SU‐E‐J‐170: Beyond Single‐Cycle 4DCT: Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) Reconstruction‐Based Binning‐Free Multicycle 4DCT for Lung Radiotherapy

Abstract

Purpose:Thoracic motion changes from cycle‐to‐cycle and day‐to‐day. Conventional 4DCT does not capture these cycle to cycle variations. We present initial results of a novel 4DCT reconstruction technique based on maximum a posteriori (MAP) reconstruction. The technique uses the same acquisition process (and therefore dose) as a conventional 4DCT in order to create a high spatiotemporal resolution cine CT that captures several breathing cycles.Methods:Raw 4DCT data were acquired from a lung cancer patient. The continuous 4DCT was reconstructed using MAP algorithm which uses the raw, time‐stamped CT data to reconstruct images while simultaneously estimating deformation in the subject's anatomy. This framework incorporates physical effects such as hysteresis and is robust to detector noise and irregular breathing patterns. The 4D image is described in terms of a 3D reference image defined at one end of the hysteresis loop, and two deformation vector fields (DVFs) corresponding to inhale motion and exhale motion respectively. The MAP method uses all of the CT projection data and maximizes the log posterior in order to iteratively estimate a timevariant deformation vector field that describes the entire moving and deforming volume.Results:The MAP 4DCT yielded CT‐quality images for multiple cycles corresponding to the entire duration of CT acquisition, unlike the conventional 4DCT, which only yielded a single cycle. Variations such as amplitude and frequency changes and baseline shifts were clearly captured by the MAP 4DCConclusion:We have developed a novel, binning‐free, parameterized 4DCT reconstruction technique that can capture cycle‐to‐cycle variations of respiratory motion. This technique provides an invaluable tool for respiratory motion management research. This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and VisionRT Ltd.Amit Sawant receives research funding from Varian Medical Systems, Vision RT and Elekta