True Motion Research Articles

A Calculation Method of Bearing Balls Rotational Vectors Based on Binocular Vision Three-Dimensional Coordinates Measurement

The rotational speed vectors of the bearing balls affect their service life and running performance. Observing the actual rotational speed of the ball is a prerequisite for revealing its true motion law and conducting sliding behavior simulation analysis. To address the need for accuracy and real-time measurement of spin angular velocity, which is also under high-frequency and high-speed ball motion conditions, a new measurement method of ball rotation vectors based on a binocular vision system is proposed. Firstly, marker points are laid on the balls, and their three-dimensional (3D) coordinates in the camera coordinate system are calculated in real time using the triangulation principle. Secondly, based on the 3D coordinates before and after the movement of the marker point and the trajectory of the ball, the mathematical model of the spin motion of the ball was established. Finally, based on the ball spin motion model, the three-dimensional vision measurement technology was first applied to the measurement of the bearing ball rotation vector through formula derivation, achieving the analysis of bearing ball rolling and sliding characteristics. Experimental results demonstrate that the visual measurement system with the frame rate of 100 FPS (frames per second) yields a measurement error within ±0.2% over a speed range from 5 to 50 RPM (revolutions per minute), and the maximum measurement errors of spin angular velocity and linear velocity are 0.25°/s and 0.028 mm/s, respectively. The experimental results show that this method has good accuracy and stability in measuring the rotation vector of the ball, providing a reference for bearing balls' rotational speed monitoring and the analysis of the sliding behavior of bearing balls.

DIO-SLAM: A Dynamic RGB-D SLAM Method Combining Instance Segmentation and Optical Flow.

Feature points from moving objects can negatively impact the accuracy of Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) algorithms, while detection or semantic segmentation-based VSLAM approaches often fail to accurately determine the true motion state of objects. To address this challenge, this paper introduces DIO-SLAM: Dynamic Instance Optical Flow SLAM, a VSLAM system specifically designed for dynamic environments. Initially, the detection thread employs YOLACT (You Only Look At CoefficienTs) to distinguish between rigid and non-rigid objects within the scene. Subsequently, the optical flow thread estimates optical flow and introduces a novel approach to capture the optical flow of moving objects by leveraging optical flow residuals. Following this, an optical flow consistency method is implemented to assess the dynamic nature of rigid object mask regions, classifying them as either moving or stationary rigid objects. To mitigate errors caused by missed detections or motion blur, a motion frame propagation method is employed. Lastly, a dense mapping thread is incorporated to filter out non-rigid objects using semantic information, track the point clouds of rigid objects, reconstruct the static background, and store the resulting map in an octree format. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method surpasses current mainstream dynamic VSLAM techniques in both localization accuracy and real-time performance.

An Empirical Spatiotemporal Input Model for Regional Seismic Ground Motions

The development of the economy and technology has attracted greater attention to regional seismic resistance, a key technology for which is the simulation of regional seismic ground motions. This study proposes a simple and highly operable method for the generation of regional seismic ground motions, which includes five steps. First, a seismic ground motion recorded at a seismic station is selected as the original ground motion. The original ground motion is then decomposed into eight sub-signals by wavelet packet transform (WPT). Next, the eight sub-signals are adjusted by the frequency attenuation model. The generated ground motion is then amplitude modulated by the peak ground acceleration (PGA) attenuation model. The frequency attenuation model and the PGA attenuation model are obtained by fitting seismic data from the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Finally, the propagation of the ground motion is considered. The proposed method can provide a time history of seismic ground motions for any point in a region. To investigate the rationality and applicability of the proposed method, the characteristics of the generated seismic ground motions are compared with those of true seismic ground motions. The average error of the PGA of the generated ground motions and the true ground motions is 0.072[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]; thus, the proposed method is suitable for use in small-scale regions. Furthermore, 4-story and 15-story structures are used for structural response analysis. The story drift ratio error between the generated ground and true ground motions is found to be within an acceptable error range. The proposed method provides a new way to generate ground motions for regional seismic investigation.

