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Chen, Y

Publications and source records attributed to Chen, Y.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-247: A Simulation of X-Ray Emission with Gold Nanoparticle Irradiated by Energetic Proton Beam

Purpose: To investigate the proton induced X-ray emissions in gold-water mixture materials. Methods: In this study a Monte Carlo simulation was created using the GEANT4 toolkit (version 4.9.6). The geometry in this setup includes a 2 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm target, a scoring sphere (radius = 10 cm) and a 65 MeV planar proton source (2 cm × 2 cm). Four concentrations of a gold-water solution were irradiated with 5×10{sup 5} incident protons at a distance of 0.5 cm perpendicular to the surface of the target. The solutions of gold-water mixture had 10%, 5%, 1% and 0.5% of gold by mass, respectively. The number of photon emitting for the target was counted in the scoring sphere for the energy range of 0-86.0 keV in 0.1 keV bins. For this study the reference physics list PhysListEmStandard was used together with the x-ray fluorescence, Auger electron and PIXE (particle induced xray emission) options enabled. The range cuts for photons and electrons were set at 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm, respectively. Results: In the energy spectra of emitting X-ray fluorescence, peaks from gold K shell characteristic x-rays (68.8 and 66.9 keV) were observed. The number of counts under the peaks of Ka1 and Ka2 was found to increase with the increasing of the gold concentrations in the mixture materials. The X-ray yields (for both Ka1 and Ka2) when fitted with least-square method as a function of gold concentration demonstrate a linear dependency with R{sup 2} > 0.96. The Ka1yield per incident proton was found to be 0.0016 for 10% gold-water mixture solutions. Conclusion: This preliminary study with PIXE technique with gold nanoparticle has demonstrated potentials for its utilization in the development of range and dose verification methodology that is currently of great interest in the field of proton radiation therapy.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-08: A Convolution Model for Head Scatter Fluence in the Intensity Modulated Field

Purpose: To efficiently calculate the head scatter fluence for an arbitrary intensity-modulated field with any source distribution using the source occlusion model. Method: The source occlusion model with focal and extra focal radiation (Jaffray et al, 1993) can be used to account for LINAC head scatter. In the model, the fluence map of any field shape at any point can be calculated via integration of the source distribution within the visible range, as confined by each segment, using the detector eye's view. A 2D integration would be required for each segment and each fluence plane point, which is time-consuming, as an intensity-modulated field contains typically tens to hundreds of segments. In this work, we prove that the superposition of the segmental integrations is equivalent to a simple convolution regardless of what the source distribution is. In fact, for each point, the detector eye's view of the field shape can be represented as a function with the origin defined at the point's pinhole reflection through the center of the collimator plane. We were thus able to reduce hundreds of source plane integration to one convolution. We calculated the fluence map for various 3D and IMRT beams and various extra-focal source distributions using both the segmental integration approach and the convolution approach and compared the computation time and fluence map results of both approaches. Results: The fluence maps calculated using the convolution approach were the same as those calculated using the segmental approach, except for rounding errors (<0.1%). While it took considerably longer time to calculate all segmental integrations, the fluence map calculation using the convolution approach took only ∼1/3 of the time for typical IMRT fields with ∼100 segments. Conclusions: The convolution approach for head scatter fluence calculation is fast and accurate and can be used to enhance the online process.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-21: A Novel Sampling Algorithm to Reduce Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) Optimization Time

Purpose: The IMRT optimization problem requires substantial computer time to find optimal dose distributions because of the large number of variables and constraints. Voxel sampling reduces the number of constraints and accelerates the optimization process, but usually deteriorates the quality of the dose distributions to the organs. We propose a novel sampling algorithm that accelerates the IMRT optimization process without significantly deteriorating the quality of the dose distribution. Methods: We included all boundary voxels, as well as a sampled fraction of interior voxels of organs in the optimization. We selected a fraction of interior voxels using a clustering algorithm, that creates clusters of voxels that have similar influence matrix signatures. A few voxels are selected from each cluster based on the pre-set sampling rate. Results: We ran sampling and no-sampling IMRT plans for de-identified head and neck treatment plans. Testing with the different sampling rates, we found that including 10% of inner voxels produced the good dose distributions. For this optimal sampling rate, the algorithm accelerated IMRT optimization by a factor of 2–3 times with a negligible loss of accuracy that was, on average, 0.3% for common dosimetric planning criteria. Conclusion: We demonstrated that a sampling could be developed that reduces optimization time by more than a factor of 2, without significantly degrading the dose quality.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-40: Analysis of Composite MVCT Planning Dosimetry with SBRT of Upper Peripheral Lung Cancer

