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Roumeliotis M, Thind K, Morrison H, Burke B, Martell K, van Dyke L, Barbera L, Quirk S. The impact of advancing the standard of care in radiotherapy on operational treatment resources. J Appl Clin Med Phys 2024; 25:e14363. [PMID: 38634814 PMCID: PMC11244663 DOI: 10.1002/acm2.14363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To demonstrate the impact of implementing hypofractionated prescription regimens and advanced treatment techniques on institutional operational hours and radiotherapy personnel resources in a multi-institutional setting. The study may be used to describe the impact of advancing the standard of care with modern radiotherapy techniques on patient and staff resources. METHODS This study uses radiation therapy data extracted from the radiotherapy information system from two tertiary care, university-affiliated cancer centers from 2012 to 2021. Across all patients in the analysis, the average fraction number for curative and palliative patients was reported each year in the decade. Also, the institutional operational treatment hours are reported for both centers. A sub-analysis for curative intent breast and lung radiotherapy patients was performed to contextualize the impact of changes to imaging, motion management, and treatment technique. RESULTS From 2012 to 2021, Center 1 had 42 214 patient plans and Center 2 had 43 252 patient plans included in the analysis. Averaged over both centers across the decade, the average fraction number per patient decreased from 6.9 to 5.2 (25%) and 21.8 to 17.2 (21%) for palliative and curative patients, respectively. The operational treatment hours for both institutions increased from 8 h 15 min to 9 h 45 min (18%), despite a patient population increase of 45%. CONCLUSION The clinical implementation of hypofractionated treatment regimens has successfully reduced the radiotherapy workload and operational treatment hours required to treat patients. This analysis describes the impact of changes to the standard of care on institutional resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Roumeliotis
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kundan Thind
- Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Hali Morrison
- Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ben Burke
- University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Kevin Martell
- Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Lisa Barbera
- Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sarah Quirk
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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2
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Baehr A, Grohmann M, Guberina M, Schulze K, Lange T, Nestle U, Ernst P. Usability and usefulness of (electronic) patient identification systems-A cross-sectional evaluation in German-speaking radiation oncology departments. Strahlenther Onkol 2024; 200:468-474. [PMID: 37713170 PMCID: PMC11111529 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-023-02148-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Patient misidentification in radiation oncology (RO) is a significant concern due to the potential harm to patient health and the burden on healthcare systems. Electronic patient identification systems (ePIS) are increasingly being used as an alternative or supplement to organizational systems (oPIS). The objective of this study was to assess the usability and usefulness of ePIS and oPIS in German-speaking countries. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was designed by a group of experts from various professional backgrounds in RO. The survey consisted of 38 questions encompassing quantitative and qualitative data on usability, user experience, and usefulness of PIS. It was available between August and October 2022. RESULTS Of 118 eligible participants, 37% had implemented some kind of ePIS. Overall, 22% of participants who use an oPIS vs. 10% of participants who use an ePIS reported adverse events in terms of patients' misidentification in the past 5 years. Frequent or very frequent drop-outs of electronic systems were reported by 31% of ePIS users. Users of ePIS significantly more often affirmed a positive cost-benefit ratio of ePIS as well as an improvement of workflow, whereas users of oPIS more frequently apprehended a decrease in staffs' attention through ePIS. The response rate was 8%. CONCLUSION The implementation of ePIS can contribute to efficient PI and improved processes. Apprehensions by oPIS users and assessments of ePIS users differ significantly in aspects of the perceived usefulness of ePIS. However, technical problems need to be addressed to ensure the reliability of ePIS. Further research is needed to assess the impact of different PIS on patient safety in RO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Baehr
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Grohmann
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maja Guberina
- Department of Radiotherapy, University Hospital Essen, West German Cancer Center, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Katrin Schulze
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fulda Community Hospital, Fulda, Germany
| | - Tim Lange
- Clinic for Radiotherapy, Hannover, Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ursula Nestle
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Kliniken Maria Hilf GmbH, Moenchengladbach, Germany
| | - Philipp Ernst
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Kliniken Maria Hilf GmbH, Moenchengladbach, Germany