Table Text Jagadbhūṣaṇa of Haridatta

In the seventeenth century, the astronomer Haridatta of Mewar, Rājasthān, produced a table text named the Jagadbhūṣaṇa (epoch Śaka 1560, or 1638 CE). This table text provided calendar makers with a complete set of data and associated procedures for the computation of the annual calendar known in Sanskrit as a pañcāṅga. The tables are huge and represent an enormous computational effort, and the astronomical structure that underlies them is somewhat akin to the Babylonian Goal Year texts and similar cyclic schemes set out by Ptolemy and al-Zarqālī. The accompanying text consists of around one hundred and thirty verses organised into five chapters. This article is the first in a series that presents the Sanskrit text of the Jagadbhūṣaṇa along with a translation and a detailed technical commentary of the text and analysis of the associated tabular material, chapter by chapter. In the opening chapter, Haridatta begins the work with a lengthy encomium to his patron, Mewar Rajput Jagatsiṃha, before describing the procedures by which the true longitudes and motions of the sun and the moon can be determined using the accompanying tabulated data.

Berkeley on true motion

Studies of the Early Modern debate concerning absolute and relative space and motion often ignore the significance of the concept of true motion in this debate. Even philosophers who denied the existence of absolute space maintained that true motions could be distinguished from merely apparent ones. In this paper, I examine Berkeley's endorsement of this distinction and the problems it raises. First, Berkeley's endorsement raises a problem of consistency with his other philosophical commitments, namely his idealism. Second, Berkeley's endorsement raises a problem of adequacy, namely whether Berkeley can provide an adequate account of what grounds the distinction between true and merely apparent motion. In this paper, I argue that sensitivity to Berkeley's distinction between what is true in the metaphysical, scientific, and vulgar domains can address both the consistency and the adequacy problems. I argue that Berkeley only accepts true motion in the scientific and vulgar domains, and not the metaphysical. There is thus no inconsistency between his endorsement of true motion in science and ordinary language, and his metaphysical idealism. Further, I suggest that sensitivity to these three domains shows that Berkeley possesses resources to give an adequate account of how true motions are discovered in natural science.

Multimotion visual odometry

Visual motion estimation is a well-studied challenge in autonomous navigation. Recent work has focused on addressing multimotion estimation in highly dynamic environments. These environments not only comprise multiple, complex motions but also tend to exhibit significant occlusion. Estimating third-party motions simultaneously with the sensor egomotion is difficult because an object’s observed motion consists of both its true motion and the sensor motion. Most previous works in multimotion estimation simplify this problem by relying on appearance-based object detection or application-specific motion constraints. These approaches are effective in specific applications and environments but do not generalize well to the full multimotion estimation problem (MEP). This paper presents Multimotion Visual Odometry (MVO), a multimotion estimation pipeline that estimates the full SE(3) trajectory of every motion in the scene, including the sensor egomotion, without relying on appearance-based information. MVO extends the traditional visual odometry (VO) pipeline with multimotion segmentation and tracking techniques. It uses physically founded motion priors to extrapolate motions through temporary occlusions and identify the reappearance of motions through motion closure. Evaluations on real-world data from the Oxford Multimotion Dataset (OMD) and the KITTI Vision Benchmark Suite demonstrate that MVO achieves good estimation accuracy compared to similar approaches and is applicable to a variety of multimotion estimation challenges.

Reliable Earthquake Source Parameters Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing Data Derived from Coda Envelopes

Abstract A challenge in fully using distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) data collected from fiber-optic sensors is correcting the signals to provide quantitative true ground motion. Such corrections require considering coupling and instrument response issues. In this study, we show via comparison with geophone and broadband seismometer data that we can use coda envelope calibration techniques to obtain absolute moment magnitudes and source spectra from DAS data. Here, we use DAS and nodal geophones deployed as part of a geothermal monitoring experiment at Brady Hot Springs, Nevada, and on a 20 km long dark fiber of the ESnet’s Dark Fiber Testbed–a U.S. Department of Energy user facility, in Sacramento, California. Several DAS line segments with colocated geophone stations were used to compare the amplitude variation using narrowband S-wave coda envelopes. The DAS coda envelope decay at each point showed remarkable similarity with coda envelopes from different events in each narrow frequency range examined. The coda envelopes are used to determine Mw magnitudes and source spectra from regional stations without any major scatter. Because coda waves arrive from a range of directions, the azimuthal sensitivity of DAS is somewhat ameliorated. We show that the openly available seismic coda calibration software toolkit can be used for straightforward and faster processing of large DAS datasets for source parameters and subsurface imaging.