Purpose: Quantitatively evaluate and compare the final adaptive planning doses of upper peripherally located lung SBRT treated with Tomotherapy using 3rd party software tool. Methods: With tumor located in the upper quadrant of lung, a 3rd party software tool was implemented to evaluate the Tomotherapy composite dosimetry created by adaptive fan beam MVCT images described by RTOG 0915 dose criteria (48 Gy / 4 fractions). The composite doses was then summarized with deformable registration in this package with corresponding target and critical structures. The final dosimetry variation, both for target and critical structures, were evaluated in a tabular format and isodose distribution comparisons. Results: Composite SBRT treatment doses were evaluated with adaptive planning. The PTV and several critical structures were mapped/deformed into the package via DICOM from Tomotherapy after the final composite doses were created. Initial plan versus the final composite plan calculated from verification images were compared. The ITV defined by 4D CT and contoured on MVCT images were correlated in patient repositioning. Final composite dose calculated for PTV coverage has shown 0.1–0.17 cGy coverage (0.2–0.4% of prescription dose) variation. Total lung and cord were both less than 0.17 Gy which represented <0.4% difference. All other critical structure were within statistical significance. The adaptive plans justified/included the breathing and motion during the treatment process. Final 95% isotope line coverage from prescription has been met without issues. Conclusions: With lung tumor location in the upper peripheral area, breathing control was not necessary required during SBRT treatment using Tomotherapy technique. Slow fan beam CT provides definitive ITV information and the adaptive composite plan for all fractions were suitable for final dose delivery. The final composite dose calculated with Tomotherapy adaptive tool indicated that the composite dosimetry justified the target location with SBRT delivery, safe with minimum margin of errors.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-119: Dosimetric and Mechanical Characteristics of Elekta Infinity LINAC with Agility MLC

Purpose: Elekta Infinity is the one of the latest generation LINAC with unique features. Two Infinity LINACs are recently commissioned at our institution. The dosimetric and mechanical characteristics of the machines are presented. Methods: Both Infinity LINACs with Agility MLC (160 leaves with 0.5 cm leaf width) are configured with five electron energies (6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 MeV) and two photon energies (6 and 15 MV). One machine has additional photon energy (10 MV). The commissioning was performed by following the manufacturer's specifications and AAPM TG recommendations. Beam data of both electron and photon beams are measured with scanning ion chambers and linear diode array. Machines are adjusted to have the dosimetrically equivalent characteristics. Results: The commissioning of mechanical and imaging system meets the tolerances by TG recommendations. The PDD{sub 10} of various field sizes for 6 and 15 MV shows < 0.5% difference between two machines. For each electron beams, R{sub 80} matches with < 0.4 mm difference. The symmetry and flatness agree within 0.8% and 0.9% differences for photon beams, respectively. For electron beams, the differences of the symmetry and flatness are within 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. The mean inline penumbras for 6, 10, and 15 MV are respectively 5.1±0.24, 5.6±0.07, and 5.9±0.10 mm for 10x10 cm at 10 cm depth. The crossline penumbras are larger than inline penumbras by 2.2, 1.4, and 1.0 mm, respectively. The MLC transmission factor with interleaf leakage is 0.5 % for all photon energies. Conclusion: The dosimetric and mechanical characteristics of two Infinity LINACs show good agreements between them. Although the Elekta Infinity has been used in many institutions, the detailed characteristics of the machine have not been reported. This study provides invaluable information to understand the Infinity LINAC and to compare the quality of commissioning data for other LINACs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-154: Establishment and Implement of 3D Image Guided Brachytherapy Planning System

