WE-A-17A-11: Implanted Brachytherapy Seed Movement Due to Transrectal Ultrasound Probe-Induced Prostate Deformation

Abstract

Purpose: To characterize the movement of implanted brachytherapy seeds due to transrectal ultrasound probe-induced prostate deformation and to estimate the effects on prostate dosimetry. Methods: Implanted probe-in and probe-removed seed distributions were reconstructed for 10 patients using C-arm fluoroscopy imaging. The prostate was delineated on ultrasound and registered to the fluoroscopy seeds using a visible subset of seeds and residual needle tracks. A linear tensor and shearing model correlated the seed movement with position. The seed movement model was used to infer the underlying prostate deformation and to simulate the prostate contour without probe compression. Changes in prostate and surrogate urethra dosimetry were calculated. Results: Seed movement patterns reflecting elastic decompression, lateral shearing, and rectal bending were observed. Elastic decompression was characterized by anterior-posterior expansion and superior-inferior and lateral contractions. For lateral shearing, anterior movement up to 6 mm was observed for extraprostatic seeds in the lateral peripheral region. The average intra-prostatic seed movement was 1.3 mm, and the residual after linear modeling was 0.6 mm. Prostate D90 increased by 4 Gy on average (8 Gy max) and was correlated with elastic decompression. For selected patients, lateral shearing resulted in differential change in D90 of 7 Gy between anterior andmore » posterior quadrants, and increase in whole prostate D90 of 4 Gy. Urethra D10 increased by 4 Gy. Conclusion: Seed movement upon probe removal was characterized. The proposed model captured the linear correlation between seed movement and position. Whole prostate dose coverage increased slightly, due to the small but systematic seed movement associated with elastic decompression. Lateral shearing movement increased dose coverage in the anterior-lateral region, at the expense of the posterior-lateral region. The effect on whole prostate D90 was smaller due to the subset of peripheral seeds involved, but lateral shearing movement can have greater consequences for local dose coverage.« less