Deriving the mean excitation energy map from dual-energy and proton computed tomography. (April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vilches-Freixas, Gloria; Quiñones, Catherine Therese; Létang, Jean Michel; Rit, Simon
• Is Part Of: Physics and imaging in radiation oncology. Volume 6(2018)
• Page Start: 20
• Page End: 24
• Publication Date: 2018-04
• Subjects: Proton CT -- Dual-energy CT -- Mean excitation energy; Radiotherapy -- Periodicals; Radiation dosimetry -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Imaging -- Periodicals; Oncology -- Periodicals; 615.842
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phro.2018.04.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2405-6316

Abstract

Abstract: The mean excitation energy, I, is an essential quantity for proton treatment planning. This work investigated the feasibility of extracting the spatial distribution of I by combining two computed tomography (CT) modalities, dual-energy CT and proton CT, which provided the spatial distribution of the relative electron density and the stopping power relative to water, respectively. We provided the analytical derivation of I as well as its uncertainty. Results were validated on simulated X-ray and proton CT images of a digital anthropomorphic phantom. Accuracy was below 15% with a large uncertainty, which demonstrated the potential and limits of the technique.