Purpose: Cannot observe the dose intuitionally is a limitation of the existing 2D pre-implantation dose planning. Meanwhile, a navigation module is essential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the implantation. Hence a 3D Image Guided Brachytherapy Planning System conducting dose planning and intra-operative navigation based on 3D multi-organs reconstruction is developed. Methods: Multi-organs including the tumor are reconstructed in one sweep of all the segmented images using the multiorgans reconstruction method. The reconstructed organs group establishs a three-dimensional visualized operative environment. The 3D dose maps of the three-dimentional conformal localized dose planning are calculated with Monte Carlo method while the corresponding isodose lines and isodose surfaces are displayed in a stereo view. The real-time intra-operative navigation is based on an electromagnetic tracking system (ETS) and the fusion between MRI and ultrasound images. Applying Least Square Method, the coordinate registration between 3D models and patient is realized by the ETS which is calibrated by a laser tracker. The system is validated by working on eight patients with prostate cancer. The navigation has passed the precision measurement in the laboratory. Results: The traditional marching cubes (MC) method reconstructs one organ at one time and assembles them together. Compared to MC, presented multi-organs reconstruction method has superiorities in reserving the integrality and connectivity of reconstructed organs. The 3D conformal localized dose planning, realizing the 'exfoliation display' of different isodose surfaces, helps make sure the dose distribution has encompassed the nidus and avoid the injury of healthy tissues. During the navigation, surgeons could observe the coordinate of instruments real-timely employing the ETS. After the calibration, accuracy error of the needle position is less than 2.5mm according to the experiments. Conclusion: The speed and quality of 3D reconstruction, the efficiency in dose planning and accuracy in navigation all can be improved simultaneously.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-186: Feasibility Study of Glass Cherenkov Detector for Prompt Gamma Detection in Proton Therapy

Purpose: To simulate a Cherenkov glass detector system utilizing prompt gamma (PG) technique to quantify range uncertainties in proton radiation therapy. Methods: A simulation of high energy photons typically produced in proton interactions with materials incident onto a block of Cherenkov glass was performed with the Geant4 toolkit. The standard electromagnetic package was used along with several decay modules (G4Decay, G4DecayPhysics, and G4RadioactiveDecayPhysics) and the optical photon components (G4OpticalPhysics). Our setup included a pencil beam consisting of a hundred thousand 6 MeV photons (approximately the deexcitation energy released from 16O) incident onto a 2.5 ⊗ 2.5 ⊗ 1.5 cm3 of a Cherenkov glass (7.2 g of In2O3 + 90 g cladding, density of 2.82 g/cm3, Zeff = 33.7, index of refraction 1.56). The energy deposited from incident 6 MeV photons as well as secondary electrons and resulting optical photons were recorded. Results: The energy deposited by 6 MeV photons in glass material showed several peaks that included the photoelectric, the single and double escape peaks. About 11% of incident photons interacted with glass material to deposit energy. Most of the photons collected were in the region of double escape peak (approximately 4.98 MeV). The secondary electron spectrum produced from incident photons showed a high energy peak located near 6 MeV and a sharp peak located ∼120 keV with a continuous distribution between these two points. The resulting Cherenkov photons produced showed a continuous energy distribution between 2 and 5 eV with a slight increase in yield beginning about 3 eV. The amount of Cherenkov photons produced per interacting incident 6 MeV photon was ∼240.7. Conclusion: This study suggests the viability of utilizing the Cherenkov glass material as a possible prompt gamma photon detection device. Future work will include optimization of the detector system to maximize photon detection efficiency.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-331: To Evaluate Planning Quality of SBRT with Multiple Lung Metastases Generated with Pinnacle and Tomotherapy

Purpose: To evaluate planning quality of SBRT with multiple lung metastases generated with Pinnacle and Tomotherapy Methods: Nine randomly selected patients diagnosed with non small-cell lung cancer with multiple lesions were planned with Pinnacle (version 9.2) and Tomotherapy (version 4.2). Coplanar and non-coplanar plans were generated on Pinnacle. A total dose of 60 Gy was prescribed to 95% of PTV in 3 fractions. Single isocenter was used. Nine static beams were used for Pinnacle plans. Planning outcomes such as minimum and mean dose, V{sub 9} {sub 5}, D{sub 9} {sub 5} (95% of target volume receives prescription dose), D{sub 5}, and D{sub 1} to PTV, maximum dose to heart, esophagus, cord, trachea, brachial plexus, rib, chest wall, and liver, mean dose to liver, total lung, right and left lung, volume of chest wall receives 30 Gy, volume of lungs receives 5 Gy and 20Gy, conformity index (CI = PIV / PTV) and heterogeneity index (HI = D{sub 5} / D{sub 9} {sub 5}) were reported for evaluation. Results: The mean volume of PTV was 37.77 ± 23.4 cm3. D{sub 9} {sub 5} of PTV with Tomo, coplanar, non-coplanar was 60.2 ± 0.3 Gy, 58.6 ± 1.2 Gy, and 59.1 ± 0.7 Gy, respectively. Mean dose to PTV was lower for Tomo (p < 0.0001), so were D{sub 5} (p < 0.0001) and D{sub 1} (p = 0.001). CI was better with Tomo (p < 0.0001), so was HI (p < 0.0001). Maximum dose to other critical organs were also lower exclusively with Tomo plans. Treatment time was recorded only for Tomo plans (73.0 ± 20.6 min). Conclusion: With 51 beam angles, Tomo plans could generally achieve better tumor coverage while sparing more critical structures for multiple lung lesions study. Non-coplanar also has better tumor coverage with lower dose to critical organs such as lungs, liver, chest wall and cord compare to coplanar plans.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-379: Concave Approximations of Target Volume Dose Metrics for Intensity- Modulated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning