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Gupta AC, Cazoulat G, Al Taie M, Yedururi S, Rigaud B, Castelo A, Wood J, Yu C, O'Connor C, Salem U, Silva JAM, Jones AK, McCulloch M, Odisio BC, Koay EJ, Brock KK. Fully automated deep learning based auto-contouring of liver segments and spleen on contrast-enhanced CT images. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4678. [PMID: 38409252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53997-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Manual delineation of liver segments on computed tomography (CT) images for primary/secondary liver cancer (LC) patients is time-intensive and prone to inter/intra-observer variability. Therefore, we developed a deep-learning-based model to auto-contour liver segments and spleen on contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) images. We trained two models using 3d patch-based attention U-Net ([Formula: see text] and 3d full resolution of nnU-Net ([Formula: see text] to determine the best architecture ([Formula: see text]. BA was used with vessels ([Formula: see text] and spleen ([Formula: see text] to assess the impact on segment contouring. Models were trained, validated, and tested on 160 ([Formula: see text]), 40 ([Formula: see text]), 33 ([Formula: see text]), 25 (CCH) and 20 (CPVE) CECT of LC patients. [Formula: see text] outperformed [Formula: see text] across all segments with median differences in Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) ranging 0.03-0.05 (p < 0.05). [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] were not statistically different (p > 0.05), however, both were slightly better than [Formula: see text] by DSC up to 0.02. The final model, [Formula: see text], showed a mean DSC of 0.89, 0.82, 0.88, 0.87, 0.96, and 0.95 for segments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-8, and spleen, respectively on entire test sets. Qualitatively, more than 85% of cases showed a Likert score [Formula: see text] 3 on test sets. Our final model provides clinically acceptable contours of liver segments and spleen which are usable in treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aashish C Gupta
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Guillaume Cazoulat
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mais Al Taie
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sireesha Yedururi
- Abdominal Imaging Department, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Bastien Rigaud
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Austin Castelo
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - John Wood
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Cenji Yu
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Caleb O'Connor
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Usama Salem
- Abdominal Imaging Department, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Aaron Kyle Jones
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Molly McCulloch
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Bruno C Odisio
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Eugene J Koay
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kristy K Brock
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
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Gheshlaghi T, Nabavi S, Shirzadikia S, Moghaddam ME, Rostampour N. A cascade transformer-based model for 3D dose distribution prediction in head and neck cancer radiotherapy. Phys Med Biol 2024; 69:045010. [PMID: 38241717 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad209a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Objective. Radiation therapy is one of the primary methods used to treat cancer in the clinic. Its goal is to deliver a precise dose to the planning target volume while protecting the surrounding organs at risk (OARs). However, the traditional workflow used by dosimetrists to plan the treatment is time-consuming and subjective, requiring iterative adjustments based on their experience. Deep learning methods can be used to predict dose distribution maps to address these limitations.Approach. The study proposes a cascade model for OARs segmentation and dose distribution prediction. An encoder-decoder network has been developed for the segmentation task, in which the encoder consists of transformer blocks, and the decoder uses multi-scale convolutional blocks. Another cascade encoder-decoder network has been proposed for dose distribution prediction using a pyramid architecture. The proposed model has been evaluated using an in-house head and neck cancer dataset of 96 patients and OpenKBP, a public head and neck cancer dataset of 340 patients.Main results. The segmentation subnet achieved 0.79 and 2.71 for Dice and HD95 scores, respectively. This subnet outperformed the existing baselines. The dose distribution prediction subnet outperformed the winner of the OpenKBP2020 competition with 2.77 and 1.79 for dose and dose-volume histogram scores, respectively. Besides, the end-to-end model, including both subnets simultaneously, outperformed the related studies.Significance. The predicted dose maps showed good coincidence with ground-truth, with a superiority after linking with the auxiliary segmentation task. The proposed model outperformed state-of-the-art methods, especially in regions with low prescribed doses. The codes are available athttps://github.com/GhTara/Dose_Prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Gheshlaghi
- Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahabedin Nabavi
- Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Samireh Shirzadikia
- Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | | | - Nima Rostampour
- Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