New Baseline Correction Method for Near-Fault Ground-Motion Records Based on Continuous Wavelet Transform

Abstract On 6 February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-central Türkiye. It was followed by many aftershocks, the largest of which was a magnitude 7.5 aftershock. This earthquake caused considerable loss of life and property. Numerous near-fault ground-motion records were collected during the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. Most existing baseline correction methods for near-fault ground motions disregard the commonly used filtering techniques due to their potential elimination of actual permanent displacement. To address this, a new automatic baseline correction method is proposed based on the continuous wavelet transform, which incorporates filtering while preserving permanent displacement. This method is compatible with existing filtering techniques and demonstrates good applicability. In this approach, the raw record is decomposed into a pulse signal containing permanent displacement and a nonpulse signal. The nonpulse signal is high-pass filtered to obtain the corrected nonpulse signal, and then the true ground motion is obtained by combining the pulse signal with the corrected nonpulse signal. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated across five aspects using the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake records: time histories, baseline offsets, response spectra, peak ground velocities, and peak ground displacements. Furthermore, the method is applied to 36 station records (108 components) of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. The analysis results indicate that the corrected displacement time histories exhibit sustained flatness in their tails and demonstrate a closer agreement with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements than the previous methods. This method can also incorporate static GNSS offsets to accurately determine true ground motions with precise permanent displacements. The corrected results can be utilized for nonlinear seismic calculations and structural damage analysis of fault-crossing structures such as bridges and tunnels.

Wavelet MRE: Imaging propagating broadband acoustic waves with wavelet-based motion-encoding gradients.

To demonstrate a novel MR elastography (MRE) technique, termed here wavelet MRE. With this technique, broadband motion sensitivity is achievable. Moreover, the true tissue displacement can be reconstructed with a simple inverse transform. A wavelet MRE sequence was developed with motion-encoding gradients based on Haar wavelets. From the phase images' displacement was estimated using an inverse transform. Simulations were performed using a frequency sweep and a transient as ground-truth motions. A PVC phantom was scanned using wavelet MRE and standard MRE with both transient (one and 10 cycles of 90-Hz motion) and steady-state dual-frequency motion (30 and 60 Hz) for comparison. The technique was tested in a human brain, and motion trajectories were estimated for each voxel. In simulation, the displacement information estimated from wavelet MRE closely matched the true motion. In the phantom test, the MRE phase data generated from the displacement information derived from wavelet MRE agreed well with standard MRE data. Testing of wavelet MRE to assess transient motion waveforms in the brain was successful, and the tissue motion observed was consistent with a previous study. The uniform and broadband frequency response of wavelet MRE makes it a promising method for imaging transient, multifrequency motion, or motion with unknown frequency content. One potential application is measuring the response of brain tissue undergoing low-amplitude, transient vibrations as a model for the study of traumatic brain injury.

Flexible Sensors with a Multilayer Interlaced Tunnel Architecture for Distinguishing Different Strains.

The diversity of body joints and the complexity of joint motions cause flexible strain sensors to undergo complex strains such as stretching, compression, bending, and extrusion, which results in sensors that do not recognize different strains, facing great challenges in detecting the true motion characteristics of joints. Here, the monitoring of body joints' real motion characteristics has been realized by the sensor that can output response signals with different resistance trends for different strains. The sensor prepared by the sacrificial template method is characterized by a multilayered interlaced tunnel architecture and carbon black embedded in the inner wall of the tunnel. Stretching, compressive, and bending strains result in increasing, decreasing, and increasing resistance, followed by a decrease in resistance of the sensor, respectively. The sensor can still output distinguishable response signals, even in the presence of complex strains induced by squeezing. Low strain detection limits (0.03%) and wide detection ranges (>600%) are achieved due to the localized strain enhancement caused by the unique structure. The sensor can detect the motion characteristics of different joints in flexion-extension, abduction-adduction, and internal-external rotation, which, in turn, can be used for real-time monitoring of complex joint motions involved in limb rehabilitation. In addition, the sensor recognizes the 26 letters of the alphabet represented by sign language gestures. The above studies demonstrate the potential application of our prepared sensors in flexible, wearable devices.

Blood pressure estimation and classification using a reference signal-less photoplethysmography signal: a deep learning framework.

