Dosimetric evaluation of off-axis fields and angular transmission for the 1.5 T MR-linac

Abstract

Objective. GPU-oriented Monte Carlo dose (GPUMCD) is a fast dose calculation algorithm used for treatment planning on the Unity MR-linac. Treatments for the MR-linac must be calculated quickly and accurately, and must account for two important MR-linac aspects: off-axis positions and angular transmission through the cryostat, couch and MR-coils. Therefore, the aim of this research is to quantify the system-related errors for GPUMCD calculations over the range of clinically-relevant field configurations and gantry angles. Approach. Dose profiles (crossline, inline and PDD) were measured and calculated for varying field sizes, off-axis positions and depths. Eleven different (off-axis) positions were included. The angular transmission was investigated by measuring and calculating the transmission for multiple angles, taking the cryostat, couch and coils into account. Main results. Differences between absolute point doses were found to be within 1.7% for field sizes 2 × 2 cm2 and larger. The relative dose profiles in the crossline, inline and PDD direction illustrated maximum mean dose differences of 0.9pp, 0.8pp and 0.7pp of D max in the central region for field sizes 2 × 2 cm2 and larger. The 1 × 1 cm2 field size showed larger dosimetric errors for absolute point doses and relative dose profiles. The maximum mean DTA in the penumbra was 0.7 mm. The mean difference in angular transmission ranged from −0.33% ± 0.60% to 0.27% ± 0.91% using three treatment machines. Additionally, 77.1%–93.7% of the datapoints remained within 1% transmission difference. The largest transmission differences were present at the edges of the table. Significance. This research showed that the GPUMCD algorithm provides reliable dose calculations with a low uncertainty for field sizes 2 × 2 cm2 and larger, focusing on off-axis fields and angular transmission.