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<strong>Quality</strong> <strong>assurance</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>multileaf</strong> <strong>collimator</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy:<br />

Design and implementation<br />

Vikren Sarkar, Lan Lin, Chengyu Shi, a and Niko Papanikolaou<br />

University <strong>of</strong> Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229<br />

and Cancer Therapy and Research Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229<br />

Received 2 January 2007; revised 15 May 2007; accepted for publication 17 May 2007;<br />

published 25 June 2007<br />

<strong>Quality</strong> <strong>assurance</strong> QA <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>multileaf</strong> <strong>collimator</strong> MLC is a critical step for <strong>the</strong> delivery <strong>of</strong><br />

intensity modulated radiation <strong>the</strong>rapy treatment plan. While QA procedures for motor-driven MLC<br />

have been published extensively, those for binary MLCs such as <strong>the</strong> one used for <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

have not been presented in <strong>the</strong> literature, as this is still a fairly new technology. In this<br />

study, seven test patterns for <strong>the</strong> MLC QA <strong>of</strong> a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit have been designed and<br />

implemented. The seven test patterns check <strong>the</strong> MLC alignment, MLC leakage, MLC timing and<br />

MLC leaf position error in detail. Those patterns can be easily implemented in any center <strong>with</strong> a<br />

<strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> routine QA. The QA procedures can be performed using<br />

existing QA resources such as solid water phantom and EDR2 film. A s<strong>of</strong>tware toolkit called “Tomo<br />

MLC QA” has been developed to assist in generating <strong>the</strong> QA procedures and analyzing <strong>the</strong> results.<br />

Our results showed that <strong>the</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC is very robust, exhibiting interleaf leakage <strong>of</strong><br />

0.53% ±0.09%. Several issues <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLC have been found and discussed. The QA results also<br />

illustrate <strong>the</strong> utilization and usefulness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> proposed QA procedures. © 2007 American Association<br />

<strong>of</strong> Physicists in Medicine. DOI: 10.1118/1.2748105<br />

Key words: MLC, QA, tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy, procedure, pattern<br />

I. INTRODUCTION<br />

The <strong>multileaf</strong> <strong>collimator</strong> MLC has an important role in<br />

intensity modulated radiation <strong>the</strong>rapy IMRT treatment<br />

since IMRT treatment plans use <strong>the</strong> MLC to convert an ideal<br />

intensity map into a deliverable intensity map. 1 Therefore,<br />

<strong>the</strong> quality <strong>assurance</strong> QA <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLC is <strong>of</strong> prime importance<br />

for IMRT treatment because only a few tenths <strong>of</strong> a<br />

millimeter in leaf position for beams <strong>of</strong> 1 cm width can<br />

cause uncertainties <strong>of</strong> several percent in dose delivered. 2<br />

Many authors have published papers discussing <strong>the</strong> topic <strong>of</strong><br />

MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong>. 3–9 However, most papers focused on<br />

tests for motor-driven MLCs such as <strong>the</strong> Siemens Primus<br />

MLC 3,4 and Varian Millennium MLC. 5,9 There are only very<br />

limited publications about <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>assurance</strong> for binary<br />

MLCs, 2 especially for <strong>the</strong> MLC <strong>of</strong> a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

unit. 10–12<br />

There are several challenges for <strong>the</strong> MLC QA test <strong>of</strong> a<br />

<strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit. First <strong>of</strong> all, <strong>the</strong> MLC is binary,<br />

which means <strong>the</strong> leaves will be ei<strong>the</strong>r opened or closed during<br />

treatment. Current QA patterns, such as leaf position and<br />

speed tests, are mostly designed for motor-driven MLCs.<br />

These tests may not be suitable for binary MLCs. Second,<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit has its own dosimetry characteristics.<br />

Due to <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> flattening filter, <strong>the</strong> radiation<br />

field is cone shaped in <strong>the</strong> lateral pr<strong>of</strong>ile and <strong>the</strong> field size is<br />

rectangular narrow in one direction in plane and wide in<br />

<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r direction cross plane, for example, 5 cm<br />

40 cm. This unique machine geometry requires new MLC<br />

test procedures. Third, unlike MLCs from some o<strong>the</strong>r manufacturers,<br />

<strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC is integrated into <strong>the</strong> unit.<br />

The machine is not outfitted <strong>with</strong> a light field to allow for<br />

visualization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> field size. The lack <strong>of</strong> a light field makes<br />

it difficult to implement some test methodologies such as <strong>the</strong><br />

ones proposed by Yang and Xing. 9 Finally, <strong>the</strong>re is no extra<br />