The markers that help to predict th function of a cardiovascular system are hemodynamic parameters like blood pressure (BP), stroke volume, heart rate, and cardiac output. Continuous analysis of hemodynamic parameters such as BP can detect abnormalities earlier, preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, sometimes due to motion artifacts, it becomes difficult to monitor the BP accurately and classify it. This work presents an optimized deep learning model having the capability to estimate the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and classify the BP stages simultaneously from the same network using only a single channel photoplethysmography (PPG) signal. The proposed model is designed by exploiting the deep learning framework of a convolutional neural network (CNN), exhibiting the inherent ability to extract features automatically. Moreover, the proposed framework utilizes the superlet transform method to transform a 1-D PPG signal into a 2-D super-resolution time-frequency (TF) spectrogram. A superlet transform separates the peaks related to true PPG signal components and motion artifacts components. Thus, the superlet provides a robust realtime approach to accurately estimating and classifying BP using a single PPG sensor signal and does not require additional ECG and PPG sensor signals for reference. Using a super-resolution spectrogram and CNN model makes the method profitable in motion artifact removal, feature selection, and extraction. Hence the proposed framework becomes less complex for deployment on wearable devices having limited battery resources. The performance of the proposed framework is demonstrated on the publicly available larger dataset MIMIC-III. This work obtained a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.71mmHg and 2.42mmHg for SBP and DBP, respectively. The classification accuracy for the SBP prediction is about 96.79%, whereas it is 98.94% for DBP. From a motion artifact-affected PPG signal, SBP and DBP are estimated. Then the estimated BP is classified into three categories: normotension, prehypertension, and hypertension, and is compared with the state of art methods to show the effectiveness of the proposed optimized framework.

False Planets around Giant Stars: A Case Study of Sanders 364 in M67

Discovering planets in sparsely populated regions of parameter space is crucial to improving our understanding of planetary formation and evolution. One such region is the subset of planets that orbit giant, evolved stars. However, some of these evolved stars are known to exhibit long-period quasiperiodic radial velocity signals, which can masquerade as signals from orbital motion due to planetary companions. In this paper, we investigate the case of Sanders 364, a K giant star in the old open cluster M67. A paper by Brucalassi et al. reports the discovery of a giant planet with a period of 121 days orbiting Sanders 364. From our analysis of a large set of independent radial velocities, we find no convincing evidence for the giant planet reported by Brucalassi et al. We did identify six long-period radial velocity signals of unclear origin, including the 121 days signal reported by Brucalassi et al., but based on our analysis, we speculate that these are quasiperiodic signals that arise from nonplanetary origins, such as stellar variability or aliasing. The results from our study of Sanders 364 suggest that the detection of true orbital motion from a long-period planetary companion requires extra care when the host star is highly evolved. We conclude by offering recommendations for future study of planetary companions around evolved host stars.

On the accuracy of the Conventional gait Model: Distinction between marker misplacement and soft tissue artefact errors

There is a lack of knowledge about the accuracy of the Conventional Gait Model (CGM), compared to the true bone motion. Accuracy is hindered by both marker misplacement and soft-tissue artefact (STA).The effect of the lateral knee marker (KNE) misplacement and STA was determined from a secondary analysis of 13 subjects equipped with a total knee prothesis for which simultaneous dual-plane fluoroscopy and marker-based motion capture was available.In average, STA alone led to 3.3°, 2.9° and 6.7° errors for knee flexion, knee abduction, and the absolute hip rotation respectively. In comparison, marker misplacement led to 0.9°, 4.0° and 12.3° errors for the same kinematics. We showed that STA alone may lead to knee flexion-adduction cross-talk. This finding has clinical repercussions for the use of knee cross talk as a qualitative indicator of knee axis alignment. Our study showed that cumulative effects of marker misplacement and STA affect the transverse plane angles, making challenging to track internal/external rotation with less than 5° of errors.

How Many Trials Are Needed to Estimate Typical Lumbar Movement Patterns During Dynamic X-Ray Imaging?

Dynamic biplane radiographic (DBR) imaging measures continuous vertebral motion during in vivo, functional tasks with submillimeter accuracy, offering the potential to develop novel biomechanical markers for lower back disorders based on true dynamic motion rather than metrics based on static end-range of motion. Nevertheless, the reliability of DBR metrics is unclear due to the inherent variability in movement over multiple repetitions and a need to minimize radiation exposure associated with each movement repetition. The objectives of this study were to determine the margin of uncertainty (MOU) in estimating the typical intervertebral kinematics waveforms based upon only a small number of movement repetitions, and to determine the day-to-day repeatability of intervertebral kinematics waveforms measured using DBR. Lumbar spine kinematics data were collected from two participant groups who performed multiple trials of flexion-extension or lateral bending to assess the uncertainty in the mean estimated waveform. The first group performed ten repetitions on the same day. Data from that group were used to estimate MOU as a function of the number of repetitions. The second group performed five repetitions on each of two separate days. MOU was not only movement-specific, but also motion segment-specific. Using just one or two trials yielded a relatively high MOU (e.g., >4 deg or 4 mm), however, collecting at least three repetitions reduced the MOU by 40% or more. Results demonstrate the reproducibility of DBR-derived measurements is greatly improved by collecting at least three repetitions, while simultaneously minimizing the amount of radiation exposure to participants.

