The primary objective of this research was to develop and implement a new approach to on-line adaptive radiation therapy (ART) in which daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery are temporally integrated and performed concurrently. The advantages of this approach are: reduction of treatment time compared to conventional on-line ART; ability to perform a complete plan re-optimization with minimal extension of treatment time; ability to detect and correct for intra-fractional patient motion. This work was motivated by an initial study which compared four radiosurgery techniques. This study was the first quantitative analysis of the correlation between patient anatomy and the quality of treatment plans produced by different radiosurgery techniques. A number of different relationships, both qualitative and quantitative, were discovered between patient anatomy and dosimetric parameters for different techniques. The results were used to successfully predetermine the optimal radiosurgery technique based on patient anatomy. The first step in developing a new approach to on-line ART involved accelerating plan adaptation (re-optimization) using direct aperture optimization (DAO). A series of techniques for adapting the original treatment plan to correct for the deterioration of dose distribution quality caused by the anatomical deformations were investigated. Through modification of the DAO algorithm the optimization search space was reduced and the plan adaptation was significantly accelerated. Next, a new approach to on-line ART was proposed and investigated, in which accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were integrated together and performed concurrently. A fundamental advantage of this approach is that most of the plan re-optimization was performed during radiation delivery, so the time spent adapting the original plan did not significantly increase the overall treatment time. Finally, daily imaging, accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were all temporally integrated using an integrated Linac/Cone Beam CT system. Intra-fractional patient images were used to successfully re-optimize the original treatment plan in near real-time to account for anatomy deformations. This thesis concludes that integration of daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery for near real-time ART is both feasible and advantageous. With further advances in related technologies, it promises to become a part of clinical practice in the near future.

The primary objective of this research was to develop and implement a new approach to on-line adaptive radiation therapy (ART) in which daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery are temporally integrated and performed concurrently. The advantages of this approach are: reduction of treatment time compared to conventional on-line ART; ability to perform a complete plan re-optimization with minimal extension of treatment time; ability to detect and correct for intra-fractional patient motion. This work was motivated by an initial study which compared four radiosurgery techniques. This study was the first quantitative analysis of the correlation between patient anatomy and the quality of treatment plans produced by different radiosurgery techniques. A number of different relationships, both qualitative and quantitative, were discovered between patient anatomy and dosimetric parameters for different techniques. The results were used to successfully predetermine the optimal radiosurgery technique based on patient anatomy. The first step in developing a new approach to on-line ART involved accelerating plan adaptation (re-optimization) using direct aperture optimization (DAO). A series of techniques for adapting the original treatment plan to correct for the deterioration of dose distribution quality caused by the anatomical deformations were investigated. Through modification of the DAO algorithm the optimization search space was reduced and the plan adaptation was significantly accelerated. Next, a new approach to on-line ART was proposed and investigated, in which accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were integrated together and performed concurrently. A fundamental advantage of this approach is that most of the plan re-optimization was performed during radiation delivery, so the time spent adapting the original plan did not significantly increase the overall treatment time. Finally, daily imaging, accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were all temporally integrated using an integrated Linac/Cone Beam CT system. Intra-fractional patient images were used to successfully re-optimize the original treatment plan in near real-time to account for anatomy deformations. This thesis concludes that integration of daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery for near real-time ART is both feasible and advantageous. With further advances in related technologies, it promises to become a part of clinical practice in the near future.

The primary objective of this research was to develop and implement a new approach to on-line adaptive radiation therapy (ART) in which daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery are temporally integrated and performed concurrently. The advantages of this approach are: reduction of treatment time compared to conventional on-line ART; ability to perform a complete plan re-optimization with minimal extension of treatment time; ability to detect and correct for intra-fractional patient motion. This work was motivated by an initial study which compared four radiosurgery techniques. This study was the first quantitative analysis of the correlation between patient anatomy and the quality of treatment plans produced by different radiosurgery techniques. A number of different relationships, both qualitative and quantitative, were discovered between patient anatomy and dosimetric parameters for different techniques. The results were used to successfully predetermine the optimal radiosurgery technique based on patient anatomy. The first step in developing a new approach to on-line ART involved accelerating plan adaptation (re-optimization) using direct aperture optimization (DAO). A series of techniques for adapting the original treatment plan to correct for the deterioration of dose distribution quality caused by the anatomical deformations were investigated. Through modification of the DAO algorithm the optimization search space was reduced and the plan adaptation was significantly accelerated. Next, a new approach to on-line ART was proposed and investigated, in which accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were integrated together and performed concurrently. A fundamental advantage of this approach is that most of the plan re-optimization was performed during radiation delivery, so the time spent adapting the original plan did not significantly increase the overall treatment time. Finally, daily imaging, accelerated plan adaptation and radiation delivery were all temporally integrated using an integrated Linac/Cone Beam CT system. Intra-fractional patient images were used to successfully re-optimize the original treatment plan in near real-time to account for anatomy deformations. This thesis concludes that integration of daily imaging, plan adaptation and radiation delivery for near real-time ART is both feasible and advantageous. With further advances in related technologies, it promises to become a part of clinical practice in the near future. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate