An integrated quality assurance phantom for frameless single-isocenter multitarget stereotactic radiosurgery

Abstract

Brain stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments require multiple quality assurance (QA) procedures to ensure accurate and precise treatment delivery. As single-isocenter multitarget SRS treatments become more popular, the quantification of off-axis accuracy of the linear accelerator is crucial. In this study, a novel brain SRS integrated phantom was developed and validated to enable SRS QA with a single phantom to facilitate implementation of a frameless single-isocenter, multitarget SRS program. This phantom combines the independent verification of each positioning system, the Winston-Lutz, off-axis accuracy evaluation (i.e. off-axis Winston-Lutz), and the dosimetric accuracy utilizing both point dose measurements as well as film measurement, without moving the phantom. A novel 3D printed phantom, coined OneIso, was designed with a movable insert which can switch between the Winston-Lutz test target and dose measurement without moving the phantom itself. For dose verification, ten brain SRS clinical treatment plans with 10 MV flattening-filter-free beams were delivered on a Varian TrueBeam with a high-definition multileaf collimator (HD-MLC). Radiochromic film and pinpoint ion chamber comparison measurements were made between the OneIso and solid water (SW) phantom setups. For the off-axis Winston-Lutz measurements, a row of off-axis ball bearings (BBs) was integrated into the OneIso. To quantify the spatial accuracy versus distance from the isocenter, two-dimensional displacements were calculated between the planned and delivered BB locations relative to their respective MLC defined field border. OneIso and the SW phantoms agree within 1%, for both film and point dose measurements. OneIso identified a reduction in spatial accuracy further away from the isocenter. Differences increased as distance from the isocenter increased, exceeding recommended SRS accuracy tolerances at 7 cm away from the isocenter. OneIso provides a streamlined, single-setup workflow for single-isocenter multitarget frameless linac-based SRS QA. Additionally, with the ability to quantify off-axis spatial discrepancies, we can determine limitations on the maximum distance between targets to ensure a single-isocenter multitarget SRS program meets recommended guidelines.