Journal of Physics Conference Series

We describe a method to directly measure the radial dose and anisotropy functions of brachytherapy sources using polyurethane based dosimeters read out with optical CT. We measured the radial dose and anisotropy functions for a Cs-137 source using a PRESAGE® dosimeter (9.5cm diameter, 9.2cm height) with a 0.35cm channel drilled for source placement. The dosimeter was immersed in water and irradiated to 5.3Gy at 1cm. Pre- and post-irradiation optical CT scans were acquired with the Duke Large field of view Optical CT Scanner (DLOS) and dose was reconstructed with 0.5mm isotropic voxel size. The measured radial dose factor matched the published fit to within 3% for radii between 0.5-3.0cm, and the anisotropy function matched to within 4% except for θ near 0° and 180° and radii >3cm. Further improvements in measurement accuracy may be achieved by optimizing dose, using the high dynamic range scanning capability of DLOS, and irradiating multiple dosimeters. Initial simulations indicate an 8 fold increase in dose is possible while still allowing sufficient light transmission during optical CT. A more comprehensive measurement may be achieved by increasing dosimeter size and flipping the source orientation between irradiations.

The limitations of conventional dosimeters restrict the comprehensiveness of verification that can be performed for advanced radiation treatments presenting an immediate and substantial problem for clinics attempting to implement these techniques. In essence, the rapid advances in the technology of radiation delivery have not been paralleled by corresponding advances in the ability to verify these treatments. Optical-CT gel-dosimetry is a relatively new technique with potential to address this imbalance by providing high resolution 3D dose maps in polymer and radiochromic gel dosimeters. We have constructed a 1(st) generation optical-CT scanner capable of high resolution 3D dosimetry and applied it to a number of simple and increasingly complex dose distributions including intensity-modulated-radiation-therapy (IMRT). Prior to application to IMRT, the robustness of optical-CT gel dosimetry was investigated on geometry and variable attenuation phantoms. Physical techniques and image processing methods were developed to minimize deleterious effects of refraction, reflection, and scattered laser light. Here we present results of investigations into achieving accurate high-resolution 3D dosimetry with optical-CT, and show clinical examples of 3D IMRT dosimetry verification. In conclusion, optical-CT gel dosimetry can provide high resolution 3D dose maps that greatly facilitate comprehensive verification of complex 3D radiation treatments. Good agreement was observed at high dose levels (>50%) between planned and measured dose distributions. Some systematic discrepancies were observed however (rms discrepancy 3% at high dose levels) indicating further work is required to eliminate confounding factors presently compromising the accuracy of optical-CT 3D gel-dosimetry.

In this paper we present a QA phantom and procedure designed for efficient evaluation of the basic imaging performance of any optical-CT scanning system. Example results are presented from two optical-CT systems, an in-house CCD based system and the OCTOPUSTM system from MGS Research.

PURPOSE: The feasibility of using the PRESAGE/Optical-CT system for 3D dosimetry verification around a brachytherapy source is investigated. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Brachytherapy dose distributions were obtained by irradiation of cylindrical PRESAGE volumes 6cm in diameter by 8cm height with a GammaMed 12i Ir-192 HDR unit (Varian Medical Systems). A narrow channel on the central axis was created by setting a steel catheter in the Presage during manufacture, enabling measurements close to the source (~3mm). RESULTS: Comparison of dose line profiles shows good agreement between PRESAGE and verified calculated dose calculation, in both high and low dose regions. CONCLUSION: The PRESAGE/Optical-CT shows good potential in verification of 3D dose distributions around brachytherapy sources.

An urgent requirement for 3D dosimetry has been recognized because of high failure rate (~25%) in RPC credentialing, which relies on point and 2D dose measurements. Comprehensive 3D dosimetry is likely to resolve more errors and improve IMRT quality assurance. This work presents an investigation of the feasibility of PRESAGE/optical-CT 3D dosimetry in the Radiologic Physics Center (RPC) IMRT H&N phantom. The RPC H&N phantom (with standard and PRESAGE dosimetry inserts alternately) was irradiated with the same IMRT plan. The TLD and EBT film measurement data from standard insert irradiation was provided by RPC. The 3D dose measurement data from PRESAGE insert irradiation was readout using the OCTOPUS™ 5X optical-CT scanner at Duke. TLD, EBT and PRESAGE dose measurements were inter-compared with Eclipse calculations to evaluate consistency of planning and delivery. Results showed that the TLD point dose measurements agreed with Eclipse calculations to within 5% dose-difference. Relative dose comparison between Eclipse dose, EBT dose and PRESAGE dose was conducted using profiles and gamma comparisons (4% dose-difference and 4 mm distance-to-agreement). Profiles showed good agreement between measurement and calculation except along steep dose gradient regions where Eclipse modelling might be inaccurate. Gamma comparisons showed that the measurement and calculation showed good agreement (>96%) if edge artefacts in measurements are ignored. In conclusion, the PRESAGE/optical-CT dosimetry system was found to be feasible as an independent dosimetry tool in the RPC IMRT H&N phantom.