Purpose: The widely used treatment plan metric Dx (mimimum dose to the hottest x% by volume of the target volume) is simple to interpret and use, but is computationally poorly behaved (non-convex), this impedes its use in computationally efficient intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment planning algorithms. We therefore searched for surrogate metrics that are concave, computationally efficient, and accurately correlated to Dx values in IMRT treatment plans. Methods: To find concave surrogates of D95—and more generally, Dx values with variable x values—we tested equations containing one or two generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) functions. Fits were obtained by varying gEUD ‘a’ parameter values, as well as the linear equation coefficients. Fitting was performed using a dataset of dose-volume histograms from 498 de-identified head and neck IMRT treatment plans. Fit characteristics were tested using a crossvalidation process. Reported root-mean-square error values were averaged over the cross-validation shuffles. Results: As expected, the two-gEUD formula provided a superior fit, compared to the single-gEUD formula. The best approximation uses two gEUD terms: 16.25 x gEUD[a=0.45] – 15.30 x gEUD[a=1.75] – 0.69. The average root-mean-square error on repeated (70/30) cross validation was 0.94 Gy. In addition, a formula was found that reasonably approximates Dx for x between 80% and 96%. Conclusion: A simple concave function using two gEUD terms was found that correlates well with PTV D95s for these head and neck treatment plans. More generally, a formula was found that represents well the Dx for x values from 80% to 96%, thus providing a computationally efficient formula for use in treatment planning optimization. The formula may need to be adjusted for other institutions with different treatment planning protocols. We conclude that the strategy of replacing Dx values with gEUD-based formulas is promising.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-475: An Accurate Linear Model of Tomotherapy MLC-Detector System for Patient Specific Delivery QA

Purpose: An accurate leaf fluence model can be used in applications such as patient specific delivery QA and in-vivo dosimetry for TomoTherapy systems. It is known that the total fluence is not a linear combination of individual leaf fluence due to leakage-transmission, tongue-and-groove, and source occlusion effect. Here we propose a method to model the nonlinear effects as linear terms thus making the MLC-detector system a linear system. Methods: A leaf pattern basis (LPB) consisting of no-leaf-open, single-leaf-open, double-leaf-open and triple-leaf-open patterns are chosen to represent linear and major nonlinear effects of leaf fluence as a linear system. An arbitrary leaf pattern can be expressed as (or decomposed to) a linear combination of the LPB either pulse by pulse or weighted by dwelling time. The exit detector responses to the LPB are obtained by processing returned detector signals resulting from the predefined leaf patterns for each jaw setting. Through forward transformation, detector signal can be predicted given a delivery plan. An equivalent leaf open time (LOT) sinogram containing output variation information can also be inversely calculated from the measured detector signals. Twelve patient plans were delivered in air. The equivalent LOT sinograms were compared with their planned sinograms. Results: The whole calibration process was done in 20 minutes. For two randomly generated leaf patterns, 98.5% of the active channels showed differences within 0.5% of the local maximum between the predicted and measured signals. Averaged over the twelve plans, 90% of LOT errors were within +/−10 ms. The LOT systematic error increases and shows an oscillating pattern when LOT is shorter than 50 ms. Conclusion: The LPB method models the MLC-detector response accurately, which improves patient specific delivery QA and in-vivo dosimetry for TomoTherapy systems. It is sensitive enough to detect systematic LOT errors as small as 10 ms.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-519: Emission of Secondary Particles From a PMMA Phantom During Proton Irradiation: A Simulation Study with the Geant4 Monte Carlo Toolkit