Deep dual recurrence optical flow learning for time-resolved particle image velocimetry

Motion fields estimated from image data have been widely used in physics and engineering. Time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) is considered as an advanced flow visualization technique that measures multi-frame velocity fields from successive images. Contrary to conventional PIV, TR-PIV essentially estimates a velocity field video that provides both temporal and spatial information. However, performing TR-PIV with high computational efficiency and high computational accuracy is still a challenge for current algorithms. To solve these problems, we put forward a novel deep learning network named Deep-TRPIV in this study, to effectively estimate fluid motions from multi-frame particle images in an end-to-end manner. First, based on particle image data, we modify the optical flow model known as recurrent all-pairs field transforms that iteratively updates flow fields through a convolutional gated recurrent unit. Second, we specifically design a temporal recurrent network architecture based on this optical flow model by conveying features and flow information from previous frame. When N successive images are fed, the network can efficiently estimate N – 1 motion fields. Moreover, we generate a dataset containing multi-frame particle images and true fluid motions to train the network supervised. Eventually, we conduct extensive experiments on synthetic and experimental data to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. Experimental evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves high accuracy and computational efficiency, compared with classical approaches and related deep learning models.

Estimating the Potential Accuracy of Some Orbital Parameters from Angular Measurements: a 2D model

The problem of estimating some parameters of a cosmic body orbits from angular measurements is considered. Contrary to the existing opinion that angular measurements are unsuitable for obtaining accuracies that are of practical interest, it is shown that, if the orbit is such that the impact place is in the vicinity of the observer, then such parameters as the impact point and time can be determined with quite acceptable accuracy. A fairly simple means for evaluating the accuracy of the "motion-measurement" process by reducing it to an analysis in a plane is described. The analysis is based on several principles. A family of orbits unfavorable to the observer is singled out, and an analysis is performed on this family. These are orbits whose plane touches the observer's Earth parallel, with the touching point being the intersection point of the observer and cosmic body trajectories. The article substantiates a simple approximate plane model, in which the observer’s true motion is replaced without changing its velocity by motion in the orbit plane. Information about the impact point is contained in the observations when the height decreases, which makes it possible to consider the gravity acceleration of as a constant in the descending mode. The motion model is simplified compared with the Keplerian motion: a simple motion scheme is obtained in the polar coordinate system. As a result, it becomes unnecessary to solve the differential equation representing the change in acceleration. A measurement formula that takes into account the Earth curvature and the observer latitude is derived, and the parameters determining the analyzed scheme are added: the distance to the impact point, incidence angle and impact moment, and horizontal velocity. The model accuracy is analyzed using the Fisher matrix. As a result, an approximate problem on a plane with four parameters is obtained instead of a problem in 3D space with seven parameters. The difficulties with the accuracy of estimating the displacement and impact moment in the model remain, and they are analyzed. The accuracy is estimated using the concept of Fisher information and the multidimensional Rao-Kramer information inequality instead of analyzing the processing algorithm.

КООРДИНАЦІЯ АНТИ-КОЛІЗІЙНИХ ДІЙ СУДЕН

The mechanisms of coordination of anti-collision measures of ships are systematized and analyzed. The main of these mechanisms is COLREG, which regulates the actions of two vessels. It is shown that non-regulated coordination used in addition to COLREG is based on the standardized qualification of ship operators and includes knowledge of good seamanship recommendations. In the analysis of mechanisms of binary coordination, the classification of situations of ships' approach is clarified, and principles of a choice of actions general for ships of the same and different navigation statuses in free and constrained waters at normal visibility are highlighted. Ways of reception of numerical values of restrictions on parameters of passing targets in different sailing conditions are offered. It is noted that in order to solve the problem of automation of collision prevention processes, radar-AIS technologies should be supplemented with video camera technologies in the visible and infrared range combined with computer vision. The role of communication in vessel actions coordination has been analyzed. Proposals for its improvement given the achievements in the field of scientific and technological progress are elaborated. It is recommended to use AIS alerts of planned evasive trajectory to decrease uncertainty in the collision prevention process. To reduce the volume of these notifications, it is proposed to replace the segments of changes in motion parameters with time-equivalent segments of rectilinear uniform motion sections. It gets rid of transmitting data characterizing the manoeuvrability of a ship and planned modes of course or/and speed change, and practically does not worsen the assessment of the safety of the measures selected to avoid a collision. The received information allows the ship to present the trajectory of the giving way vessel on the screen in graphical form, both in true and relative motion. Using this capability allows the first ship to quickly assess the safety of the second vessel's planned operations. Keywords: collision avoidance, coordination mechanisms, anti-collision plans, mapping of evasive trajectories.