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Gay SS, Cardenas CE, Nguyen C, Netherton TJ, Yu C, Zhao Y, Skett S, Patel T, Adjogatse D, Guerrero Urbano T, Naidoo K, Beadle BM, Yang J, Aggarwal A, Court LE. Fully-automated, CT-only GTV contouring for palliative head and neck radiotherapy. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21797. [PMID: 38066074 PMCID: PMC10709623 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48944-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Planning for palliative radiotherapy is performed without the advantage of MR or PET imaging in many clinics. Here, we investigated CT-only GTV delineation for palliative treatment of head and neck cancer. Two multi-institutional datasets of palliative-intent treatment plans were retrospectively acquired: a set of 102 non-contrast-enhanced CTs and a set of 96 contrast-enhanced CTs. The nnU-Net auto-segmentation network was chosen for its strength in medical image segmentation, and five approaches separately trained: (1) heuristic-cropped, non-contrast images with a single GTV channel, (2) cropping around a manually-placed point in the tumor center for non-contrast images with a single GTV channel, (3) contrast-enhanced images with a single GTV channel, (4) contrast-enhanced images with separate primary and nodal GTV channels, and (5) contrast-enhanced images along with synthetic MR images with separate primary and nodal GTV channels. Median Dice similarity coefficient ranged from 0.6 to 0.7, surface Dice from 0.30 to 0.56, and 95th Hausdorff distance from 14.7 to 19.7 mm across the five approaches. Only surface Dice exhibited statistically-significant difference across these five approaches using a two-tailed Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test (p ≤ 0.05). Our CT-only results met or exceeded published values for head and neck GTV autocontouring using multi-modality images. However, significant edits would be necessary before clinical use in palliative radiotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Skylar S Gay
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Carlos E Cardenas
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Callistus Nguyen
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Tucker J Netherton
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Cenji Yu
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yao Zhao
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jinzhong Yang
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | | | - Laurence E Court
- Unit 1472, Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
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Liu P, Sun Y, Zhao X, Yan Y. Deep learning algorithm performance in contouring head and neck organs at risk: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis. Biomed Eng Online 2023; 22:104. [PMID: 37915046 PMCID: PMC10621161 DOI: 10.1186/s12938-023-01159-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The contouring of organs at risk (OARs) in head and neck cancer radiation treatment planning is a crucial, yet repetitive and time-consuming process. Recent studies have applied deep learning (DL) algorithms to automatically contour head and neck OARs. This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize and analyze the performance of DL algorithms in contouring head and neck OARs. The objective is to assess the advantages and limitations of DL algorithms in contour planning of head and neck OARs. METHODS This study conducted a literature search of Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases, to include studies related to DL contouring head and neck OARs, and the dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of four categories of OARs from the results of each study are selected as effect sizes for meta-analysis. Furthermore, this study conducted a subgroup analysis of OARs characterized by image modality and image type. RESULTS 149 articles were retrieved, and 22 studies were included in the meta-analysis after excluding duplicate literature, primary screening, and re-screening. The combined effect sizes of DSC for brainstem, spinal cord, mandible, left eye, right eye, left optic nerve, right optic nerve, optic chiasm, left parotid, right parotid, left submandibular, and right submandibular are 0.87, 0.83, 0.92, 0.90, 0.90, 0.71, 0.74, 0.62, 0.85, 0.85, 0.82, and 0.82, respectively. For subgroup analysis, the combined effect sizes for segmentation of the brainstem, mandible, left optic nerve, and left parotid gland using CT and MRI images are 0.86/0.92, 0.92/0.90, 0.71/0.73, and 0.84/0.87, respectively. Pooled effect sizes using 2D and 3D images of the brainstem, mandible, left optic nerve, and left parotid gland for contouring are 0.88/0.87, 0.92/0.92, 0.75/0.71 and 0.87/0.85. CONCLUSIONS The use of automated contouring technology based on DL algorithms is an essential tool for contouring head and neck OARs, achieving high accuracy, reducing the workload of clinical radiation oncologists, and providing individualized, standardized, and refined treatment plans for implementing "precision radiotherapy". Improving DL performance requires the construction of high-quality data sets and enhancing algorithm optimization and innovation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peiru Liu
- General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shenyang, China
- Beifang Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Ying Sun
- General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shenyang, China
| | - Xinzhuo Zhao
- Shenyang University of Technology, School of Electrical Engineering,, Shenyang, China
| | - Ying Yan
- General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shenyang, China.