We describe initial experiences with an in-house, fast, large field-of-view optical-CT telecentric scanner (the Duke Large field of view Optical-CT Scanner (DLOS)). The DLOS system is designed to enable telecentric optical-CT imaging of dosimeters up to 24 cm in diameter with a spatial resolution of 1 mm(3), in approximately 10 minutes. These capabilities render the DLOS system a unique device at present. The system is a scaled up version of early prototypes in our lab. This scaling introduces several challenges, including the accurate measurement of a greatly increased range of light attenuation within the dosimeter, and the need to reduce even minor reflections and scattered light within the imaging chain. We present several corrections and techniques that enable accurate, low noise, 3D dosimetery with the DLOS system.

Achieving adequate verification and quality-assurance (QA) for radiosurgery treatment of trigeminal-neuralgia (TGN) is particularly challenging because of the combination of very small fields, very high doses, and complex irradiation geometries (multiple gantry and couch combinations). TGN treatments have extreme requirements for dosimetry tools and QA techniques, to ensure adequate verification. In this work we evaluate the potential of Presage/Optical-CT dosimetry system as a tool for the verification of TGN distributions in high-resolution and in 3D. A TGN treatment was planned and delivered to a Presage 3D dosimeter positioned inside the Radiological-Physics-Center (RPC) head and neck IMRT credentialing phantom. A 6-arc treatment plan was created using the iPlan system, and a maximum dose of 80Gy was delivered with a Varian Trilogy machine. The delivered dose to Presage was determined by optical-CT scanning using the Duke Large field-of-view Optical-CT Scanner (DLOS) in 3D, with isotropic resolution of 0.7mm(3). DLOS scanning and reconstruction took about 20minutes. 3D dose comparisons were made with the planning system. Good agreement was observed between the planned and measured 3D dose distributions, and this work provides strong support for the viability of Presage/Optical-CT as a highly useful new approach for verification of this complex technique.

Achieving accurate optical CT 3D dosimetry without the use of viscous refractive index (RI) matching fluids would greatly increase convenience. Software has been developed to simulate optical CT 3D dosimetry for a range of scanning configurations including parallel-beam, point and converging light sources. For each configuration the efficacy of 3 refractive media were investigated: air, water, and a fluid closely matched to Presage (RI = 1.00, 1.33 and 1.49 respectively). The results revealed that the useable radius of the dosimeter (i.e. where data was within 2% of truth) reduced to 68% for water-matching, and 31% for dry-scanning in air. Point source incident ray geometry produced slightly more favourable results, although variation between the three geometries was relatively small. The required detector size however, increased by a factor six for dry-scanning, introducing cost penalties. For applications where dose information is not required in the periphery, some dry and low-viscous matching configurations may be feasible.

The need for an accurate, practical, low-cost 3D dosimetry system is becoming ever more critical as modern dose delivery techniques increase in complexity and sophistication. A recent report from the Radiological Physics Center (RPC) (1), revealed that 38% of institutions failed the head-and-neck IMRT phantom credentialing test at the first attempt. This was despite generous passing criteria (within 7% dose-difference or 4mm distance-to-agreement) evaluated at a half-dozen points and a single axial plane. The question that arises from this disturbing finding is - what percentage of institutions would have failed if a comprehensive 3D measurement had been feasible, rather than measurements restricted to the central film-plane and TLD points? This question can only be adequately answered by a comprehensive 3D-dosimetry system, which presents a compelling argument for its development as a clinically viable low cost dosimetry solution. Optical-CT dosimetry is perhaps the closest system to providing such a comprehensive solution. In this article, we review the origins and recent developments of optical-CT dosimetry systems. The principle focus is on first generation systems known to have highest accuracy but longer scan times.

The development of accurate and convenient dosimetry tools with the capacity to comprehensively verify advanced four-dimensional treatments is an important and urgent goal for radiation therapy physicists. At present, implementation into the clinic is being severely hampered and delayed by the difficulty in adequately verifying these techniques using traditional dosimetry methods. The work presented here represents an important step towards providing a solution.

High repetition rate (HRR) lasers are essential in multiphoton microscopy for satisfactory signal to noise at low average powers. However, HRR lasers generate thermal distortions in samples even with the slightest single photon absorption. Using an optical chopper with HRR lasers ("blanking") we demonstrate a femtosecond z-scan setup that effectively eliminates thermal as well as small linear absorption effects and precisely measures two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-sections of chromophores. Accurate measurement of TPA cross-sections in biologically relevant chromophores is especially important since the TPA spectrum is considerably different in regions with even minute linear absorption. Such blanking measurements with chopper also show enhanced fluorescence efficiency of the chromophores.

Optical-CT performed with a broad spectrum light source can lead to inaccurate reconstructed attenuation coefficients (and hence dose) due to 'spectral warping' as the beam passes through the dosimeter. Some wavelengths will be attenuated more strongly than others depending on the absorption spectrum of the radiochromic dosimeter. A simulation was run to characterize the error introduced by the spectrum warping phenomena. Simulations of a typical dosimeter and delivered dose (6cm diameter, 2 Gy irradiation) showed reconstructed attenuation coefficients can be in error by >12% when compared to those obtained from a monochromatic scan. A method to correct for these errors is presented and preliminary data suggests that with the correction, polychromatic imaging can yield imaging results equal in accuracy to those of monochromatic imaging. The advantage is that polychromatic imaging may be less sensitive to prominent schlerring artefacts that are often observed in telecentric optical-CT scanning systems with tight bandwidth filters applied.