Purpose: Proton therapy exhibits several advantages over photon therapy due to depth-dose distributions from proton interactions within the target material. However, uncertainties associated with protons beam range in the patient limit the advantage of proton therapy applications. To quantify beam range, positron-emitting nuclei (PEN) and prompt gamma (PG) techniques have been developed. These techniques use de-excitation photons to describe the location of the beam in the patient. To develop a detector system for implementing the PG technique for range verification applications in proton therapy, we studied the yields, energy and angular distributions of the secondary particles emitted from a PMMA phantom. Methods: Proton pencil beams of various energies incident onto a PMMA phantom with dimensions of 5 x 5 x 50 cm3 were used for simulation with the Geant4 toolkit using the standard electromagnetic packages as well as the packages based on the binary-cascade nuclear model. The emitted secondary particles are analyzed . Results: For 160 MeV incident protons, the yields of secondary neutrons and photons per 100 incident protons were ~6 and ~15 respectively. Secondary photon energy spectrum showed several energy peaks in the range between 0 and 10 MeV. The energy peaks located between 4 and 6 MeV were attributed to originate from direct proton interactions with 12C (~ 4.4 MeV) and 16O (~ 6 MeV), respectively. Most of the escaping secondary neutrons were found to have energies between 10 and 100 MeV. Isotropic emissions were found for lower energy neutrons (<10 MeV) and photons for all energies, while higher energy neutrons were emitted predominantly in the forward direction. The yields of emitted photons and neutrons increased with the increase of incident proton energies. Conclusions: A detector system is currently being developed incorporating the yields, energy and angular distributions of secondary particles from proton interactions obtained from this study.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Correlation between in-field critical currents in Zr-added (Gd, Y)Ba2Cu3Ox superconducting tapes at 30 and 77 K

Critical current (I-c) values of 1384 Lambda/12 mm, corresponding to a critical current density of 12.47 MA cm(-2) and a pinning force of 374 GN m(-3), have been achieved at 30 K, 3 T in the orientation of field parallel to the c axis (B parallel to c) in (Gd, Y)BaCuO tapes with 15 mol% Zr addition made by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). These tapes show pinning force levels as high as 453 GN m(-3) at 30 K. An analysis of the properties of 24-28 (Gd, Y)BaCuO tapes with 15 mol% Zr addition showed a lack of correlation between their critical currents at 30 K, 3 T (B parallel to c) and I-c values both at 77 K, zero field and at 77 K, 1 T (B parallel to c). However, a strong correlation was found between the critical currents at 30 K, 3 T and at 77 K, 3 T (B parallel to c). It has also been discovered that the minimum critical current (I-c, (min)) value at 77 K, 3 T has no influence on the I-c,I- (min) value at 30 K, 3 T, and it in turn depends on the ratio of the I-c values in the orientations of field parallel and perpendicular to the c axis at 77 K, 3 T.

Selvamanickam, V↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electromagnetic Properties of (Gd, Y)Ba2Cu3Ox Superconducting Tapes With High Levels of Zr Addition

The dependence of the critical current density (J(c)) on the orientation of applied magnetic fields was studied in Zr-doped (Gd, Y)Ba2Cu3Ox tapes fabricated by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The in-field performance of J(c) of (Gd, Y)Ba2Cu3Ox tapes with Zr-doping levels of 7.5-30 at.% was investigated up to 5 T over a temperature range of 40-77 K. The highest critical currents (I-c) at H parallel to c and the highest values of minimum Ic in angular dependence measurements were achieved in the tapes with 20% Zr doping over a broad range of temperature and magnetic field conditions measured. The electromagnetic properties have been related to the changes in BaZrO3 content and microstructure.

Liu, Y↗
DOE OSTI2013

Enhanced critical currents in (Gd,Y)Ba2Cu3Ox superconducting tapes with high levels of Zr addition

The critical current and structural properties of (Gd,Y)BaCuO tapes made by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with Zr addition levels up to 30 at.% have been investigated. The reduction in critical current beyond the previously optimized Zr addition level of 7.5 at.% was found to be due to structural deterioration of the (Gd,Y)Ba2Cu3Ox film. By a modified MOCVD process,enhanced critical current densities have been achieved with high levels of Zr addition,including 3.83 MA cm(-2) in 15 at.% Zr- added 1.1 mu m thick film at 77 K in zero magnetic field. Critical currents as high as 1072 A/ 12 mm have been reached in (Gd,Y) BaCuO tapes with 15 at.% Zr addition at 30 K in a field of 3 T applied perpendicular to the tape,corresponding to a pinning force value of 268 GN m(-3). The enhanced critical currents achievable with a high density of nanoscale defects by employing high levels of second- phase additions enable the performance targets needed for the use of HTS tapes in coil applications involving high magnetic fields at temperatures below 50 K to be met.

Selvamanickam, V↗