MLC control s<strong>of</strong>tware from TomoTherapy Inc. for customers<br />

to develop <strong>the</strong>ir own test patterns and <strong>the</strong> manufacturer<br />

does not provide standard QA procedures for MLC<br />

tests.<br />

Even though previous work 1–9 about MLC QA cannot be<br />

directly applied to a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC testing<br />

scheme, it can still be used as a guideline to develop new<br />

procedures for <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC QA. In this paper,<br />

we discuss seven test patterns for <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC<br />

QA based on <strong>the</strong> nine Varian DMLC QA test patterns 13<br />

implemented in <strong>the</strong> RIT113 version 4.4 film dosimetry system<br />

Radiological Imaging Technology, Colorado Springs,<br />

CO and o<strong>the</strong>r references. 1,2 The goal <strong>of</strong> this study was to<br />

design test patterns and an analysis tool to develop procedures<br />

that would facilitate <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC QA. The<br />

QA scheme can be easily implemented in any center <strong>with</strong> a<br />

tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit using existing hardware and s<strong>of</strong>tware resources.<br />

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS<br />

Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy incorporates <strong>the</strong> ionization efficiency curve<br />

IEC “t” coordinate system, <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> positive Z axis running<br />

vertically upward from <strong>the</strong> table top, <strong>the</strong> positive Y axis in<br />

plane running longitudinally towards <strong>the</strong> bore <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> gantry,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> positive X axis cross plane running laterally towards<br />

<strong>the</strong> right side <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> couch as viewed from <strong>the</strong> foot <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> couch. The long axis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> table top is along <strong>the</strong> Y axis.<br />

The MLC <strong>of</strong> a tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit is composed <strong>of</strong> 64 inter-<br />

2949 Med. Phys. 34 „7…, July 2007 0094-2405/2007/34„7…/2949/8/$23.00 © 2007 Am. Assoc. Phys. Med. 2949


2950 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2950<br />

spersed leaves and each leaf is 6.25 mm wide in IEC-X direction<br />

at isocenter, <strong>with</strong> a source to axis distance SAD <strong>of</strong><br />

85 cm. The leaves are 10 cm thick in <strong>the</strong> IEC-Z direction.<br />

Detailed information about <strong>the</strong> leaf design was discussed by<br />

Balog et al. 11<br />

Kodak EDR2 Ready Pack film Eastman Kodak Company,<br />

Rochester, NY was used for all <strong>the</strong> test pattern measurements.<br />

Our film selection was based on <strong>the</strong> fact that<br />

EDR2 film has a nearly linear relationship between optical<br />

density and dose up to 6 Gy, is easy to handle, and films<br />

from <strong>the</strong> same batch give highly reproducible results as<br />

shown in our previous study. 14 Also, EDR2 film is easy to<br />

obtain clinically for <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> QA tests. Large EDR2<br />

film 35 cm43 cm packets were used in this study since<br />

one side <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> field size is 40 cm at SAD. The RIT 113<br />

version 4.4 s<strong>of</strong>tware was used for film scanning.<br />

In order to develop user-defined test patterns, <strong>the</strong> Tomo-<br />

Therapy Inc. manual 15 requires <strong>the</strong> user to develop a procedure<br />

written using <strong>the</strong> eXtensible Markup Language. As<br />

part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> procedure, a sinogram file is needed to control <strong>the</strong><br />

tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC motion. In-house s<strong>of</strong>tware, “Tomo MLC<br />

QA”, was developed using MATLAB version 6.5, <strong>the</strong> Math-<br />

Works Inc., Natick, MA to generate <strong>the</strong> sinogram files. The<br />

s<strong>of</strong>tware can import ei<strong>the</strong>r a text file or a bitmap file for a<br />

desired test pattern and export <strong>the</strong> corresponding sinogram<br />

file. In addition, <strong>the</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware has tools for <strong>the</strong> analysis and<br />

reporting <strong>of</strong> each test. In <strong>the</strong> following sections, we describe<br />

each test, as well as <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory behind <strong>the</strong> analysis and data<br />

reporting.<br />

II.A. MLC alignment tests<br />

II.A.1. Box in box<br />

The box in box test pattern has been used for <strong>the</strong> MIMiC ®<br />

<strong>collimator</strong> QA <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Peacock ® system. 2 The goal <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> box<br />

in box test is to test MLC alignment at any two gantry angles<br />

which are directly opposite each o<strong>the</strong>r typically 90° and<br />

270°. For <strong>the</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC test, we programmed<br />

leaves number 21 through 44 to open while <strong>the</strong><br />

remaining leaves were left closed. The 2.5 cm jaw model<br />

was selected and EDR2 film was sandwiched between two<br />

5 cm slabs <strong>of</strong> Solid Water Gammex Inc., Middleton, WI.<br />

The film was set such that <strong>the</strong> center marking on <strong>the</strong> film<br />

packet was at isocenter in <strong>the</strong> IEC-Y and IEC-Z direction but<br />

