SUBJECT: Ph.D. Proposal Presentation
   
BY: Tiffany Tsui
   
TIME: Friday, February 11, 2022, 3:00 p.m.
   
PLACE: Virtual. Please see link in description., Virtual
   
TITLE: Dual Energy Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Radiation Therapy
   
COMMITTEE: Dr. Tianye Niu, Chair (NRE/MP)
Dr. Eric Elder (NRE/MP)
Dr. Chris Wang (NRE/MP)
Dr. Mohammad Khan (Radiation Oncology)
Dr. Sean Cavanaugh (Radiation Oncology)
 

SUMMARY

Virtual meeting link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OTFiM2M2MDgtMzk4ZC00NjQzLTg2MjAtN2YyY2Y1OGQ2YjEw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22482198bb-ae7b-4b25-8b7a-6d7f32faa083%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2268c70618-41e1-459a-b424-6109ff86723f%22%7d

Summary:
As radiation therapy (RT) techniques advance and the modalities become more complex (i.e., high dose per fraction, higher dose rate, and more conformity with steeper isodose lines), accurate image-guided RT methods become highly desirable. Kilovoltage (kV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a common volumetric guidance tool before and during RT. It offers great soft-tissue contrast and submillimeter spatial resolution. Despite the widespread usage of kV CBCT, there are still areas to improve (e.g., scatter and soft-tissue delineation).

Dual-energy CT (DECT), using the multi-material decomposition (MMD) technique, has the potential to improve image quality by determining electron densities more accurately compared to single-energy CT images. The efficacy of DECT clinical applications in RT will be explored. Clinical applications that will be discussed include (1) iodine contrast usage for radiation therapy planning images and CBCT images, (2) adaptive treatment planning, (3) quantitative evaluation of invasive breast cancer biomarkers, and (4) hydrogel placement for better general pelvis anatomy definition.