The Relationship between the Contouring Time of the Metal Artifacts Area and Metal Artifacts in Head and Neck Radiotherapy
Kouji Katsura,
Satoshi Tanabe,
Hisashi Nakano,
Madoka Sakai,
Atsushi Ohta,
Motoki Kaidu,
Marie Soga,
Taichi Kobayashi,
Masaki Takamura,
Takafumi Hayashi
Affiliations
Kouji Katsura
Department of Oral Radiology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan
Satoshi Tanabe
Division of Radiation Oncology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 851-8520, Japan
Hisashi Nakano
Division of Radiation Oncology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 851-8520, Japan
Madoka Sakai
Department of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata 951-8514, Japan
Atsushi Ohta
Department of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata 951-8514, Japan
Motoki Kaidu
Department of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata 951-8514, Japan
Marie Soga
Department of Oral Radiology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan
Taichi Kobayashi
Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry & Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata 951-8514, Japan
Masaki Takamura
Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry & Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata 951-8514, Japan
Takafumi Hayashi
Department of Oral Radiology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata 951-8520, Japan
(1) Background: The impacts of metal artifacts (MAs) on the contouring workload for head and neck radiotherapy have not yet been clarified. Therefore, this study evaluated the relationship between the contouring time of the MAs area and MAs on head and neck radiotherapy treatment planning. (2) Methods: We used treatment planning computed tomography (CT) images for head and neck radiotherapy. MAs were classified into three severities by the percentage of CT images containing MAs: mild (75%). We randomly selected nine patients to evaluate the relationship between MAs and the contouring time of the MAs area. (3) Results: The contouring time of MAs showed moderate positive correlations with the MAs volume and the number of CT images containing MAs. Interobserver reliability of the extracted MAs volume and contouring time were excellent and poor, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Our study suggests that the contouring time of MAs areas is related to individual commitment rather than clinical experience. Therefore, the development of software combining metal artifact reduction methods with automatic contouring methods is necessary to reducing interobserver variability and contouring workload.