<strong>of</strong>fset by 5 cm in <strong>the</strong> IEC-X direction so that <strong>the</strong> field size at<br />

<strong>the</strong> film was smaller at one gantry position and larger at <strong>the</strong><br />

opposite gantry position, allowing for <strong>the</strong> formation <strong>of</strong> a<br />

box-in-box pattern. To aid in <strong>the</strong> positioning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> film, <strong>the</strong><br />

movable red lasers were programmed to shift to this <strong>of</strong>fset<br />

position. The beam was shot from gantry angle 90° and 270°<br />

using a beam on time <strong>of</strong> 10 s at each gantry position. The<br />

gantry was fixed at each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se positions, requiring <strong>the</strong> use<br />

<strong>of</strong> two procedures, one for each gantry position.<br />

Analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> film is based on <strong>the</strong> calculation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

angle arctangent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> gradient <strong>of</strong> corresponding edges <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> two boxes that were determined by user input or through<br />

automatic edge detection technology. The tolerance is user<br />

defined, but was set at 1°. The analysis application also calculates<br />

<strong>the</strong> average distance between edges. We have not<br />

included a pass/fail criterion for <strong>the</strong> distance since <strong>the</strong> distance<br />

differences depended on <strong>the</strong> IEC-X <strong>of</strong>fset distance.<br />

However, <strong>the</strong> user should check that <strong>the</strong> corresponding distances<br />

are close to each o<strong>the</strong>r.<br />

II.A.2. Modified checkerboard<br />

The checkerboard test is also a procedure used for <strong>the</strong><br />

MIMiC ® <strong>collimator</strong> QA <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Peacock ® system to test MLC<br />

alignment. 2 In order to transfer this test to <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

MLC QA, <strong>the</strong> procedure needed to be modified since<br />

<strong>the</strong> MIMiC ® MLC is different from <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC in<br />

<strong>the</strong> MLC width, <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong> MLC leaves intersect, and <strong>the</strong><br />

field size even though both are binary MLCs. We programmed<br />

leaves number 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37,<br />

39, 41, 43 to be open and all o<strong>the</strong>r leaves were left closed.<br />

All o<strong>the</strong>r settings were <strong>the</strong> same as for <strong>the</strong> box in box test<br />

pattern <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> exception that <strong>the</strong> film was positioned <strong>with</strong><br />

its center at isocenter, including in <strong>the</strong> IEC-X direction. For<br />

this case, <strong>the</strong> film was positioned using <strong>the</strong> fixed green reference<br />

lasers.<br />

For this test, we expect that <strong>the</strong>re will be no overlap in <strong>the</strong><br />

exposed fields if <strong>the</strong> two gantry positions are directly opposite<br />

each o<strong>the</strong>r as depicted in Fig. 1a. Lines are drawn at <strong>the</strong><br />

edges <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> exposed fields to make sure <strong>the</strong> leaves are indeed<br />

parallel to each o<strong>the</strong>r. Just as for <strong>the</strong> box-in-box, <strong>the</strong><br />

angle <strong>of</strong> each line is calculated as <strong>the</strong> arctangent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> gradient<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> line. The pass criterion is such that <strong>the</strong> calculated<br />

angles should not differ by more than 1°. In case <strong>of</strong> overlaps<br />

in <strong>the</strong> exposed fields, one possible conclusion is that <strong>the</strong><br />

gantry positions were not directly opposite and <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fset<br />

distance in source position d 2 is calculated by measuring <strong>the</strong><br />

overlap distance d 1 using similar triangles equation as displayed<br />

in Fig. 1b. Since <strong>the</strong> SAD is much greater than <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>of</strong>fset distance d 1 , which can be calculated using <strong>the</strong> equation<br />

in Fig. 1b <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> SAD and <strong>the</strong> source to <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> MLC<br />

distance d, <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fset angle in degree can be approximately<br />