There is significant interest in delivering precisely targeted small-volume radiation treatments, in the pre-clinical setting, to study dose-volume relationships with tumor control and normal tissue damage. In this work we investigate the IGRT targeting accuracy of the XRad225Cx system from Precision x-Ray using high resolution 3D dosimetry techniques. Initial results revealed a significant targeting error of about 2.4mm. This error was reduced to within 0.5mm after the IGRT hardware and software had been recalibrated. The facility for 3D dosimetry was essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of the targeting error in 3D.

Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) systems are used to image tissue bio-impedance. EIT provides a number of features making it attractive for use as a medical imaging device including the ability to image fast physiological processes (>60 Hz), to meet a range of clinical imaging needs through varying electrode geometries and configurations, to impart only non-ionizing radiation to a patient, and to map the significant electrical property contrasts present between numerous benign and pathological tissues. To leverage these potential advantages for medical imaging, we developed a modular 32 channel data acquisition (DAQ) system using National Instruments' PXI chassis, along with FPGA, ADC, Signal Generator and Timing and Synchronization modules. To achieve high frame rates, signal demodulation and spectral characteristics of higher order harmonics were computed using dedicated FFT-hardware built into the FPGA module. By offloading the computing onto FPGA, we were able to achieve a reduction in throughput required between the FPGA and PC by a factor of 32:1. A custom designed analog front end (AFE) was used to interface electrodes with our system. Our system is wideband, and capable of acquiring data for input signal frequencies ranging from 100 Hz to 12 MHz. The modular design of both the hardware and software will allow this system to be flexibly configured for the particular clinical application.

It is now easier to discover thousands of protein sequences in a new microbial genome than it is to biochemically characterize the specific activity of a single protein of unknown function. The molecular functions of protein sequences have typically been predicted using homology-based computational methods, which rely on the principle that homologous proteins share a similar function. However, some protein families include groups of proteins with different molecular functions. A phylogenetic approach for predicting molecular function (sometimes called "phylogenomics") is an effective means to predict protein molecular function. These methods incorporate functional evidence from all members of a family that have functional characterizations using the evolutionary history of the protein family to make robust predictions for the uncharacterized proteins. However, they are often difficult to apply on a genome-wide scale because of the time-consuming step of reconstructing the phylogenies of each protein to be annotated. Our automated approach for function annotation using phylogeny, the SIFTER (Statistical Inference of Function Through Evolutionary Relationships) methodology, uses a statistical graphical model to compute the probabilities of molecular functions for unannotated proteins. Our benchmark tests showed that SIFTER provides accurate functional predictions on various protein families, outperforming other available methods.

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) provides a non-invasive approach for quantifying the severity of neuromuscular disease. Here we determine how well EIM data correlates to functional and ultrasound (US) measures of disease in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and healthy subjects. Thirteen healthy boys, aged 2-12 years and 14 boys with DMD aged 4-12 years underwent both EIM and US measurements of deltoid, biceps, wrist flexors, quadriceps, tibialis anterior, and medial gastrocnemius. EIM measurements were performed with a custom-designed probe using a commercial multifrequency bioimpedance device. US luminosity data were quantified using a gray-scale analysis approach. Children also underwent the 6-minute walk test, timed tests and strength measurements. EIM and US data were combined across muscles. EIM 50 kHz phase was able to discriminate DMD children from healthy subjects with 98% accuracy. In the DMD patients, average EIM phase measurements also correlated well with standard functional measures. For example the 50 kHz phase correlated with the Northstar Ambulatory Assessment test (R = 0.83, p = 0.02). EIM 50 kHz phase and US correlated as well, with R = -0.79 (p < 0.001). These results show that EIM provides valuable objective measures Duchenne muscular dystrophy severity.

Six base of skull IMRT treatment plans were delivered to Presage dosimeters within the RPC Head and Neck Phantom for quality assurance (QA) verification. Isotropic 2mm 3D data were acquired by optical-CT scanning with the DLOS system (Duke Large Optical-CT Scanner) and compared to the Eclipse (Varian) treatment plan. Normalized Dose Distribution (NDD) pass rates were obtained for a number of criteria. High quality 3D dosimetry data was observed from the DLOS system, illustrated here through colormaps, isodose lines, and profiles. Excellent agreement with the planned dose distributions was also observed with NDD analysis revealing > 90% pass rates (with criteria 3%, 2mm), and noise < 0.5%. The results comprehensively confirm the high accuracy of base-of-skull IMRT treatment in our clinic.

There is a pressing need for clinically intuitive quality assurance methods that report metrics of relevance to the likely impact on tumor control of normal tissue injury. This paper presents a preliminary investigation into the accuracy of a novel "transform method" which enables a clinically relevant analysis through dose-volume-histograms (DVHs) and dose overlays on the patient's CT data. The transform method was tested by inducing a series of known mechanical and delivery errors onto simulated 3D dosimetry measurements of six different head-and-neck IMRT treatment plans. Accuracy was then examined through the comparison of the transformed patient dose distributions and the known actual patient dose distributions through dose-volume histograms and normalized dose difference analysis. Through these metrics, the transform method was found to be highly accurate in predicting measured patient dose distributions for these types of errors.

