A generic TG-186 shielded applicator for commissioning model-based dose calculation algorithms for high-dose-rate Ir-192 brachytherapy

PurposeA joint working group was created by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), and the Australasian Brachytherapy Group (ABG) with the charge, among others, to develop a set of well-defined test case plans and perform calculations and comparisons with model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs). Its main goal is to facilitate a smooth transition from the AAPM Task Group No. 43 (TG-43) dose calculation formalism, widely being used in clinical practice for brachytherapy, to the one proposed by Task Group No. 186 (TG-186) for MBDCAs. To do so, in this work a hypothetical, generic high-dose rate (HDR) Ir-19…

Implementation and Validation of an End-to-End Commissioning Process for Model-Based Dose Calculation Algorithms in Brachytherapy

SU-E-T-509: DICOM Test Case Plans for Model-Based Dose Calculations Methods in Brachytherapy

Purpose: The TG‐186 report provides guidance to early adopters of model‐based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs) for brachytherapy. A charge of the AAPM‐ESTRO Working Group on MBDCA is to develop well‐defined test case plans, available as references for the software commissioning process to be performed by end‐users. The aim of this work is to develop test case plans for a generic HDR 192 Ir source alone and in combination with a vaginal cylinder applicator with 180° tungsten‐alloy shielding in a DICOM‐based water phantom. Methods: A DICOM CT dataset was created with a 30 cm diameter water sphere surrounded by air. The voxel size was 1.33×1.33×1.33 mm3 for evaluating absorbed dose rate (c…

A generic high-dose rate192Ir brachytherapy source for evaluation of model-based dose calculations beyond the TG-43 formalism

Purpose: In order to facilitate a smooth transition for brachytherapy dose calculations from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group No. 43 (TG-43) formalism to model-b ...