Complex intensity patterns generated by traditional beamlet-based inverse treatment plans are often very difficult to deliver. In the approach presented in this work the intensity maps are controlled by pre-defining field segments to be used for dose optimization. A set of simple rules was used to define a pool of allowable delivery segments and the mixed-integer programming (MIP) method was used to optimize segment weights. The optimization problem was formulated by combining real variables describing segment, weights with a set of binary variables, used to enumerate voxels in targets and critical structures. The MIP method was compared to the previously used Cimmino projection algorithm. The field segmentation approach was compared to an inverse planning system with a traditional beamlet-based beam intensity optimization. In four complex cases of oropharyngeal cancer the segmental inverse planning produced treatment plans, which competed with traditional beamlet-based IMRT plans. The mixed-integer programming provided mechanism for imposition of dose-volume constraints and allowed for identification of the optimal solution for feasible problems. Additional advantages of the segmental technique presented here are: simplified dosimetry, quality assurance and treatment delivery.

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This study is aimed at providing a dosimetric evaluation of the irregular motion of lung tumors due to variations in patients' respiration. Twenty-three lung cancer patients are retrospectively enrolled in this study. The motion of the patient clinical target volume is simulated and two types of irregularities are defined: characteristic and uncharacteristic motions. Characteristic irregularities are representative of random fluctuations in the observed target motion. Uncharacteristic irregular motion is classified as systematic errors in determination of the target motion during the planning session. Respiratory traces from measurement of patient abdominal motion are also used for the target motion simulations. Characteristic irregular motion was observed to cause minimal changes in target dosimetry with the largest effect of 2.5% ± 0.9% (1σ) reduction in the minimum target dose (D(min)) observed for targets that move 2 cm on average and exhibiting 50% amplitude variations within a session. However, uncharacteristic irregular motion introduced more drastic changes in the clinical target volume (CTV) dose; 4.1% ± 1.7% reduction for 1 cm motion and 9.6% ± 1.7% drop for 2 cm. In simulations with patients' abdominal motion, corresponding changes in target dosimetry were observed to be negligible (<0.1%). Only uncharacteristic irregular motion was identified as a clinically significant source of dosimetric uncertainty.

The thermal conductivity of the CC4 clathrate of 4-(3,4-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethyl-2H-1-benzopyran-4-y1)phenol (Dianin's compound) has been measured using the steady-state potentiometric method. The temperature profile of the thermal conductivity coefficient of this crystalline material has glasslike character. The highly effective thermal resistance mechanism is ascribed to the scattering of acoustic phonons off localized lowfrequency vibrations of the molecular moieties. The role and the behavior of the guest molecules in thermal conductivity are discussed in the wider context of the thermal properties of this material. The data presented complement the previous measurement on the clathrand and the ethanol clathrate of Dianin's compound. In contrast with the latter, guest molecules in the CC4 clathrate play a minor role in the thermal conductivity, as it is found to be much the same as the empty host lattice. The experimental results are interpreted on the premise of the resonant scattering model, with particular emphasis on the importance of the dynamics of the guest molecules to thermal resistance.

Abstract. The prescribed goals of radiation treatment planning are often expressed in terms of dose-volume constraints. We present a novel formulation of a dose-volume constraint satisfaction search for the discretized radiation therapy model. This approach does not rely on any explicit cost function. The inverse treatment planning uses the aperture based approach with predefined, according to geometric rules, segmental fields. The solver utilizes the simultaneous version of the cyclic subgradient projection algorithm. This is a deterministic iterative method designed for solving the convex feasibility problems. A prescription is expressed with the set of inequalities imposed on the dose at the voxel resolution. Additional constraint functions control the compliance with selected points of the expected cumulative dose-volume histograms. The performance of this method is tested on prostate and head-and-neck cases. The relationships with other models and algorithms of similar conceptual origin are discussed. The demonstrated advantages of the method are: the equivalence of the algorithmic and prescription parameters, the intuitive setup of free parameters, the improved speed of the method as compared to similar iterative as well as other techniques. The technique reported here will deliver an approximate solutions for inconsistent prescriptions.