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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-96: An Analysis of VMAT SBRT Lung Treatment Plans

Purpose: To present an analysis of 218 lung sbrt treatment plans delivered using Varian Eclipse RapidArc software and delivered with Varian linear accelerators. Methods: A retrospective analysis of treatment plans generated using the Varian Eclipse PRO RapidArc VMAT optimization and AAA photon beam calculation algorithms was done for 218 plans delivered using Varian Trilogy and TrueBeam linear accelerators. Some of the patients were enrolled in the RTOG 0813 and RTOG 0915 lung protocols. All of the patients’ plans were optimized using the guidelines outlined by these protocols. The plans presented were normalized so that 95% of the PTV volume received 100% of the prescribed dose. Results: The dose co formality constraints from the RTOG protocols and the number of plans within those constraints were:Tumor dose between 60% of maximum dose and 90% of maximum: 218/218 = 100%.Volume of 105% tumor dose outside put less than 15% of the PTV volume: 218/218 = 100%.Maximum dose 2 cm away from PTV within protocol table guidelines: No minor deviation: 188/218 = 86.2%. No major deviation: 216/218 = 99.1%.Ratio of 50% dose volume to PTV volume less than R50 in protocol table: No minor deviation 148/218 = 67.9%. No major deviation: 213/218 = 97.7%.Percent of lung receiving 20 Gy less than 10% (no minor violation): 218/218 = 100%.99% of PTV receiving at least 90% of the tumor dose: 214/218 = 98.2%. Conclusion: Varian RapidArc VMAT can successfully deliver lung SBRT treatments as outlined in the RTOG 0813 and 0915 protocols. The largest deviations were seen in the R50 constraints for the larger PTV volumes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-308: Mobius FX Evaluation and Comparison Against a Commercial 4D Detector Array for VMAT Plan QA

Purpose: To evaluate the use of MobiusFX as a pre-treatment verification IMRT QA tool and compare it with a commercial 4D detector array for VMAT plan QA. Methods: 15 VMAT plan QA of different treatment sites were delivered and measured by traditional means with the 4D detector array ArcCheck (Sun Nuclear corporation) and at the same time measurement in linac treatment logs (Varian Dynalogs files) were analyzed from the same delivery with MobiusFX software (Mobius Medical Systems). VMAT plan QAs created in Eclipse treatment planning system (Varian) in a TrueBeam linac machine (Varian) were delivered and analyzed with the gamma analysis routine from SNPA software (Sun Nuclear corporation). Results: Comparable results in terms of the gamma analysis with 99.06% average gamma passing with 3%,3mm passing rate is observed in the comparison among MobiusFX, ArcCheck measurements, and the Treatment Planning System dose calculated. When going to a stricter criterion (1%,1mm) larger discrepancies are observed in different regions of the measurements with an average gamma of 66.24% between MobiusFX and ArcCheck. Conclusion: This work indicates the potential for using MobiusFX as a routine pre-treatment patient specific IMRT method for quality assurance purposes and its advantages as a phantom-less method which reduce the time for IMRT QA measurement. MobiusFX is capable of produce similar results of those by traditional methods used for patient specific pre-treatment verification VMAT QA. Even the gamma results comparing to the TPS are similar the analysis of both methods show that the errors being identified by each method are found in different regions. Traditional methods like ArcCheck are sensitive to setup errors and dose difference errors coming from the linac output. On the other hand linac log files analysis record different errors in the VMAT QA associated with the MLCs and gantry motion that by traditional methods cannot be detected.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-351: Establishing a Workflow for IMRT Pre-Treatment Reviews for NRG-GY006 Clinical Trial

