Application of Monte Carlo methods in tomotherapy and radiation biophysics

Ya-Yun Hsiao, Purdue University

Abstract

Helical tomotherapy is an attractive treatment for cancer therapy because highly conformal dose distributions can be achieved while the on-board megavoltage CT provides simultaneous images for accurate patient positioning. The convolution/superposition (C/S) dose calculation methods typically used for Tomotherapy treatment planning may overestimate skin (superficial) doses by 3-13%. Although more accurate than C/S methods, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are too slow for routine clinical treatment planning. However, the computational requirements of MC can be reduced by developing a source model for the parts of the accelerator that do not change from patient to patient. This source model then becomes the starting point for additional simulations of the penetration of radiation through patient. In the first section of this dissertation, a source model for a helical tomotherapy is constructed by condensing information from MC simulations into series of analytical formulas. The MC calculated percentage depth dose and beam profiles computed using the source model agree within 2% of measurements for a wide range of field sizes, which suggests that the proposed source model provides an adequate representation of the tomotherapy head for dose calculations. Monte Carlo methods are a versatile technique for simulating many physical, chemical and biological processes. In the second major of this thesis, a new methodology is developed to simulate of the induction of DNA damage by low-energy photons. First, the PENELOPE Monte Carlo radiation transport code is used to estimate the spectrum of initial electrons produced by photons. The initial spectrum of electrons are then combined with DNA damage yields for monoenergetic electrons from the fast Monte Carlo damage simulation (MCDS) developed earlier by Semenenko and Stewart (Purdue University). Single- and double-strand break yields predicted by the proposed methodology are in good agreement (1%) with the results of published experimental and theoretical studies for 60Co gamma-rays and low-energy x-rays. The reported studies provide new information about the potential biological consequences of diagnostic x-rays and selected gamma-emitting radioisotopes used in brachytherapy for the treatment of cancer. The proposed methodology is computationally efficient and may also be useful in proton therapy, space applications or internal dosimetry.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Stewart, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Nuclear physics

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