PRESAGE™ dosimeter dosimeter has been proved useful for 3D dosimetry in conventional photon therapy and IMRT [1-5]. Our objective is to examine the use of PRESAGE™ dosimeter for verification of depth dose distribution in proton beam therapy. Three PRESAGE™ samples were irradiated with a 79 MeV un-modulated proton beam. Percent depth dose profile measured from the PRESAGE™ dosimeter is compared with data obtained in a water phantom using a parallel plate Advanced Markus chamber. The Bragg-peak position determined from the PRESAGE™ is within 2 mm compared to measurements in water. PRESAGE™ shows a highly linear response to proton dose. However, PRESAGE™ also reveals an underdosage around the Bragg peak position due to LET effects. Depth scaling factor and quenching correction factor need further investigation. Our initial result shows that PRESAGE™ has promising dosimetric characteristics that could be suitable for proton beam dosimetry.

A full-field hard-x-ray microscope at SSRL has successfully imaged samples of biological and environmental origin at 40 nm resolution. Phase contrast imaging of trabeculae from a female mouse tibia, loaded in vivo to study the effects of weight-bearing on bone structure, revealed a complex network of osteocytes and canaliculi. Imaging of cordgrass roots exposed to mercury revealed nanoparticles with strong absorption contrast. 3D tomography of yeast cells grown in selenium rich media showed internal structure.

The United Kingdom's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) has developed a radiation-mapping device that can locate and quantify radioactive hazards within contaminated areas of the nuclear industry. The device, known as RadBall(™), consists of a colander-like outer collimator that houses a radiation-sensitive polymer sphere. The collimator has over two hundred small holes; thus, specific areas of the polymer sphere are exposed to radiation becoming increasingly more opaque in proportion to the absorbed dose. The polymer sphere is imaged in an optical-CT scanner that produces a high resolution 3D map of optical attenuation coefficients. Subsequent analysis of the optical attenuation data provides information on the spatial distribution of sources in a given area forming a 3D characterization of the area of interest. The RadBall(™) technology has been deployed in a number of technology trials in nuclear waste reprocessing plants at Sellafield in the United Kingdom and facilities of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). This paper summarizes the tests completed at SRNL Health Physics Instrument Calibration Laboratory (HPICL).

The concept of three dimensional (3D) dosimetry by optical-computed-tomography (optical-CT) of radiation induced optical contrast was first introduced in 1996 (Gore J C, Ranade M, Maryanski M J and Schulz R J 1996 Phys. Med. Biol. 41 2695-2704 and Maryanski M J, Zastavker Y Z and Gore J C 1996 Phys. Med. Biol. 41 2705-2717) and developed later by other groups. These works describe a first generation optical-CT system based on measurement of the transmission of single scanning laser beam that scanned the dosimeter in a rastering manner. Second generation systems can be categorized as macroscopic scanners developed for 3D dosimetry, and microscopic scanners developed for embryo imaging. Here we introduce a new system that bridges this divide. It is designed to be a dual purpose, micro-optical-CT system, with capability to perform both 3D micro-dosimetry on dosimeters up to 5 cm diameter, and to image structure and function of optically cleared tissue samples in transmission mode (optical-CT) and emission mode (optical-ECT).

During the last 10 years, radiation therapy technologies have gone through major changes, mainly related introduction of sophisticated delivery and imaging techniques to improve the target localization accuracy and dose conformity. While implementation of these emerging technologies such as image-guided SRS/SBRT, IMRT/IMAT, IGRT, 4D motion management, and special delivery technologies showed substantial clinical gains for patient care, many other factors, such as training/quality, efficiency/efficacy, and cost/effectiveness etc. remain to be challenging. This talk will address technical challenges for dosimetry verification of implementing these emerging technologies in radiation therapy.

The United Kingdom's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) has developed a remote, non-electrical, radiation-mapping device known as RadBall(™), which can locate and quantify radioactive hazards within contaminated areas of the nuclear industry. RadBall(™) consists of a colander-like outer shell that houses a radiation-sensitive polymer sphere. The outer shell works to collimate radiation sources and those areas of the polymer sphere that are exposed react, becoming increasingly more opaque, in proportion to the absorbed dose. The polymer sphere is imaged in an optical-CT scanner, which produces a high resolution 3D map of optical attenuation coefficients. Subsequent analysis of the optical attenuation matrix provides information on the spatial distribution of sources in a given area forming a 3D characterization of the area of interest. RadBall(™) has no power requirements and can be positioned in tight or hard-to reach locations. The RadBall(™) technology has been deployed in a number of technology trials in nuclear waste reprocessing plants at Sellafield in the United Kingdom and facilities of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). This study focuses on the RadBall(™) testing and modeling accomplished at SRNL.

A midsized broad beam Optical-CT scanner is being developed for collaborative research between Duke and the Radiological Physics Center (RPC). The Duke Midsized Optical-CT Scanner (DMOS-RPC) is designed to be compatible with several of the RPC phantoms, including the head and neck, stereotactic SRS, and lung phantoms. Preliminary data investigating the basic performance of the scanner is described. Two 10 cm PRESAGE cylinders were irradiated with simple test plans. Projections of ~80 μm resolution of each dosimeter were collected at 1 degree intervals over a full 360 degrees both before and after irradiation. 3 dimensional reconstructions of attenuation coefficients throughout the dosimeter were computed with 1 mm(3) resolution. Scans were normalized to the calculated dose distribution and a 3D comparison was made with a commissioned treatment planning system. Initial results indicate DMOS-RPC can produce accurate relative dose distributions with high spatial resolution (up to 1 mm(3) in 3D) in less than 30 minutes (acquisition and reconstruction). A maximum dose of ~3.6Gy was delivered in these tests, and observed noise was ~2% for 1 mm(3) reconstructions. Good agreement is observed with the planning system in these simple distributions, indicating promising potential for this scanner.