Purpose: To establish a workflow for NRG-GY006 IMRT pre-treatment reviews, incorporating advanced radiotherapy technologies being evaluated as part of the clinical trial. Methods: Pre-Treatment reviews are required for every IMRT case as part of NRG-GY006 (a randomized phase II trial of radiation therapy and cisplatin alone or in combination with intravenous triapine in women with newly diagnosed bulky stage I B2, stage II, IIIB, or IVA cancer of the uterine cervix or stage II-IVA vaginal cancer. The pretreatment review process includes structures review and generating an active bone marrow(ABM)- to be used as an avoidance structure during IMRT optimization- and evaluating initial IMRT plan quality using knowledgeengineering based planning (KBP). Institutions will initially submit their simulation CT scan, structures file and PET/CT to IROC QA center for generating ABM. The ABM will be returned to the institution for use in planning. Institutions will then submit an initial IMRT plan for review and will receive information back following implementation of a KBP algorithm, for use in re-optimization, before submitting the final IMRT used for treatment. Results: ABM structure is generated using MIM vista software (Version 6.5, MIM corporation, Inc.). Here, the planning CT and the diagnostic PET/CT are fused and a sub threshold structure is auto segmented above the mean value of the SUV of the bone marrow. The generated ABM were compared with those generated with other software system (e.g. Velocity, Varian) and Dice coefficient (reflects the overlap of structures) ranged between 80 – 90% was achieved. A KBP model was built in Varian Eclipse TPS using the RapidPlan KBP software to perform plan quality assurance. Conclusion: The workflow for IMRT pretreatment reviews has been established. It represents a major improvement of NRG Oncology clinical trial quality assurance and incorporates the latest radiotherapy technologies as part of NCI clinical trials. This project was supported by grants U24CA180803 (IROC), UG1CA189867 (NCORP), U10CA180868 (NRG Oncology Operations), U10CA180822 (NRG Oncology SDMC) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and PA CURE grant.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2009

MSLICE Science Activity Planner for the Mars Science Laboratory Mission

MSLICE (Mars Science Laboratory InterfaCE) is the tool used by scientists and engineers on the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission to visualize the data returned by the rover and collaboratively plan its activities. It enables users to efficiently and effectively search all mission data to find applicable products (e.g., images, targets, activity plans, sequences, etc.), view and plan the traverse of the rover in HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images, visualize data acquired by the rover, and develop, model, and validate the activities the rover will perform. MSLICE enables users to securely contribute to the mission s activity planning process from their home institutions using off-the-shelf laptop computers. This software has made use of several plug-ins (software components) developed for previous missions [e.g., Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Phoenix Mars Lander (PHX)] and other technology tasks. It has a simple, intuitive, and powerful search capability. For any given mission, there is a huge amount of data and associated metadata that is generated. To help users sort through this information, MSLICE s search interface is provided in a similar fashion as major Internet search engines. With regard to the HiRISE visualization of the rover s traverse, this view is a map of the mission that allows scientists to easily gauge where the rover has been and where it is likely to go. The map also provides the ability to correct or adjust the known position of the rover through the overlaying of images acquired from the rover on top of the HiRISE image. A user can then correct the rover s position by collocating the visible features in the overlays with the same features in the underlying HiRISE image. MSLICE users can also rapidly search all mission data for images that contain a point specified by the user in another image or panoramic mosaic. MSLICE allows the creation of targets, which provides a way for scientists to collaboratively name features on the surface of Mars. These targets can also be used to convey instrument-pointing information to the activity plan. The software allows users to develop a plan of what they would like the rover to accomplish for a given time period. When developing the plan, the user can input constraints between activities or groups of activities. MSLICE will enforce said constraints and ensure that all mission flight rules are satisfied.

Powell, Mark W.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Relay Sequence Generation Software

Due to thermal and electromagnetic interactivity between the UHF (ultrahigh frequency) radio onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which performs relay sessions with the Martian landers, and the remainder of the MRO payloads, it is required to integrate and de-conflict relay sessions with the MRO science plan. The MRO relay SASF/PTF (spacecraft activity sequence file/ payload target file) generation software facilitates this process by generating a PTF that is needed to integrate the periods of time during which MRO supports relay activities with the rest of the MRO science plans. The software also generates the needed command products that initiate the relay sessions, some features of which are provided by the lander team, some are managed by MRO internally, and some being derived.

Gladden, Roy E.↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-616: Plan Quality Assessment of Both Treatment Planning System Dose and Measurement-Based 3D Reconstructed Dose in the Patient

