Program Information
IROC Houston QA Center's Anthropomorphic Proton Phantom Program
C Lujano*, N Hernandez , T Keith , T Nguyen , P Taylor , A Molineu , D Followill , UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Presentations
MO-FG-CAMPUS-T-11 (Monday, July 13, 2015) 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose:
To describe the proton phantoms that IROC Houston uses to approve and credential proton institutions to participate in NCI-sponsored clinical trials.
Methods:
Photon phantoms cannot necessarily be used for proton measurements because protons react differently than photons in some plastics. As such plastics that are tissue equivalent for protons were identified. Another required alteration is to ensure that the film dosimeters are housed in the phantom with no air gap to avoid proton streaming. Proton-equivalent plastics/materials used include RMI Solid Water, Techron HPV, blue water, RANDO soft tissue material, balsa wood, compressed cork and polyethylene. Institutions wishing to be approved or credentialed request a phantom and are prioritized for delivery. At the institution, the phantom is imaged, a treatment plan is developed, positioned on the treatment couch and the treatment is delivered. The phantom is returned and the measured dose distributions are compared to the institution’s electronically submitted treatment plan dosimetry data.
Results:
IROC Houston has developed an extensive proton phantom approval/credentialing program consisting of five different phantoms designs: head, prostate, lung, liver and spine. The phantoms are made with proton equivalent plastics that have HU and relative stopping powers similar (within 5%) of human tissues. They also have imageable targets, avoidance structures, and heterogeneities. TLD and radiochromic film are contained in the target structures. There have been 13 head, 33 prostate, 18 lung, 2 liver and 16 spine irradiations with either passive scatter, or scanned proton beams. The pass rates have been: 100%, 69.7%, 72.2%, 50%, and 81.3%, respectively.
Conclusion:
IROC Houston has responded to the recent surge in proton facilities by developing a family of anthropomorphic phantoms that are able to be used for remote audits of proton beams.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Work supported by PHS grant CA10953 and CA081647
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