• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2001

Purpose : The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of tissue inhomogeneities when appling to contrast medium among Homogeneous, Batho and ETAR dose calculation method in RTP system. Method and Material : We made customized heterogeneous phantom it filled with water or contrast medium slab. Phantom scan data have taken PQ 5000 (CT scanner, Marconi, USA) and then dose was calculated in 3D RTP (AcQ-Plan, Marconi, USA) depends on dose calculation algorithm (Homogeneous, Batho, ETAR). The dose comparisons were described in terms of 2D isodose distribution, percent depth dose data, effective path length and monitor unit. Also dose distributions were calculated with homogeneous and inhomogeneous correction algorithm, Batho and ETAR, in each patients with different clinical sites. Results : Result indicated that Batho and ETAR method gave rise to percent depth dose deviation $1.5{\sim}2.7\%,\;2.3{\sim}3.5\%$ (6MV, field size $10{\times}10cm^2$) in each status with and without contrast medium. Also show that effective path lengths were more increase in contrast status (23.14 cm) than Non-contrast (22.07 cm) about $4.9\%$ or 10.7 mm (In case Hounsfield Unit 270) and these results were similary showned in each patient with different clinical site that was lung. prostate, liver and brain region. Concliusion : In conclusion we shown that the use of inhomogeneity correction algorithm for dose calculation in status of injected contrast medium can not represent exact dose at GTV region. These results mean that patients will be more irradiated photon beam during radiation therapy.