Purpose: Systematic radiotherapy plan quality assessment promotes quality improvement. Software tools can perform this analysis by applying site-specific structure dose metrics. The next step is to similarly evaluate the quality of the dose delivery. This study defines metrics for acceptable doses to targets and normal organs for a particular treatment site and scores each plan accordingly. The input can be the TPS or the measurement-based 3D patient dose. From this analysis, one can determine whether the delivered dose distribution to the patient receives a score which is comparable to the TPS plan score, otherwise replanning may be indicated. Methods: Eleven neuroblastoma patient plans were exported from Eclipse to the Quality Reports program. A scoring algorithm defined a score for each normal and target structure based on dose-volume parameters. Each plan was scored by this algorithm and the percentage of total possible points was obtained. Each plan also underwent IMRT QA measurements with a Mapcheck2 or ArcCheck. These measurements were input into the 3DVH program to compute the patient 3D dose distribution which was analyzed using the same scoring algorithm as the TPS plan. Results: The mean quality score for the TPS plans was 75.37% (std dev=14.15%) compared to 71.95% (std dev=13.45%) for the 3DVH dose distribution. For 3/11 plans, the 3DVH-based quality score was higher than the TPS score, by between 0.5 to 8.4 percentage points. Eight/11 plans scores decreased based on IMRT QA measurements by 1.2 to 18.6 points. Conclusion: Software was used to determine the degree to which the plan quality score differed between the TPS and measurement-based dose. Although the delivery score was generally in good agreement with the planned dose score, there were some that improved while there was one plan whose delivered dose quality was significantly less than planned. This methodology helps evaluate both planned and delivered dose quality. Sun Nuclear Corporation has provded a license for the software described.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Satellite Flythrough and Reconstruction Softwares at CCMC

The next-generation of model data visualization to be offered at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) will be based on Kamodo, an open source python package. To increase the usefulness of our services, we are also developing new capabilities based on this software, called the satellite flythrough and the reconstruction tools, to be offered both as packages for offline analysis and through an online interface (coming soon). The satellite flythrough software ‘flies’ a satellite trajectory, whether real or imaginary, through either model data hosted at CCMC or on a personal machine. This service greatly simplifies the complexity of users’ access to model data, abstracting away the time-consuming details of model data formats and interpolation. We demonstrate execution times of a few seconds to a few minutes for several example flythroughs of a trajectory stretching over a few days, depending on the parameters chosen. We also demonstrate a reconstruction tool built on top of the satellite flythrough software, for use with mission planning and model-data comparisons. This tool, based on reconstructions provided for the GDC Science and Technology Definition Team, converts multiple, simultaneous satellite flythroughs into two-dimensional reconstructions. The reconstruction tool provides a software capability for satellite constellations to determine how many satellites are needed and in what configuration to resolve the desired features in the model data. Both tools are currently available through GitHub for a selection of CCMC-hosted ITM models. Finally, we present initial results from work in progress and plans for future work, including an expansion of the reconstruction tool to provide 3D reconstruction capabilities and a line-of-sight calculation tool.

software, python↗
NASA NTRS2005

Data-Driven Software Framework for Web-Based ISS Telescience

Software that enables authorized users to monitor and control scientific payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from diverse terrestrial locations equipped with Internet connections is undergoing development. This software reflects a data-driven approach to distributed operations. A Web-based software framework leverages prior developments in Java and Extensible Markup Language (XML) to create portable code and portable data, to which one can gain access via Web-browser software on almost any common computer. Open-source software is used extensively to minimize cost; the framework also accommodates enterprise-class server software to satisfy needs for high performance and security. To accommodate the diversity of ISS experiments and users, the framework emphasizes openness and extensibility. Users can take advantage of available viewer software to create their own client programs according to their particular preferences, and can upload these programs for custom processing of data, generation of views, and planning of experiments. The same software system, possibly augmented with a subset of data and additional software tools, could be used for public outreach by enabling public users to replay telescience experiments, conduct their experiments with simulated payloads, and create their own client programs and other custom software.

Tso, Kam S.↗
DOE OSTI2019

SAS4A/SASSYS-1 Verification and Validation Plan for the Versatile Test Reactor

Software verification and validation (V&V) hold an important role in the safety analysis for nuclear facilities. Codes and models utilized in calculations that demonstrate the safety basis as part of a license application or authorization must demonstrate an acceptable pedigree with regard to key critical characteristics that are comprised of the functional and performance requirements of the software. This document describes the methodology for verification and validation of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 systems-level liquid-metal safety analysis software in support of DOE authorization of the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR). The overall goal of this V&V effort is to demonstrate the suitability of SAS4A/SASSYS-1 for evaluation of safety performance and characterization of safety margins in VTR. To that end, the V&V methodology will be used to demonstrate the adequacy of the component and physical models of SAS4A/SASSYS-1 for the corresponding VTR design elements. This methodology, which has been derived as a generalized approach to the U.S. NRC’s evaluation model development and assessment process (EMDAP) of Regulatory Guide 1.203, entails four high-level activities: software requirements identification, assessment base development, determination of acceptance, and gap closure. The methodology has been generalized to be suitable for both verification and validation of the software for the VTR project. Several high-level engineering analysis quality assurance measures as well as supporting V&V methodology documentation are also described in this document to help support demonstration of software acceptance. To support initial development of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 V&V basis, existing verification test problems and systems benchmarks are also identified and briefly described in this document.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Team Collaboration Software

The Ground Resource Allocation and Planning Environment (GRAPE 1.0) is a Web-based, collaborative team environment based on the Microsoft SharePoint platform, which provides Deep Space Network (DSN) resource planners tools and services for sharing information and performing analysis.

