Advances in Dose Calculations, Image Processing and Dose Measurements in Radiation Therapy

Abstract

My research program aims at improving radiation therapy cancer treatments following four major themes: 1) dose optimization, including biological information via image fusion, 2) image processing, 3) application of next generation dose calculation algorithms and 4) development of water equivalent dosimeters. Any of these themes, alone or combined, has the potential to improve the way radiation therapy is used in the clinic. The research effort covers many applications in radiation therapy treatments, from external beam radiation therapy to permanent prostate seed implants. In this talk, I will look at the impact of three different research projects in the field of brachytherapy, a treatment for which radioactive sources are placed inside or in close proximity to tumor volumes. The first of these is the implementation and use of Monte Carlo dose calculations and its comparison to the actual clinical standard. The wide range of photon source energies and possible geometrical configurations in brachytherapy leads to significant variations in physical processes, e.g. cross sections. These are not well taken into account by the actual clinical standard. In the second projects, the impact of using metallic objects (sources, applicators,