Master Thesis IDSC-LG-MS-10

Prediction filter for real time tumor tracking using the treatment table

This is a joint project between the Medical Physics Department in the Clinic for Radiation Oncology at the University Hospital Zurich and IDSC. Description: The aim of our research group is to improve high dose radiotherapy of moving tumors. Special attention is given to thoracic wall, breast, lung and liver treatments. One approach is to use treatment table tracking to compensate for the tumor motion. The main focus of this thesis is to improve the control system of the treatment table by adding prediction filters for periodic breathing motions. Tumor tracking leads to smaller margins, allowing an increase in the dose per fraction as well as in the total dose. This could lead to improved tumor control and lower side effects. A basic one dimensional table tracking system in the Medical Physics department is build. This system consists of an optical surface detection system and a hexapod based robotic treatment table. The two components communicate via a named pipe. Response time of the current system is around 300 ms. The delay in motion is to be compensated by the use of a prediction filter.

Figure 1. Topometrical system. Right side: two beamers project strip Figure 2. Setup of the tracking system. The PI HexaPod patterns on the patient. Left side: Evaluation of the differences M840 robot simulates the patient breathing (Phantom). TOPOS System detects the motion and the treatment table between expected and actual position. (Protura) compensates for the motion. The gating camera and the kV imaging system are used for verification of the system.

Prerequisites: Control Systems I+II, System Modeling, Recursive Estimation, C and C# know-how. Contact: For further information please contact: Stefanie Lang, stephanie.lang@usz.ch or Marianne Schmid, ML K 36.3, +41 44 632 24 47, marischm@ethz.ch.