calculated using Eq. 1<br />

d 1<br />

SAD 180<br />

.<br />

II.B. MLC interleaf leakage<br />

The interleaf leakage test was performed by programming<br />

all leaves to be closed and using <strong>the</strong> 2.5 cm jaw model, <strong>with</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> gantry fixed at 0° and a beam on time <strong>of</strong> 300 s. The film<br />

was positioned at SAD <strong>with</strong> 5 cm Solid Water as backscattering<br />

material and 1.5 cm Solid Water as buildup material.<br />

In order to normalize <strong>the</strong> film, an open field was exposed<br />

for 10 s <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> same settings except that all leaves<br />

were left open. The difference in exposure times between <strong>the</strong><br />

full open and full closed exposure was considered when dose<br />

normalization was computed. The reason we need to do an<br />

open and closed field is so that we take into account <strong>the</strong><br />

nonuniform cone-shaped intensity pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

radiation field.<br />

1<br />

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2951 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2951<br />

<strong>with</strong> 5 cm Solid Water as backscattering material and 1.5 cm<br />

Solid Water for buildup material.<br />

For <strong>the</strong> analysis, <strong>the</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware uses linear regression to fit<br />

a line to <strong>the</strong> wedged pr<strong>of</strong>ile. The product moment correlation<br />

coefficient, r a parameter <strong>of</strong> goodness <strong>of</strong> fit <strong>of</strong> linear regression,<br />

is calculated and if <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> r 2 lies between 0.99<br />

and 1.00, we consider <strong>the</strong> test to be a “pass.”<br />

II.C.2. IEC-Y gradient<br />

The IEC-Y gradient test is similar to <strong>the</strong> IEC-X gradient<br />

test. However, in <strong>the</strong> IEC-X gradient test, <strong>the</strong> couch was not<br />

moved and <strong>the</strong> film was shot once. Due to <strong>the</strong> current inability<br />

to automatically move <strong>the</strong> couch to multiple discrete positions<br />

and having it stay immobile during irradiation, <strong>the</strong><br />

IEC-Y gradient test did not use automatic couch movement.<br />

Instead, <strong>the</strong> couch was manually moved after each exposure.<br />

The sinogram shape was generated using Eq. 2, however,<br />

M wedge matrix was selected to represent <strong>the</strong> opening time for<br />

each field. In total, five fields were generated and <strong>the</strong> ratio <strong>of</strong><br />

MLC opening time was 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%,<br />

<strong>with</strong> 100% representing a field <strong>with</strong> leaves open <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

time. Thus, even though <strong>the</strong> beam on time was <strong>the</strong> same for<br />

all <strong>the</strong> shots, <strong>the</strong> MLC opening time was different. The selected<br />

jaw setting was <strong>the</strong> 5.0 cm mode, <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> gantry fixed<br />

at 0° and beam on time for each field was 20 s.<br />

To analyze, <strong>the</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware determines <strong>the</strong> center <strong>of</strong> each<br />

exposed field and samples 50 points to <strong>the</strong> left and right to<br />

get an average dose value in that region. Linear regression is<br />

used to fit a line through <strong>the</strong> center and average dose value.<br />

If <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> r 2 for <strong>the</strong> line is between 0.99 and 1.0, <strong>the</strong> test<br />

passes.<br />

FIG. 1. Illustration <strong>of</strong> modified checkerboard <strong>of</strong>fset angle calculation. a<br />

Well aligned beam angle; b Misaligned beam angle <strong>with</strong> resulting overlap.<br />

The analysis consists <strong>of</strong> comparing <strong>the</strong> two normalized<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>iles and our pass/fail criterion is set so that at no position<br />

should <strong>the</strong> leakage be more than 1%.<br />

II.C. Single MLC leaf excise<br />

II.C.1. IEC-X gradient<br />

The IEC-X gradient test is used to verify <strong>the</strong> accuracy and<br />

calibration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> leaves in mimicking a wedge in <strong>the</strong> IEC-X<br />

direction. Since <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy pr<strong>of</strong>ile in <strong>the</strong> IEC-X direction<br />

is cone shaped, we first had to program <strong>the</strong> leaf opening<br />

times to produce a flat field. Then we fur<strong>the</strong>r modulated <strong>the</strong><br />

leaf opening times to produce a wedged distribution in <strong>the</strong><br />

IEC-X direction. The transformation used is given in Eq. 2<br />

W = M wedge • N norm • P depth ,<br />

2<br />

where P depth is <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ile matrix for certain depth<br />

d=1.5 cm for this study, N norm is a matrix to normalize <strong>the</strong><br />