Wang, Yeou-Fang↗
NASA NTRS2012

Ascent/Descent Software

The Ascent/Descent Software Suite has been used to support a variety of NASA Shuttle Program mission planning and analysis activities, such as range safety, on the Integrated Planning System (IPS) platform. The Ascent/Descent Software Suite, containing Ascent Flight Design (ASC)/Descent Flight Design (DESC) Configuration items (Cis), lifecycle documents, and data files used for shuttle ascent and entry modeling analysis and mission design, resides on IPS/Linux workstations. A list of tools in Navigation (NAV)/Prop Software Suite represents tool versions established during or after the IPS Equipment Rehost-3 project.

Brown, Charles↗
NASA NTRS1994

A mission planning concept and mission planning system for future manned space missions

The international character of future manned space missions will compel the involvement of several international space agencies in mission planning tasks. Additionally, the community of users requires a higher degree of freedom for experiment planning. Both of these problems can be solved by a decentralized mission planning concept using the so-called 'envelope method,' by which resources are allocated to users by distributing resource profiles ('envelopes') which define resource availabilities at specified times. The users are essentially free to plan their activities independently of each other, provided that they stay within their envelopes. The new developments were aimed at refining the existing vague envelope concept into a practical method for decentralized planning. Selected critical functions were exercised by planning an example, founded on experience acquired by the MSCC during the Spacelab missions D-1 and D-2. The main activity regarding future mission planning tasks was to improve the existing MSCC mission planning system, using new techniques. An electronic interface was developed to collect all formalized user inputs more effectively, along with an 'envelope generator' for generation and manipulation of the resource envelopes. The existing scheduler and its data base were successfully replaced by an artificial intelligence scheduler. This scheduler is not only capable of handling resource envelopes, but also uses a new technology based on neuronal networks. Therefore, it is very well suited to solve the future scheduling problems more efficiently. This prototype mission planning system was used to gain new practical experience with decentralized mission planning, using the envelope method. In future steps, software tools will be optimized, and all data management planning activities will be embedded into the scheduler.

Wickler, Martin↗
NASA NTRS2010

Evaluating Heuristics for Planning Effective and Efficient Inspections

A significant body of knowledge concerning software inspection practice indicates that the value of inspections varies widely both within and across organizations. Inspection effectiveness and efficiency can be measured in numerous ways, and may be affected by a variety of factors such as Inspection planning, the type of software, the developing organization, and many others. In the early 1990's, NASA formulated heuristics for inspection planning based on best practices and early NASA inspection data. Over the intervening years, the body of data from NASA inspections has grown. This paper describes a multi-faceted exploratory analysis performed on this · data to elicit lessons learned in general about conducting inspections and to recommend improvements to the existing heuristics. The contributions of our results include support for modifying some of the original inspection heuristics (e.g. Increasing the recommended page rate), evidence that Inspection planners must choose between efficiency and effectiveness, as a good tradeoff between them may not exist, and Identification of small subsets of inspections for which new inspection heuristics are needed. Most Importantly, this work illustrates the value of collecting rich data on software Inspections, and using it to gain insight into, and Improve, inspection practice.

