3D gel dosimeter assessment for end-to-end geometric accuracy determination of the online adaptive workflow on the 1.5 T MR-linac

Abstract

Background and purpose:: During an end-to-end (E2E) test on the online workflow of the MR-linac, the performance of the treatment starting from the acquisition of pre-treatment MRI scans and ending with dose delivery is quantified. In such a test, the geometrical accuracy of the entire workflow is assessed. Ideally, the 3D geometrical accuracy of dose delivery on an MR-linac should be assessed using dosimeters that provide 3D dose distributions. Gel dosimeters, for instance, have proven to be valuable tools for evaluating 3D dose distributions on an MR-linac. In this study, we investigated the use of 3D gel dosimeters for the assessment of the 3D geometrical accuracy and reproducibility of the adaptive procedure on an MR-linac in an E2E verification. Materials and methods:: All measurements were performed on a clinical Unity MR-linac using 3D gel dosimeters in an anthropomorphic head phantom. Film measurements were performed as a reference dosimeter. An online adapt-to-shape procedure was performed for each measurement. Results:: The geometric accuracy and reproducibility of the gel dosimeter measurements were high, and similar to all in-plane film measurements. The largest shift found was 0.3 mm for the gel dosimeter, and 0.6 mm for the in-plane film measurements. The 3D displacement vectors of the gel dosimeter showed similar uncertainties as the in-plane film 2D displacement vectors. Conclusions:: Gel dosimeters can be used for the assessment of the 3D end-to-end geometric accuracy of an MR-linac.

Keywords

• Adaptive radiotherapy
• MRI-linac
• Quality assurance
• End-to-end testing
• 3D gel dosimetry