P depth to a flat field, M wedge is a wedge shape matrix, and W<br />

is <strong>the</strong> final matrix for generating <strong>the</strong> sinogram file. The jaw<br />

was set at <strong>the</strong> 5.0 cm mode, <strong>the</strong> gantry was fixed at 0° and<br />

beam on time was 25 s. EDR2 film was positioned at SAD<br />

II.D. Complex fields<br />

These tests were designed to verify <strong>the</strong> accuracy and calibration<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> leaves using a complex field pattern design <strong>of</strong><br />

interleaved triangular shapes as shown in Fig. 2 and a more<br />

circular test pattern, <strong>the</strong> “panda,” shown in Fig. 3.<br />

Due to <strong>the</strong> fact that each MLC leaf projects to a size <strong>of</strong><br />

0.625 cm at SAD, ideally we would like to use a 0.6 cm jaw<br />

setting to make each pixel drawn onto <strong>the</strong> film square. O<strong>the</strong>r<br />

jaw settings may be used but <strong>the</strong> pixels will be rectangular<br />

making comparisons between <strong>the</strong> image and <strong>the</strong> film harder.<br />

We do not have any set criteria to fail/pass this test. The<br />

user is expected to visually inspect <strong>the</strong> films and determine if<br />

all <strong>the</strong> straight lines/circles are indeed straight/round and areas<br />

have uniform shading where required.<br />

III. RESULTS<br />

The results <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> custom MLC QA tests as described<br />

above will now be presented in <strong>the</strong> following sections.<br />

III.A.1. Box-in-box<br />

Figure 4a shows <strong>the</strong> film and Fig. 4b shows <strong>the</strong> analysis<br />

output for <strong>the</strong> box-in-box test. An automatic edge detection<br />

algorithm was used to generate <strong>the</strong> latter figure, although<br />

<strong>the</strong> user is also given <strong>the</strong> option <strong>of</strong> drawing lines<br />

Medical Physics, Vol. 34, No. 7, July 2007


2952 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2952<br />

FIG. 2. Triangular Complex test pattern.<br />

FIG. 3. Panda Complex test pattern.<br />

across <strong>the</strong> field edges. The angular deviation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> edges and<br />

mean distance between line pair are reported in Table I.<br />

III.A.2. Modified checkerboard<br />

Figure 5 shows <strong>the</strong> film for <strong>the</strong> modified checkerboard<br />

test and analysis results. Figure 5b is <strong>the</strong> dose map obtained<br />

from Fig. 5a through <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> a user-defined step-valley<br />

calibration film. The overlap region was identified, and <strong>the</strong><br />

distance was measured to be 1.66 mm, which corresponded<br />

to a gantry <strong>of</strong>fset angle <strong>of</strong> 0.06°. The line-pair angle differences<br />

were 0.04° horizontal pair and 0.34° vertical pair.<br />

III.B. Leakage test<br />

Figure 6a shows <strong>the</strong> film and Fig. 6b shows <strong>the</strong> corresponding<br />

leakage plot given by <strong>the</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware after conversion<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> optical density values to dose using <strong>the</strong> step-valley<br />

calibration film. The averaged interleaf leakage was<br />

0.53% ±0.09%.<br />

III.C.2. IEC-Y gradient<br />

IEC-Y gradient film and dose pr<strong>of</strong>ile plot are shown in<br />

Figs. 8a and 8b, respectively. The value <strong>of</strong> r 2 for <strong>the</strong> line<br />

fitted by linear regression is 1.0, making this test pass according<br />

to our set criterion.<br />

III.D. Complex fields<br />

Figures 9a and 9b show <strong>the</strong> films for complex field<br />

tests. A visual qualitative evaluation shows that <strong>the</strong>re are no<br />

discrepancies seen in <strong>the</strong> film compared to <strong>the</strong> predicted pattern<br />

in Fig. 2.<br />

For <strong>the</strong> sake <strong>of</strong> completeness, we summarized our results<br />

and our set pass/fail criterion for each test in Table II.<br />

III.C.1. IEC-X gradient<br />

Figure 7a shows <strong>the</strong> film and Fig. 7b <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ile plot<br />

after conversion to dose. The value for <strong>the</strong> square <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

product moment correlation coefficient, r 2 , for <strong>the</strong> fitted line<br />

is 1.0, which makes this test pass according to our criterion.<br />

TABLE I. Parameters determined for <strong>the</strong> box-in-box test.<br />

Line pair Angle difference degree Average distance mm<br />

Top two lines 0.27 5.36<br />

Bottom two lines 0.18 5.25<br />

Left two lines 0.47 14.59<br />

Right two lines 0.00 12.22<br />

FIG. 4. a Box in box film; b auto edge detection technique was used and<br />

edges overlaid lines were drawn by <strong>the</strong> user.<br />

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2953 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2953<br />

