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Author Ma, Y.Z.; Vijande, J.; Ballester, F.; Tedgren, A.C.; Granero, D.; Haworth, A.; Mourtada, F.; Fonseca, G.P.; Zourari, K.; Papagiannis, P.; Rivard, M.J.; Siebert, F.A.; Sloboda, R.S.; Smith, R.; Chamberland, M.J.P.; Thomson, R.M.; Verhaegen, F.; Beaulieu, L. doi  openurl
  Title A generic TG-186 shielded applicator for commissioning model-based dose calculation algorithms for high-dose-rate Ir-192 brachytherapy Type Journal Article
  Year 2017 Publication Medical Physics Abbreviated Journal Med. Phys.  
  Volume 44 Issue 11 Pages 5961-5976  
  Keywords Ir-192; HDR brachytherapy; model based dose calculation; Monte Carlo methods; shielded applicator; TG-186  
  Abstract 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-192 shielded applicator has been designed and benchmarked. MethodsA generic HDR Ir-192 shielded applicator was designed based on three commercially available gynecological applicators as well as a virtual cubic water phantom that can be imported into any DICOM-RT compatible treatment planning system (TPS). The absorbed dose distribution around the applicator with the TG-186 Ir-192 source located at one dwell position at its center was computed using two commercial TPSs incorporating MBDCAs (Oncentra((R)) Brachy with Advanced Collapsed-cone Engine, ACE, and BrachyVision ACUROS) and state-of-the-art Monte Carlo (MC) codes, including ALGEBRA, BrachyDose, egs_brachy, Geant4, MCNP6, and Penelope2008. TPS-based volumetric dose distributions for the previously reported source centered in water and source displaced test cases, and the new source centered in applicator test case, were analyzed here using the MCNP6 dose distribution as a reference. Volumetric dose comparisons of TPS results against results for the other MC codes were also performed. Distributions of local and global dose difference ratios are reported. ResultsThe local dose differences among MC codes are comparable to the statistical uncertainties of the reference datasets for the source centered in water and source displaced test cases and for the clinically relevant part of the unshielded volume in the source centered in applicator case. Larger local differences appear in the shielded volume or at large distances. Considering clinically relevant regions, global dose differences are smaller than the local ones. The most disadvantageous case for the MBDCAs is the one including the shielded applicator. In this case, ACUROS agrees with MC within [-4.2%, +4.2%] for the majority of voxels (95%) while presenting dose differences within [-0.12%, +0.12%] of the dose at a clinically relevant reference point. For ACE, 95% of the total volume presents differences with respect to MC in the range [-1.7%, +0.4%] of the dose at the reference point. ConclusionsThe combination of the generic source and generic shielded applicator, together with the previously developed test cases and reference datasets (available in the Brachytherapy Source Registry), lay a solid foundation in supporting uniform commissioning procedures and direct comparisons among treatment planning systems for HDR Ir-192 brachytherapy.  
  Address [Ma, Yunzhi; Beaulieu, Luc] CHU Quebec, Dept Radio Oncol & Axe Oncol, Ctr Rech, Quebec City, PQ G1R 2J6, Canada, Email: yunzhi.Ma@crchuq.ulaval.ca  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Wiley Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0094-2405 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000414970800039 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 3370  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Candela-Juan, C.; Ballester, F.; Perez-Calatayud, J.; Vijande, J. url  openurl
  Title Assaying multiple I-125 seeds with the well-ionization chamber SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 and a new insert Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy Abbreviated Journal J. Contemp. Brachytherapy  
  Volume 7 Issue 6 Pages 492-496  
  Keywords brachytherapy; insert; quality assurance; prostate; seeds; well chamber  
  Abstract Purpose: To provide a practical solution that can be adopted in clinical routine to fulfill the AAPM-ESTRO recommendations regarding quality assurance of seeds used in prostate permanent brachytherapy. The aim is to design a new insert for the well-ionization chamber SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 (PTW, Germany) that allows evaluating the mean air-kerma strength of up to ten I-125 seeds with one single measurement instead of measuring each seed individually. Material and methods: The material required is: a) the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 well-ionization chamber provided with a PTW insert to measure the air-kerma strength S-K of one single seed at a time; b) a newly designed insert that accommodates ten seeds in one column, which allows measuring the mean S-K of the ten seeds in one single measurement; and c) a container with ten seeds from the same batch and class of the seeds used for the patient implant, and a set of nine non-radioactive seeds.The new insert is characterized by determining its calibration coefficient, used to convert the reading of the well-chamber when ten seeds are measured to their mean S-K. The proposed method is validated by comparing the mean S-K of the ten seeds obtained from the new insert with the individual measurement of S-K of each seed, evaluated with the PTW insert. Results: The ratio between the calibration coefficient of the new insert and the calibration coefficient of the PTW insert for the SourceCheck(4 Pi) 33005 is 1.135 +/- 0.007 (k = 1). The mean S-K of a set of ten seeds evaluated with this new system is in agreement with the mean value obtained from measuring independently the S-K of each seed. Conclusions: The new insert and procedure allow evaluating the mean S-K of ten seeds prior to the implant in a single measurement. The method is faster and more efficient from radiation protection point of view than measuring the individual S-K of each seed.  