Soft X-rays (< 1Kev) are of medical interest both for imaging and microdosimetry applications. X-ray sources at this low energy present a technological challenge. Synchrotrons, while very powerful and flexible, are enormously expensive national research facilities. Conventional X-ray sources based on electron bombardment can be compact and inexpensive, but low x-ray production efficiencies at low electron energies restrict this approach to very low power applications. Laser-based sources tend to be expensive and unreliable. Energetiq Technology, Inc. (Woburn, MA, USA) markets a 92 eV, 10W(2pi sr) electrode-less Z-pinch source developed for advanced semiconductor lithography. A modified version of this commercial product has produced 400 mW at 430 eV (2pi sr), appropriate for water window soft X-ray microscopy. The US NIH has funded Energetiq to design and construct a demonstration microscope using this source, coupled to a condenser optic, as the illumination system. The design of the condenser optic matches the unique characteristics of the source to the illumination requirements of the microscope, which is otherwise a conventional design. A separate program is underway to develop a microbeam system, in conjunction with the RARAF facility at Columbia University, NY, USA. The objective is to develop a focused, sub-micron beam capable of delivering > 1 Gy/second to the nucleus of a living cell. While most facilities of this type are coupled to a large and expensive particle accelerator, the Z-pinch X-ray source enables a compact, stand-alone design suitable to a small laboratory. The major technical issues in this system involve development of suitable focusing X-ray optics. Current status of these programs will be reported.

The potential of the PRESAGE™/Optical-CT system as a comprehensive 3D dosimetry tool has been demonstrated. The current study focused on detailed characterization of robustness (intra-dosimeter uniformity and temporal stability) and reproducibility (inter-dosimeter reproducibility) of PRESAGE™ inserts compatible with the RPC H&N phantom. In addition, the accuracy and precision of PRESAGE dose measurement was also evaluated. Four identical PRESAGE™ dosimeters (10cm diameter and 7cm height cylinders) were irradiated with the same rotationally symmetric treatment plan using a Varian accelerator. The treatment plan was designed to rigorously evaluate robustness and reproducibility for multiple dose levels and in 3D. All dosimeters were scanned by optical-CT at daily intervals to study temporal stability. Dose comparisons were made between PRESAGE, ECLIPSE, and independent measurement with EBT film at a select depth. The use of improved optics and acquisition technique yielded substantially higher quality 3D dosimetry data from PRESAGE than has been achieved previously (noise reduced to ~1%, accuracy to within 3%). Data analysis showed excellent intra-dosimeter uniformity, temporal stability and inter-dosimeter reproducibility of relative radiochromic response. In general, the PRESAGE™ dose-distribution was found to agree better with EBT (~99% pass rate) than with ECLIPSE calculations (~92% pass rate) especially in penumbral regions for a 3% dose-difference and 3 mm distance-to-agreement evaluation criteria. The results demonstrate excellent robustness and reproducibility of the PRESAGE™ for relative 3D-dosimetry and represent a significant step towards incorporation in the RadOnc-clinic (e.g. integration with RPC phantom).

Monte Carlo (MC) is rarely used for IMRT plan optimization outside of research centres due to the extensive computational resources or long computation times required to complete the process. Time can be reduced by degrading the statistical precision of the MC dose calculation used within the optimization loop. However, this eventually introduces optimization convergence errors (OCEs). This study determines the statistical noise levels tolerated during MC-IMRT optimization under the condition that the optimized plan has OCEs <100 cGy (1.5% of the prescription dose) for MC-optimized IMRT treatment plans. Seven-field prostate IMRT treatment plans for 10 prostate patients are used in this study. Pre-optimization is performed for deliverable beams with a pencil-beam (PB) dose algorithm. Further deliverable-based optimization proceeds using: (1) MC-based optimization, where dose is recomputed with MC after each intensity update or (2) a once-corrected (OC) MC-hybrid optimization, where a MC dose computation defines beam-by-beam dose correction matrices that are used during a PB-based optimization. Optimizations are performed with nominal per beam MC statistical precisions of 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 20%. Following optimizer convergence, beams are re-computed with MC using 2% per beam nominal statistical precision and the 2 PTV and 10 OAR dose indices used in the optimization objective function are tallied. For both the MC-optimization and OC-optimization methods, statistical equivalence tests found that OCEs are less than 1.5% of the prescription dose for plans optimized with nominal statistical uncertainties of up to 10% per beam. The achieved statistical uncertainty in the patient for the 10% per beam simulations from the combination of the 7 beams is ~3% with respect to maximum dose for voxels with D>0.5Dmax. The MC dose computation time for the OC-optimization is only 6.2 minutes on a single 3 Ghz processor with results clinically equivalent to high precision MC computations.

