Improving accuracy of markerless tracking of lung tumours in fluoroscopic video by incorporating diaphragm motion

Abstract

Purpose: Conformal radiation of moving tumours is a challenging task in radiotherapy. Tumour motion induced by respiration can be visualized in fluoroscopic images recorded during patients breathing. Markerless methods making use of registration techniques can be used to estimate tumour motion. However, registration methods might fail when the tumour is hidden by ribs. Using motion of anatomical surrogates, like the diaphragm, is promising to model tumour motion. Methods: A sequence of 116 fluoroscopic images was analyzed and the tumour positions were manually defined by three experts. A block matching (BM) technique is used to calculate the displacement vector relatively to a selected reference image of the first breathing cycle. An enhanced method was developed: Positions, when the tumour is not located behind a rib, are taken as valid estimations of the tumour position. Furthermore, these valid estimations are used to establish a linear model of tumour position and diaphragm motion. For invalid estimations the calculated tumour positions are not taken into consideration, and instead the model is used to determine tumour motion. Results: Enhancing BM with a model of tumour motion from diaphragm motion improves the tracking accuracy when the tumour moves behind a rib. The error (mean ± SD) in longitudinal dimension was 2.0 ± 1.5mm using only BM and 1.0 ± 1.1mm when the enhanced approach was used. Conclusion: The enhanced tracking technique is capable to improve tracking accuracy compared to BM in the case that the tumour is occluded by ribs.