Shull, Forrest J.↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-167: Evaluation of Mobius Dose Calculation Engine Using Out of the Box Preconfigured Beam Data

Purpose: Determine the dose calculation accuracy of a preconfigured Mobius server for use in secondary checks of a treatment planning system. Methods: 10 plans were created for irradiation on two of the IROC (formerly RPC) accreditation phantoms: 4 for the head and neck phantom and 6 for the lung phantom. The plans each were created using one of four different photon energies (6FFF, 10 FFF, 6X, and 15X) and were varied in treatment type including VMAT, step and shoot IMRT, dynamic MLC IMRT (DMLC), and conformal RT (CRT). The TLDs in the phantoms were contoured, and each plan was sent for calculation to Mobius software (Mobius Medical Systems, Houston, TX) with a default configuration. Each plan was then irradiated on the planned phantom 3 times to create an average reading across 56 TLDs. These readings were then compared against the corresponding Mobius calculation at each TLD location. Results: The mean difference (MD) normalized to the plan prescription dose between each TLD and Mobius calculation for all measurements was 0.5 ± 3.3%, with a maximum difference of 8.4%. The MD was 0.6 ± 3.8%, − 2.0 ± 1.9%, 1.7 ± 3.7%, and 1.9 ± 1.2% across the 6FFF, 10FFF, 6X and 15X energies respectively. The MD was −1.2 ± 2.3% for lung plans and 1.8 ± 3.5% for head/neck plans. Across treatment types, the MD ranged from − 1.8 ± 1.7% for CRT to 4.3 ± 2.4 % for DMLC. Conclusion: Out of the box and preconfigured, Mobius provides accurate dose calculations with respect to beam energy, treatment type, and treatment site.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1983

Structural considerations for a software life cycle dynamic simulation model

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study into the prospects for simulating the software implementation and maintenance life cycle process, with the aim of producing a computerized tool for use by management and software engineering personnel in project planning, tradeoff studies involving product, environmental, situational, and technological factors, and training. The approach taken is the modular application of a 'flow of resource' concept to the systems dynamics simulation modeling technique. The software life cycle process is represented as a number of stochastic, time-varying, interacting work tasks that each achieves one of the project milestones. Each task is characterized by the item produced, the personnel applied, and the budgetary profile.

Tausworthe, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Automation of the Environmental Control and Life Support System

The objective of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Advanced Automation Project is to recommend and develop advanced software for the initial and evolutionary Space Station Freedom (SSF) ECLS system which will minimize the crew and ground manpower needed for operations. Another objective includes capturing ECLSS design and development knowledge for future missions. This report summarizes our results from Phase I, the ECLSS domain analysis phase, which we broke down into three steps: 1) Analyze and document the baselined ECLS system, 2) envision as our goal an evolution to a fully automated regenerative life support system, built upon an augmented baseline, and 3) document the augmentations (hooks and scars) and advanced software systems which we see as necessary in achieving minimal manpower support for ECLSS operations. In addition, Phase I included development of an advanced software life cycle testing tools will be used in the development of the software. In this way, we plan in preparation for phase II and III, the development and integration phases, respectively. Automated knowledge acquisition, engineering, verification, and can capture ECLSS development knowledge for future use, develop more robust and complex software, provide feedback to the KBS tool community, and insure proper visibility of our efforts.

Dewberry, Brandon S.↗
NASA NTRS2009

General Purpose Data-Driven Monitoring for Space Operations

As modern space propulsion and exploration systems improve in capability and efficiency, their designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems, using traditional parameter limit checking, model-based, or rule-based methods, is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grow. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. System health can be monitored by comparing real-time operating data with these nominal characterizations, providing detection of anomalous data signatures indicative of system faults or failures. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications. IMS uses a data mining technique called clustering to analyze archived system data and characterize normal interactions between parameters. The scope of IMS based data-driven monitoring applications continues to expand with current development activities. Successful IMS deployment in the International Space Station (ISS) flight control room to monitor ISS attitude control systems has led to applications in other ISS flight control disciplines, such as thermal control. It has also generated interest in data-driven monitoring capability for Constellation, NASA's program to replace the Space Shuttle with new launch vehicles and spacecraft capable of returning astronauts to the moon, and then on to Mars. Several projects are currently underway to evaluate and mature the IMS technology and complementary tools for use in the Constellation program. These include an experiment on board the Air Force TacSat-3 satellite, and ground systems monitoring for NASA's Ares I-X and Ares I launch vehicles. The TacSat-3 Vehicle System Management (TVSM) project is a software experiment to integrate fault and anomaly detection algorithms and diagnosis tools with executive and adaptive planning functions contained in the flight software on-board the Air Force Research Laboratory TacSat-3 satellite. The TVSM software package will be uploaded after launch to monitor spacecraft subsystems such as power and guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C). It will analyze data in real-time to demonstrate detection of faults and unusual conditions, diagnose problems, and react to threats to spacecraft health and mission goals. The experiment will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrated system health management (ISHM) technologies with both ground and on-board experiments.

Iverson, David L.↗