The application of optical-CT scanning to achieve accurate high-resolution 3D dosimetry is a subject of current interest. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of past research and achievements in optical-CT polymer gel dosimetry, and to review current issues and challenges. The origins of optical-CT imaging of light-scattering polymer gels are reviewed. Techniques to characterize and optimize optical-CT performance are presented. Particular attention is given to studies of artifacts in optical-CT imaging, an important area that has not been well studied to date. The technique of optical-CT simulation by Monte-Carlo modeling is introduced as a tool to explore such artifacts. New simulation studies are presented and compared with experimental data.

A software tool has been developed that can simulate image formation in a variety of optical-CT scanning configurations. The formalism of the simulation is introduced, including two main modes: a diverging point source mode, and a converging broad beam mode. Preliminary results are presented for scanning Presage dosimeters in both modes and immersed in refractive media of widely varying refractive index (RI), including air, water, and a fully matched medium. Pronounced differences in the edge artifacts and accuracy of reconstructed coefficients is observed. The ScanSim software is shown to be a useful tool to investigate and quantify many aspects of optical-CT image formation, including reducing dependence on matching fluids.

INTRODUCTION: To develop and characterize the accuracy and reproducibility of a quad-phantom dosimeter which will serve as an independent verification tool during commissioning of a PRESAGE/optical-CT 3D dosimetry system. METHODS: A 16cm × 12cm cylindrical quad-phantom was constructed from four pieces of solid polyurethane mimicking the PRESAGE material. Films were placed and anchored in orthogonal planes and the quad-phantom was fastened tightly together and placed in a water-filled Styrofoam container for irradiation. A simple, two-field plan consisting of 6×6cm anterior-posterior and right-lateral 6MV photon beams (400cGy) was delivered three times (fresh films inserted for each) with a Varian Clinac 600C. Image registration was performed in the Computational Environment for Radiological Research (CERR) and dose profiles and gamma analysis was performed in CERR and MATLAB. RESULTS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; DISCUSSION: Excellent reproducibility was observed during the irradiations, with ~2.3% standard deviation between all pixels. Using a 3%, 3mm gamma criteria, excellent dosimetric accuracy was observed, with 98.8% and 96.3% passing rates in the sagittal and axial planes, respectively. CONCLUSION: The preliminary results indicate that the quad-phantom can serve as a reproducible and accurate system for high resolution dosimetry in orthogonal planes and should serve as an effective verification tool for PRESAGE/optical-CT in more challenging clinical scenarios.

This work represents our first experiences relating to IMRT verification using a relatively new 3D dosimetry system consisting of a PRESAGETM dosimeter (Heuris Inc, Pharma LLC) and an optical-CT scanning system (OCTOPUSTM TM MGS Inc). This work builds in a step-wise manner on prior work in our lab.

PRESAGE(®) is a solid radiochromic dosimeter consisting of a polyurethane matrix, a triarylmethane leuco dye, and a trihalomethane initiator. Varying the composition and/or relative amounts of these constituents can affect the dose sensitivity, post-irradiation stability, and physical properties of the dosimeter. This allows customisation of PRESAGE(®) to meet application-specific requirements, such as low sensitivity for high dose applications, stability for remote dosimetry, optical clearing for reusability, and tissue-like elasticity for deformable dosimetry. This study evaluates five hard, non-deformable PRESAGE(®) formulations and six deformable PRESAGE(®) formulations and characterizes them for dose sensitivity and stability. Results demonstrated sensitivities in the range of 0.0029 - 0.0467 ΔOD/(Gy·cm) for hard formulations and 0.0003 - 0.0056 ΔOD/(Gy·cm) for deformable formulations. Exceptional stability was seen in both standard and low sensitivity non-deformable formulations, with promising applications for remote dosimetry. Deformable formulations exhibited potential for reusability with strong post-irradiation optical clearing. Tensile compression testing of the deformable formulations showed elastic response consistent with soft tissues, with further testing required for direct comparison. These results demonstrate that PRESAGE(®) dosimeters have the flexibility to be adapted for a wide spectrum of clinical applications.

Deformable 3D dosimeters have potential applications in validating deformable dose mapping algorithms. This study evaluates a novel deformable PRESAGE(®) dosimeter and its application toward validating the deformable algorithm employed by VelocityAI. The deformable PRESAGE(®) dosimeter exhibited a linear dose response with a sensitivity of 0.0032 ΔOD/(Gy/cm). Comparison of an experimental dosimeter irradiated with an MLC pencilbeam checkerboard pattern under lateral compression up to 27% to a non-deformed control dosimeter irradiated with the same pattern verified dose tracking under deformation. CTs of the experimental dosimeter prior to and during compression were exported into VelocityAI and used to map an Eclipse dose distribution calculated on the compressed dosimeter to its original shape. A comparison between the VelocityAI dose distribution and the distribution from the dosimeter showed field displacements up to 7.3 mm and up to a 175% difference in field dimensions. These results highlight the need for validating deformable dose mapping algorithms to ensure patient safety and quality of care.

A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of a new 3D dosimetry material, RadGel™, for verification of radiation therapy dose distributions is presented. Small volumes of RadGel™ were found to exhibit a linear, reproducible response to dose. A gradual increase in optical-density (OD) with time was observed, suggesting scanning should be completed within 18 hours to keep a linear correlation of R(2) > 0.99. A larger 10 cm diameter volume of RadGel™ was irradiated with a rotationally symmetric "spoke" plan designed to rigorously evaluate scanner/dosimeter combined performance. The dosimeter was imaged with the Duke Mid-sized Optical-CT Scanner (DMOS). Promising OD and corresponding dose maps were obtained. Edge artefacts were observed and are suspected to be exacerbated by the particular container used in this early study. Further studies will evaluate new containers and methods for refractive matching at the gel-container-fluid interface.