  Address [Candela-Juan, Cristian; Perez-Calatayud, Jose] La Fe Univ, Dept Radiat Oncol, Phys Sect, E-46026 Valencia, Spain, Email: ccanjuan@gmail.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Termedia Publishing House Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1689-832x ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000368381300010 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 2533  
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Author Valdes-Cortez, C.; Mansour, I.; Rivard, M.J.; Ballester, F.; Mainegra-Hing, E.; Thomson, R.M.; Vijande, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title A study of Type B uncertainties associated with the photoelectric effect in low-energy Monte Carlo simulations Type Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 66 Issue 10 Pages 105014 - 14pp  
  Keywords Monte Carlo simulations; brachytherapy; low energy physics; photoelectric effect  
  Abstract Purpose. To estimate Type B uncertainties in absorbed-dose calculations arising from the different implementations in current state-of-the-art Monte Carlo (MC) codes of low-energy photon cross-sections (<200 keV). Methods. MC simulations are carried out using three codes widely used in the low-energy domain: PENELOPE-2018, EGSnrc, and MCNP. Three dosimetry-relevant quantities are considered: mass energy-absorption coefficients for water, air, graphite, and their respective ratios; absorbed dose; and photon-fluence spectra. The absorbed dose and the photon-fluence spectra are scored in a spherical water phantom of 15 cm radius. Benchmark simulations using similar cross-sections have been performed. The differences observed between these quantities when different cross-sections are considered are taken to be a good estimator for the corresponding Type B uncertainties. Results. A conservative Type B uncertainty for the absorbed dose (k = 2) of 1.2%-1.7% (<50 keV), 0.6%-1.2% (50-100 keV), and 0.3% (100-200 keV) is estimated. The photon-fluence spectrum does not present clinically relevant differences that merit considering additional Type B uncertainties except for energies below 25 keV, where a Type B uncertainty of 0.5% is obtained. Below 30 keV, mass energy-absorption coefficients show Type B uncertainties (k = 2) of about 1.5% (water and air), and 2% (graphite), diminishing in all materials for larger energies and reaching values about 1% (40-50 keV) and 0.5% (50-75 keV). With respect to their ratios, the only significant Type B uncertainties are observed in the case of the water-to-graphite ratio for energies below 30 keV, being about 0.7% (k = 2). Conclusions. In contrast with the intermediate (about 500 keV) or high (about 1 MeV) energy domains, Type B uncertainties due to the different cross-sections implementation cannot be considered subdominant with respect to Type A uncertainties or even to other sources of Type B uncertainties (tally volume averaging, manufacturing tolerances, etc). Therefore, the values reported here should be accommodated within the uncertainty budget in low-energy photon dosimetry studies.  
  Address [Valdes-Cortez, Christian; Ballester, Facundo; Vijande, Javier] Univ Valencia UV, Dept Fis Atom Mol & Nucl, Burjassot, Spain, Email: javier.vijande@uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000655291500001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4847  
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