FIG. 5. a Modified checkerboard film; b analysis result for dose map.<br />

IV. DISCUSSIONS<br />

Different QA procedures about tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC have<br />

been proposed by Balog et al. or Fenwick et al. 10–12 However,<br />

<strong>the</strong> previous studies <strong>of</strong> QA procedures about tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

MLC focused on <strong>the</strong> MLC design and MLC alignment<br />

<strong>with</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r components and did not concentrate solely<br />

on <strong>the</strong> MLC itself. In this study, <strong>the</strong> procedures are designed<br />

to test <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC alone, and it can be routinely<br />

used for clinical test. The methodology proposed can be also<br />

used for o<strong>the</strong>r type binary MLCs, such as <strong>the</strong> Peacock system’s<br />

MIMiC ® <strong>collimator</strong> since our center possesses both<br />

systems. It should also be noted that we have designed both<br />

<strong>the</strong> procedures and analysis tool, which will greatly help in<br />

implementing <strong>the</strong> QA process.<br />

Tasks A and B were directly derived from previously published<br />

testing procedures. In task A, previous studies about<br />

MLC alignment <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> beam and MLC twist used different<br />

procedures. Here we proposed <strong>the</strong> “box-in-box” and “modified<br />

checkerboard” since <strong>the</strong>y are accepted as routine test for<br />

<strong>the</strong> Peacock system’s MIMiC ® <strong>collimator</strong> but can be adapted<br />

to any binary <strong>collimator</strong>. Also, <strong>the</strong>se two tests are easily understood<br />

and analyzed. Task B is also overlapped <strong>with</strong><br />

T&G-PB test by Balog et al. 10 Again, <strong>the</strong> procedure we propose<br />

focuses on <strong>the</strong> MLC itself instead <strong>of</strong> considering it as<br />

part <strong>of</strong> a whole system. Task C focuses on single leaf motion.<br />

To generate <strong>the</strong> gradient shape, leaf timing and movement<br />

accuracy can be examined. Task D is a more general test that<br />

can be used to quickly verify whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> whole MLC is<br />

working well or not.<br />

In order to implement <strong>the</strong> QA procedures, we recommend<br />

that tasks A and B are used whenever <strong>the</strong> MLC has been<br />

replaced as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> acceptance test. Task C can be used<br />

whenever a single MLC leaf is suspected to be problematic.<br />

Task D can be used as part <strong>of</strong> monthly QA procedure since it<br />

can test <strong>the</strong> MLC’s function as a whole. All <strong>of</strong> those procedures<br />

can be used as part <strong>of</strong> annual QA about <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

MLC. For tasks A, C, and D, two procedures are<br />

proposed and <strong>the</strong> reader can pick one or both for a routine<br />

test. The setup and delivery time for each procedure is<br />

around 10 min. Since we have <strong>the</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware tool developed<br />

for result analysis, this part should take no more than 5 min.<br />

In general, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tests we performed gave <strong>the</strong> expected<br />

results and all passed <strong>with</strong>in <strong>the</strong> set criteria. However,<br />

<strong>the</strong>re are some interesting findings in <strong>the</strong> results that we discuss<br />

in this section.<br />

For <strong>the</strong> box in box, <strong>the</strong> angle discrepancy between <strong>the</strong><br />

sides <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two fields was very small, which means that<br />

<strong>the</strong>re is no twist in <strong>the</strong> MLC along <strong>the</strong> IEC-Y /Z plane. It<br />

should be noted that <strong>the</strong> shorter side in plane <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> boxin-box<br />

pattern verifies MLC alignment while <strong>the</strong> longer side<br />

transverse distance verifies <strong>the</strong> jaw alignment. This is because<br />

<strong>the</strong> jaws are used to define <strong>the</strong> field size along <strong>the</strong> IEC-<br />

Y direction such that <strong>the</strong>ir edges define <strong>the</strong> borders along <strong>the</strong><br />

