There are a couple of algorithm sheets in the content section of the course. After looking them over, what computer algorithms does your treatment planning computer use? Discuss with the physicist and describe to your classmates which algorithms are used and why. What are the advantages and disadvantages your algorithm has? No references needed for this post. Write one question that came to your mind when completing the assignment.
There are many different treatment planning systems (TPS) that are used at my clinical internship site, UW Hospitals and clinics. Although we use Eclipse to plan our stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) cases and the MRIdian TPS for plans that will be treated on our Viewray, an MRI based linear accelerator, the treatment planning systems that we use most frequently for planning are the Pinnacle TPS and Tomotherapy TPS. The Pinnacle TPS uses the Monte Carlo based algorithm, Collapsed Cone Convolution (CCC). CCC is a convolution superimposition algorithm that implements an adaptive convolution and accounts for tissue inhomogeneities and efficiently estimates the dose through the use of kernels. The TPS for the Tomotherapy machines uses the algorithm Ray Tracing, which, like the Pinnacle TPS, uses convolution superimposition.
In the near future, our department will be transitioning to the RayStation TPS. According to their website (https://www.raysearchlabs.com/radiation-therapy-physics/ ), RayStation uses a collapsed cone photon dose engine, singular value decomposition calculation engine, and an electron dose calculation that uses a Monte Carlo based algorithm for dose calculation within the patient and an “in-house” beam model to calculate the phase space from the gantry head. One of the many reasons that this TPS was considered for the department is because it can be used to plan for many different treatment machines, whereas currently, we have to use the Tomo TPS when planning for Tomo and Pinnacle when planning for our Varian TrueBeam linac.
A question that came to mind was, although we have Varian linacs that use Aria which directly interfaces with Eclipse, which we also have but use solely for SRS treatments, why do we use Pinnacle for planning?
In the near future, our department will be transitioning to the RayStation TPS. According to their website (https://www.raysearchlabs.com/radiation-therapy-physics/ ), RayStation uses a collapsed cone photon dose engine, singular value decomposition calculation engine, and an electron dose calculation that uses a Monte Carlo based algorithm for dose calculation within the patient and an “in-house” beam model to calculate the phase space from the gantry head. One of the many reasons that this TPS was considered for the department is because it can be used to plan for many different treatment machines, whereas currently, we have to use the Tomo TPS when planning for Tomo and Pinnacle when planning for our Varian TrueBeam linac.
A question that came to mind was, although we have Varian linacs that use Aria which directly interfaces with Eclipse, which we also have but use solely for SRS treatments, why do we use Pinnacle for planning?