This paper describes challenging requirements on the configuration service for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. It presents the status of the implementation and testing one year before the start of data taking, providing details of: ? the capabilities of underlying OKS object manager to store and to archive configuration descriptions, its user and programming interfaces; ? the organization of configuration descriptions for different types of data taking runs and combinations or participating sub-detectors; ? the scalable architecture to support simultaneous access to the service by thousands of processes during the online configuration stage of ATLAS; ? the experience with the usage of the configuration service during large scale tests, test beam, commissioning and technical runs. The paper also presents pro and contra of the chosen object-oriented implementation comparing with solutions based on pure relational database technologies, and explains why after several years of usage we continue with our approach.

We present experiments with cold atoms in optical dipole potentials which are directed towards developing an integrated coherent atom optics with micro-optical systems. We describe an experiment on evaporative cooling in a far-detuned optical dipole trap for 87Rb. The dipole trap is created by a solid state laser at a wavelength of 1030 nm. To achieve high initial phase space densities allowing for efficient evaporative cooling, we have optimised the loading process from a magneto-optical trap into the dipole trap. Starting with an initial phase space density of 2 × 10−4 the trap depth was ramped down and temperatures below 200 nK and phase space densities of about 0.2 could be reached. These investigations aim at the creation of an 'all-optical' BEC based on a simple experimental scheme. As an example for an integrated atom optical system, we present the transport of atoms in a ring-shaped guiding structure, i.e. optical storage ring, for cold atoms which is produced by a micro-fabricated ring lens.

In this paper, a wire-target technique was used for lateral beam profile measurements for single-element focused transducer in the very high frequency range (35-60 MHz). Two wire-targets made from 9 cm long tungsten wires with diameters of 8 μm and 20 μm were used as the pulse-echo target to measure the lateral beam profiles at the focal plane of two single-element focused transducers, a spherically focused 40 MHz Panametrics transducer and a lens-focused in-house lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) 60 MHz transducer. For comparison, measurements on the same transducers were performed by three small-aperture hydrophones with geometrical diameters varying from 37 μm to 150 μm. Results obtained with the wire-target technique are comparable to those obtained with small aperture hydrophones in characterizing the lateral radiation patterns of a single-element focused transducer in the high frequency range (35-60 MHz). However, wire-targets may overestimate pulse length. Compared to small-aperture hydrophones, the wire-target technique is simpler and more cost-effective. Its major advantage however is in the frequency range above 100 MHz in which commercial hydrophones are not yet available.

Laser emission of a compact surface-emitting microlaser, optically pumped and operating around 1.55 mum at room temperature is presented. The two-dimensional photonic crystal is conformed in a hybrid triangular-graphite lattice designed for vertical emission. The structures have been fabricated on InP slabs. The heterostructure consists of four In_0.65As_0.35P/InP quantum wells grown on an InP substrate by molecular beam epitaxy and it is transferred onto a silicon-on-silica substrate by wafer bonding (SiO₂ thickness = 0.9 plusmn 0.1 mm). Standard techniques of electron-beam lithography, reactive ion beam etching and reactive ion-etching have been used for the patterning. The optical characterization was performed by micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. Single-mode, strongly polarized laser emission has been achieved with quality factors Q exceeding 6000.

This paper discusses the applicability of the wavelet transform for analyzing EMG signal and discriminating motion classes. In previous many works, researchers have dealt with steady EMG and have proposed analyzing methods being suitable for the EMG, for example FFT and STFT. Therefore, it is difficult for the previous approaches to discriminate motions from the EMG in the different phases of muscle activity, i.e., pre-activity, in activity, post-activity phases, as well as the period of motion transition from one to another. In this paper, we introduce the wavelet transform using the Coiflet mother wavelet into our real-time EMG prosthetic hand controller for discriminating motions from steady and unsteady EMG. A preliminary experiment to discriminate three hand motions from four channels EMG in the initial pre-activity and in activity phase is carried out to show the effectiveness of the approach. However, future research effort is necessary to discriminate more motions much precisely.

Silicon MEMS as electrostatically levitated rotational gyroscope, 2D optical scanner and wafer level packaged devices as integrated capacitive pressure sensor and MEMS switch are described. MEMS which use non-silicon materials as diamond, PZT, conductive polymer, CNT (carbon nano tube), LTCC with electrical feedthrough, SiC (silicon carbide) and LiNbO3 for multi-probe data storage, multi-column electron beam lithography system, probe card for wafer-level burn-in test, mould for glass press moulding and SAW wireless passive sensor respectively are also described.

A new method is given for the model-space effective interaction. Introducing a new operator in place of the Q-box in the Krenciglowa-Kuo (KK) method, we derive a new equation for the effective interaction. This equation can be viewed as an extension of the KK method. We show that this equation can be solved both in iterative and non-iterative ways. We observe that the iteration procedure brings about fast acceleration of convergence compared to the KK approach. We also find that the non-iterative calculation reproduces successfully any set of the true eigenvalues of the original Hamiltonian. This non-iterative calculation can be made regardless of the magnitudes of the overlaps with the model space and the energy differences between the unperturbed energy and the eigenvalues to be solved.