Towards a robust criterion of anomalous diffusion

Anomalous-diffusion, the departure of the spreading dynamics of diffusing particles from the traditional law of Brownian-motion, is a signature feature of a large number of complex soft-matter and biological systems. Anomalous-diffusion emerges due to a variety of physical mechanisms, e.g., trapping interactions or the viscoelasticity of the environment. However, sometimes systems dynamics are erroneously claimed to be anomalous, despite the fact that the true motion is Brownian—or vice versa. This ambiguity in establishing whether the dynamics as normal or anomalous can have far-reaching consequences, e.g., in predictions for reaction- or relaxation-laws. Demonstrating that a system exhibits normal- or anomalous-diffusion is highly desirable for a vast host of applications. Here, we present a criterion for anomalous-diffusion based on the method of power-spectral analysis of single trajectories. The robustness of this criterion is studied for trajectories of fractional-Brownian-motion, a ubiquitous stochastic process for the description of anomalous-diffusion, in the presence of two types of measurement errors. In particular, we find that our criterion is very robust for subdiffusion. Various tests on surrogate data in absence or presence of additional positional noise demonstrate the efficacy of this method in practical contexts. Finally, we provide a proof-of-concept based on diverse experiments exhibiting both normal and anomalous-diffusion.

Organ of Corti vibrations are dominated by longitudinal motion in vivo

Recent observations of sound-evoked vibrations of the cochlea’s sensory organ of Corti (ooC) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) have revealed unanticipated and complex motions. Interpreting these results in terms of the micromechanical inner-ear processes that precede hair-cell transduction is not trivial since OCT only measures a projection of the true motion, which may include transverse and longitudinal displacements. We measure ooC motions at multiple OCT beam angles relative to the longitudinal axis of the basilar membrane (BM) by using the cochlea’s natural curvature and find that the relative phase between outer hair cells (OHC) and BM varies with this angle. This includes a relatively abrupt phase reversal where OHC lead (lag) the BM by ~0.25 cycles for negative (positive) beam angles, respectively. We interpret these results as evidence for significant longitudinal motion within the ooC, which should be considered when interpreting (relative) ooC vibrations in terms of inner-ear sound processing.

Dosimetric robustness of lung tumor photon radiotherapy evaluated from multiple event CT imaging

Purpose:Intrafractional respiratory motion is a concern for lung tumor radiotherapy but full evaluation of its impact is hampered by the lack of images representing the true motion. This study presents a novel evaluation using free-breathing images acquired over realistic treatment times to study the dosimetric impact of respiratory motion in photon radiotherapy. Methods:Cine-CT images of 14 patients with lung cancer acquired during eight minutes of free-breathing at three occasions were used to simulate dose tracking of four different planning methods. These methods aimed to deliver 54 Gy in three fractions to D50% of the target and were denoted as robust 4D (RB4), homogeneous fluence to the ITV (FLU) and an isodose prescription to the ITV with a high central dose (ISD), concurrently renormalized (IRN). Differences in dose coverage probability and homogeneity between the methods were quantified. Correlations between underdosage and attributes regarding the tumor and its motion were investigated. Results:Despite tumor motion amplitudes being larger than in the 4DCT all but FLU achieved the intended CTV D50% for the cohort average. For all methods but IRN at least 93% of the patients would have received 95% of the intended dose. No differences in D50% were found between RB4 and ISD nor IRN. However, RB4 led to better homogeneity. Conclusions:Tumor motion in free-breathing not covered by the 4DCT had a small impact on dose. The RB4 is recommended for planning of free-breathing treatments. No factor was found that consistently correlated dose degradation with patient or motion attributes.