An algorithm for fast beam angle selection in intensity modulated radiotherapy

Ranganathan, Vaitheeswaran; Narayanan, V.K Sathiya; Bhangle, Janhavi; Nirhali, Amit; Kumar, Namitha; Basu, Sumit; Maiya, Vikram

doi:10.1118/1.3517866

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…Recent trends to make the methods practical for clinical use include developing simple/fast methods and harnessing high-throughput computing environment. For fast algorithms, researchers tried simple geometric measures of patient anatomy (Potrebko et al 2007) and ranking of the beams (Vaitheeswaran et al 2010). Nazareth et al (2009) and Zhang et al (2009) used distributed computing environment to speed up the computation time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A surrogate-based metaheuristic global search method for beam angle selection in radiation treatment planning

et al. 2013

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An important element of radiation treatment planning for cancer therapy is the selection of beam angles (out of all possible coplanar and non-coplanar angles in relation to the patient) in order to maximize the delivery of radiation to the tumor site and minimize radiation damage to nearby organs-at-risk. This category of combinatorial optimization problem is particularly difficult because direct evaluation of the quality of treatment corresponding to any proposed selection of beams requires the solution of a large-scale dose optimization problem involving many thousands of variables that represent doses delivered to volume elements (voxels) in the patient. However, if the quality of angle sets can be accurately estimated without expensive computation, a large number of angle sets can be considered, increasing the likelihood of identifying a very high quality set. Using a computationally efficient surrogate beam set evaluation procedure based on single-beam data extracted from plans employing equally-spaced beams (eplans), we have developed a global search metaheuristic process based on the Nested Partitions framework for this combinatorial optimization problem. The surrogate scoring mechanism allows us to assess thousands of beam set samples within a clinically acceptable time frame. Tests on difficult clinical cases demonstrate that the beam sets obtained via our method are superior quality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A surrogate-based metaheuristic global search method for beam angle selection in radiation treatment planning

et al. 2013

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“…Essentially our methodology uses a parameter called "Beam Intensity Profile Perturbation Score (BIPPS)" to determine the suitable beam angles in IMRT, which was introduced in our previous paper. (13) Two set of plans were used in which one set contains plans with equispaced beam configuration starting from beam numbers 3 to 18, and another set contains plans with optimal beam angles chosen using the in-house beam angle optimization algorithm. The beam angle in equispaced beam geometry is given by:…”

Section: A Brief Description Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental investigation on the effect of beam angle optimization on the reduction of beam numbers in IMRT of head and neck tumors

Narayanan

Ranganathan²,

Bhangle

et al. 2012

J Applied Clin Med Phys

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In static intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), the fundamental factors that determine the quality of a plan are the number of beams and their angles. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of beam angle optimization (BAO) on the beam number in IMRT. We used six head and neck cases to carry out the study. Basically the methodology uses a parameter called “Beam Intensity Profile Perturbation Score” (BIPPS) to determine the suitable beam angles in IMRT. We used two set of plans in which one set contains plans with equispaced beam configuration starting from beam numbers 3 to 18, and another set contains plans with optimal beam angles chosen using the in‐house BAO algorithm. We used quadratic dose‐based single criteria objective function as a measure of the quality of a plan. The objective function scores obtained for equispaced beam plans and optimal beam angle plans for six head and neck cases were plotted against the beam numbers in a single graphical plot for effective comparison. It is observed that the optimization of beam angles reduces the beam numbers required to produce clinically acceptable dose distribution in IMRT of head and neck tumors. Especially N0.1 (represents the beam number at which the objective function reaches a value of 0.1) is considerably reduced by beam angle optimization in almost all the cases included in the study. We believe that the experimental findings of this study will be helpful in understanding the interplay between beam angle optimization and beam number selection process in IMRT which, in turn, can be used to improve the performance of BAO algorithms and beam number selection process in IMRT.PACS number: 87.55.de

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“…[1][2][3][4][5] The selection of beam geometry for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has been extensively explored. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Many approaches have been investigated, including stochastic techniques, such as simulated annealing 5,12 and genetic algorithms, [6][7][8]11 beam ranking prior to optimization, 9,13 and exhaustive search strategies. 10 Despite the extensive investigation of a wide range of techniques, in clinical practice the planner typically selects the beam geometry based on experience and trial and error.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A ranking based method has recently been described that incorporates beam interaction by quantifying the change in the fluence profile resulting from perturbing the objective function for a large number of beams. 13 We have developed a method of beam angle selection based on the stepwise addition of beams. It is an extension of the approach described by Schreibmann and Xing in which a metric is evaluated for all of the candidate beams 9 and is similar to one described for selection of nonintensity modulated beams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beam geometry selection using sequential beam addition

Popple¹,

Brezovich²,

Fiveash³

2014

Med. Phys.

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For situations in which beam geometry has a significant effect on the objective function, SBA can identify arrangements equivalent to equiangular geometries but using fewer beams. Furthermore, SBA provides the value of the objective function as the number of beams is increased, allowing the planner to select the minimal beam number that achieves the clinical goals. The method is simple to implement and could readily be incorporated into an existing optimization system.

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An algorithm for fast beam angle selection in intensity modulated radiotherapy

Abstract: This study demonstrates that the algorithm can be effectively applied to IMRT scenarios to get fast and case specific beam angle configurations.

Cited by 15 publications

References 25 publications

A surrogate-based metaheuristic global search method for beam angle selection in radiation treatment planning

A surrogate-based metaheuristic global search method for beam angle selection in radiation treatment planning

An experimental investigation on the effect of beam angle optimization on the reduction of beam numbers in IMRT of head and neck tumors

Beam geometry selection using sequential beam addition

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