IEC-X direction. The fact that <strong>the</strong> distances on opposite sides<br />

agreed as well implied that <strong>the</strong>re is not much <strong>of</strong> a discrepancy<br />

in gantry positioning. Since <strong>the</strong> distances did not agree<br />

<strong>with</strong> each o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>with</strong>in submillimeter range, it meant that <strong>the</strong><br />

source at <strong>the</strong> second angle was not directly opposite <strong>the</strong> location<br />

in <strong>the</strong> first position. This finding was also proven by<br />

<strong>the</strong> modified checkerboard test where field overlap was<br />

found. The film for this test clearly showed some overlap in<br />

<strong>the</strong> exposed field. Even though <strong>the</strong> overlap distance was<br />

small 1.66 mm, it still showed that <strong>the</strong>re was an amount <strong>of</strong><br />

angle discrepancy 0.06°. The discrepancy may be due to<br />

TABLE II. Summary <strong>of</strong> results and pass/fail criteria set for each test.<br />

Test name Measured parameter Set pass/fail criterion Measured value<br />

Box in box Angle between corresponding edges 0.5° a 0–0.47°<br />

Modified checkerboard Gantry <strong>of</strong>fset angle 1° 0.06°<br />

Angle between corresponding edges 0.5° a 0.04–0.34°<br />

Leakage test Percentage leakage across field 1% 0.53% ±0.09%<br />

IEC-X wedge<br />

Square <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> product moment correlation coefficient<br />

0.99–1.00 1.00<br />

<strong>of</strong> fitted line, r 2<br />

IEC-Y wedge<br />

Square <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> product moment correlation coefficient<br />

0.99–1.00 1.00<br />

<strong>of</strong> fitted line, r 2<br />

Linear complex pattern Lines in pattern should not have any breaks None set No discrepancies observed<br />

Panda complex pattern Circles in pattern should be as expected None set No discrepancies observed<br />

a This follows <strong>the</strong> pass/fail criterion set by TomoTherapy, Inc. in <strong>the</strong>ir version <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLC axis/gantry-rotation alignment tests.<br />

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2954 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2954<br />

FIG. 7. a X-wedge film; b pr<strong>of</strong>ile plot after converting into dose map.<br />

FIG. 6. a Leakage film; b leakage pr<strong>of</strong>ile.<br />

ei<strong>the</strong>r gantry positioning error or a small source position <strong>of</strong>fset<br />

from <strong>the</strong> planned source position that is hard to control.<br />

The reason for such a small angle discrepancy giving an<br />

observable overlap is that <strong>the</strong>re is a zoom factor about 2.4<br />

due to <strong>the</strong> relative distances between <strong>the</strong> source, MLC and<br />

film.<br />

The interleaf leakage check result 0.53% ±0.09% was<br />

very close to what we expected and agreed <strong>with</strong> previously<br />

reported data <strong>of</strong> 0.43%. 11 Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC has less leakage<br />

than o<strong>the</strong>r MLC such as <strong>the</strong> 1.9% to 2.0% leakage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Siemens MLC reported by Bayouth, Wendt, and Morrill. 3<br />

The IEC-X gradient shot showed that <strong>the</strong> leaf open times<br />

can be very well regulated to give <strong>the</strong> steady graduation <strong>of</strong><br />

doses from one side to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. Since <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

sinogram required for this exposure only involved applying a<br />

wedge shape to a flat field leaf pattern, we showed that one<br />

can successfully use modulated opening times to create a flat<br />

field from <strong>the</strong> cone-shaped field typical <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

unit. On <strong>the</strong> IEC-Y gradient test, <strong>the</strong> dose pr<strong>of</strong>iles are<br />

fairly flat inside each discrete step. However, <strong>the</strong>re are some<br />

penumbra effects on <strong>the</strong> edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> step wedge as shown in<br />

Fig. 8b. It should also be noted that we only put a few<br />

discrete levels for <strong>the</strong> IEC-Y test mostly because each level<br />

required a different procedure, making <strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

film a long process. This test can be made much more “user<br />

friendly” if and when Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy Inc. makes <strong>the</strong> TABLE<br />

