung and heart dose compared to FB-VMAT, while maintaining similar PTV coverage. The mean heart $V_{30Gy}$ was $2.3%{\pm}2.7$, $5.1%{\pm}3.2$ and $3.3%{\pm}7.2$ and for left lung $V_{20Gy}$ was $18.57%{\pm}2.9$, $21.7%{\pm}3.9$ and $23.5%{\pm}5.1$ for DIBH-VMAT, FB-VMAT and DIBH-3DCRT respectively. Conclusions: DIBH-VMAT significantly reduced the heart and lung dose for left side chest wall patients compared to FB-VMAT. PTV conformity index, homogeneity index, ipsilateral lung dose and heart dose were better for DIBH-VMAT compared to DIBH-3DCRT. However, contralateral lung and breast volumes exposed to low doses were increased with DIBH-VMAT.