The supermassive black hole candidate at the Galactic Center is surrounded by a parsec-scale star cluster, which contains a number of early type stars. The presence of such stars has been called a "paradox of youth" as star formation in the immediate vicinity of a supermassive black hole seemed difficult, as well as the transport of stars from far out in a massive-star lifetime. I will recall 30 years of technological developments which led to the current understanding of the nuclear cluster stellar population. The number of early type stars known at present is sufficient to access the 3D structure of this population and its dynamics, which in turn allows discriminating between the various possible origins proposed along the years. Comment: 8 pages, invited review for the conference "The Universe under the Microscope" (AHAR 2008), to be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by Institute of Physics Publishing

We propose a model where a supernova explodes in some vicinity of our solar system (some tens of parsecs) in the recent past (some tens of thousands years) with the energy release in cosmic rays of order of $ 10 ^ {51} $ erg. The flux from this supernova is added to an isotropic flux from other sources. We consider the case where the Sun's location is not in some typical for Our Galaxy average environment, but in the Local Superbubble about 100 pc across, in which the diffusion coefficient $D (E) = D_0 \times E ^ {0.6} $, with the value of $ D_0 \sim 10 ^ {25} cm^ 2 s^ {-1} $. We describe the energy dependence of the anisotropy of cosmic rays in the TeV region, together with the observed features of the energy spectrum of protons found in direct measurements. Our model provides a natural explanation to the hardening of the proton spectrum at 200 GeV, together with the observed steepening of the spectrum above 50 TeV.

We have investigated random submonolayer films of 3d transition metals on W(001). The tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital method combined with the coherent potential approximation was employed to calculate the electronic structure of the films. We have estimated local magnetic moments and the stability of different magnetic structures, namely the ferromagnetic order, the disordered local moments and the non-magnetic state, by comparing the total energies of the corresponding systems. It has been found that the magnetic moments of V and Cr decrease and eventually disappear with decreasing coverage. On the other hand, Fe retains approximately the same magnetic moment throughout the whole concentration range from a single impurity to the monolayer coverage. Mn is an intermediate case between Cr and Fe since it is non-magnetic at very low coverages and ferromagnetic otherwise.

I discuss the possibility that the quark-gluon plasma at strong coupling admits a description in terms of a black hole in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. Comment: 19 pages, prepared for the Proceedings of Recent Developments in Gravity - NEB XIII, Thessaloniki, Greece, June 2008

SDSSJ212531.92-010745.9 is the first known PG1159 star in a close binary with a late main sequence companion allowing a dynamical mass determination. The system shows flux variations with a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 0.7 mag and a period of about 6.96h. In August 2007, 13 spectra of SDSSJ212531.92-010745.9 covering the full orbital phase range were taken at the TWIN 3.5m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory (Alm\'{e}ria, Spain). These confirm the typical PG1159 features seen in the SDSS discovery spectrum, together with the Balmer series of hydrogen in emission (plus other emission lines), interpreted as signature of the companion's irradiated side. A radial velocity curve was obtained for both components. Using co-added radial-velocity-corrected spectra, the spectral analysis of the PG1159 star is being refined. The system's lightcurve, obtained during three seasons of photometry with the G\"ottingen 50cm and T\"ubingen 80cm telescopes, was fitted with both the NIGHTFALL and PHOEBE binary simulation programs. An accurate mass determination of the PG1159 component from the radial velocity measurements requires to first derive the inclination, which requires light curve modelling and yields further constraints on radii, effective temperature and separation of the system's components. From the analysis of all data available so far, we present the possible mass range for the PG1159 component of SDSSJ212531.92-010745.9. Comment: 8 pages, in "White dwarfs", proceedings of the 16th European White Dwarf Workshop, eds. E. Garcia-Berro, M. Hernanz, J. Isern, S. Torres, to be published in J. Phys.: Conf. Ser

AMS-02 is a space borne magnetic spectrometer designed to measure with accuracies up to one part in 109 the composition of Cosmic Rays near Earth. With a large acceptance ( sr), an intense magnetic field from a superconducting magnet (0.7 T) and an accurate particle identifications AMS-02 will provide the highest accuracy in Cosmic Rays measurements up to the TeV region. During a three years long mission on the ISS AMS-02 will achieve a sensitivity to the existence of anti-He in the Cosmic Rays of one part in a billion as well as important informations on the origin of Dark Matter. We review the status of the construction of the AMS-02 experiment in preparation for the three years mission on the ISS.

In these introductory lectures we summarize some basic facts and techniques about perturbative string theory (sections 1 to 6). These are further developed (sections 7 and 8) for describing string propagation in the presence of gravitational or gauge fields. We also remind some solutions of the string equations of motion, which correspond to remarkable (NS or D) brane configurations. A part II by Emilian Dudas will be devoted to orientifold constructions and applications to string model building.

We review recent work on holographic aspects of electric-magnetic dualities in theories that involve conformally coupled scalars and abelian gauge fields in asymptotically AdS4 spaces. Such models are relevant for the holographic description of M-theory. We also briefly comment on some new results on the holographic properties of generalized electric-magnetic duality in gravity.