_DISCRETE 14 option available to users. This option allows<br />

<strong>the</strong> table to move to a discrete position and wait for some<br />

dose to be delivered before moving to a new position. This<br />

would <strong>the</strong>n allow us to complete <strong>the</strong> whole process <strong>with</strong>out<br />

having to load multiple procedures and would represent a<br />

useful test <strong>of</strong> couch positioning verification.<br />

We should also point out here that <strong>the</strong>se two tests are not<br />

meant to measure <strong>the</strong> dosimetric capabilities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> linear<br />

accelerator. They are ra<strong>the</strong>r intended to assess <strong>the</strong> capabilities<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLC leaves to move in such a way as to provide<br />

a wedged distribution. It is <strong>the</strong> authors’ belief that both <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>se tests are useful in monitoring reproducibility <strong>of</strong> leaf<br />

motion over time assuming <strong>the</strong> dose pr<strong>of</strong>ile from <strong>the</strong> linear<br />

accelerator has not changed. The first time this test is done,<br />

<strong>the</strong> results can be defined to be standards against which fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

tests are compared.<br />

The complex field tests can be customized based on different<br />

bitmap files input by <strong>the</strong> users. In one test, a set <strong>of</strong><br />

triangular shapes provided an easy way to promptly identify<br />

errors in MLC leaf movement. Positional discrepancies can<br />

be easily detected and <strong>the</strong> leaf responsible for <strong>the</strong> error can<br />

be easily identified. The sinogram for <strong>the</strong> “Panda” test was<br />

created from binary bitmap file, and it only shows black and<br />

white on <strong>the</strong> film as shown in Fig. 9b. While <strong>the</strong>se tests<br />

may seem ra<strong>the</strong>r simple at first glance, it is <strong>the</strong> authors’ belief<br />

that users <strong>of</strong> this technique should be able to immediately<br />

point out where a problem exists, including a MLC leaf motor<br />

that has gone out <strong>of</strong> order. Due to <strong>the</strong> regularity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

pattern, it should immediately be obvious which leaf did not<br />

behave as expected and point <strong>the</strong> service engineers in <strong>the</strong><br />

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2955 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2955<br />

FIG. 9. Complex field A films: a Triangular pattern; b “Panda” pattern.<br />

FIG. 8. a IEC-Y gradient film; b pr<strong>of</strong>ile plot from Fig. 8a after converting<br />

to dose map. The thin line represents <strong>the</strong> total pr<strong>of</strong>ile and <strong>the</strong> points<br />

denoted by stars represent sampled points. Linear regression was determined<br />

by <strong>the</strong> center location <strong>of</strong> each bar and <strong>the</strong> averaged dose value for <strong>the</strong><br />

sampled points.<br />

right direction for repairs. This would be an especially useful<br />

tool should <strong>the</strong>re be regular problems <strong>with</strong> dose validation<br />

plans and a problem is suspected <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLCs. These tests<br />

could also be run during commissioning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> equipment<br />

and <strong>the</strong> films used as standards to evaluate any changes in<br />

machine performance <strong>with</strong> time.<br />

In summary, <strong>the</strong> seven patterns we designed can be used<br />

to test several MLC properties <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

unit such as MLC alignment, MLC interleaf leakage,<br />

beam-on timing, leaf location, etc. The patterns are useful for<br />

clinical quality <strong>assurance</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> MLC for a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

unit.<br />

V. CONCLUSIONS<br />

In this study, seven test patterns were designed as part <strong>of</strong><br />

a QA toolkit for <strong>the</strong> MLC <strong>of</strong> a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit. A<br />

s<strong>of</strong>tware platform called “TOMO MLC QA” was developed to<br />

facilitate <strong>the</strong> analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> seven tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC QA<br />

tests. The s<strong>of</strong>tware can be easily adapted to any treatment<br />

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2956 Sarkar et al.: Tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC quality <strong>assurance</strong> patterns 2956<br />

center <strong>with</strong> a <strong>helical</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy unit to perform customized<br />

tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC QA or to standardize testing. Fur<strong>the</strong>r test<br />

patterns can be developed based on <strong>the</strong> “TOMO MLC QA” platform.<br />

The seven designed test patterns for tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC<br />

QA are not aimed to test all characteristics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

MLC. However, <strong>the</strong> patterns allow <strong>the</strong> users to test<br />

some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mechanical and dosimetric properties <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy MLC. The analysis results based on <strong>the</strong> seven<br />

test patterns from our institution were reported. All tests<br />

passed at <strong>the</strong> in-house set criteria. This means <strong>the</strong> tomo<strong>the</strong>rapy<br />

MLC is well designed and aligned. However, several<br />

minute problems regarding beam angle position were also<br />

found and <strong>the</strong> effects on <strong>the</strong> dose require fur<strong>the</strong>r investigation.<br />

ACKNOWLEDGMENT<br />

This work was performed under <strong>the</strong> following grant: Cancer<br />

Center Council No. 10-000-022-459-08-849.<br />

a Electronic mail: cshi@ctrc.net<br />

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