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Gao L, Yusufaly TI, Williamson CW, Mell LK. Optimized Atlas-Based Auto-Segmentation of Bony Structures from Whole-Body Computed Tomography. Pract Radiat Oncol 2023; 13:e442-e450. [PMID: 37030539 DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2023.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop and test a method for fully automated segmentation of bony structures from whole-body computed tomography (CT) and evaluate its performance compared with manual segmentation. METHODS AND MATERIALS We developed a workflow for automatic whole-body bone segmentation using atlas-based segmentation (ABS) method with a postprocessing module (ABSPP) in MIM MAESTRO software. Fifty-two CT scans comprised the training set to build the atlas library, and 29 CT scans comprised the test set. To validate the workflow, we compared Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), mean distance to agreement, and relative volume errors between ABSPP and ABS with no postprocessing (ABSNPP) with manual segmentation as the reference (gold standard). RESULTS The ABSPP method resulted in significantly improved segmentation accuracy (DSC range, 0.85-0.98) compared with the ABSNPP method (DSC range, 0.55-0.87; P < .001). Mean distance to agreement results also indicated high agreement between ABSPP and manual reference delineations (range, 0.11-1.56 mm), which was significantly improved compared with ABSNPP (range, 1.00-2.34 mm) for the majority of tested bony structures. Relative volume errors were also significantly lower for ABSPP compared with ABSNPP for most bony structures. CONCLUSIONS We developed a fully automated MIM workflow for bony structure segmentation from whole-body CT, which exhibited high accuracy compared with manual delineation. The integrated postprocessing module significantly improved workflow performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Gao
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Tahir I Yusufaly
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiologic Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Casey W Williamson
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Loren K Mell
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
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8
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Lucido JJ, DeWees TA, Leavitt TR, Anand A, Beltran CJ, Brooke MD, Buroker JR, Foote RL, Foss OR, Gleason AM, Hodge TL, Hughes CO, Hunzeker AE, Laack NN, Lenz TK, Livne M, Morigami M, Moseley DJ, Undahl LM, Patel Y, Tryggestad EJ, Walker MZ, Zverovitch A, Patel SH. Validation of clinical acceptability of deep-learning-based automated segmentation of organs-at-risk for head-and-neck radiotherapy treatment planning. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1137803. [PMID: 37091160 PMCID: PMC10115982 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1137803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Organ-at-risk segmentation for head and neck cancer radiation therapy is a complex and time-consuming process (requiring up to 42 individual structure, and may delay start of treatment or even limit access to function-preserving care. Feasibility of using a deep learning (DL) based autosegmentation model to reduce contouring time without compromising contour accuracy is assessed through a blinded randomized trial of radiation oncologists (ROs) using retrospective, de-identified patient data. Methods Two head and neck expert ROs used dedicated time to create gold standard (GS) contours on computed tomography (CT) images. 445 CTs were used to train a custom 3D U-Net DL model covering 42 organs-at-risk, with an additional 20 CTs were held out for the randomized trial. For each held-out patient dataset, one of the eight participant ROs was randomly allocated to review and revise the contours produced by the DL model, while another reviewed contours produced by a medical dosimetry assistant (MDA), both blinded to their origin. Time required for MDAs and ROs to contour was recorded, and the unrevised DL contours, as well as the RO-revised contours by the MDAs and DL model were compared to the GS for that patient. Results Mean time for initial MDA contouring was 2.3 hours (range 1.6-3.8 hours) and RO-revision took 1.1 hours (range, 0.4-4.4 hours), compared to 0.7 hours (range 0.1-2.0 hours) for the RO-revisions to DL contours. Total time reduced by 76% (95%-Confidence Interval: 65%-88%) and RO-revision time reduced by 35% (95%-CI,-39%-91%). All geometric and dosimetric metrics computed, agreement with GS was equivalent or significantly greater (p<0.05) for RO-revised DL contours compared to the RO-revised MDA contours, including volumetric Dice similarity coefficient (VDSC), surface DSC, added path length, and the 95%-Hausdorff distance. 32 OARs (76%) had mean VDSC greater than 0.8 for the RO-revised DL contours, compared to 20 (48%) for RO-revised MDA contours, and 34 (81%) for the unrevised DL OARs. Conclusion DL autosegmentation demonstrated significant time-savings for organ-at-risk contouring while improving agreement with the institutional GS, indicating comparable accuracy of DL model. Integration into the clinical practice with a prospective evaluation is currently underway.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. John Lucido
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Todd A. DeWees
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Todd R. Leavitt
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Aman Anand
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Chris J. Beltran
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
| | | | - Justine R. Buroker
- Research Services, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Robert L. Foote
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Olivia R. Foss
- Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Angela M. Gleason
- Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Teresa L. Hodge
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | | | - Ashley E. Hunzeker
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Nadia N. Laack
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Tamra K. Lenz
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | | | | | - Douglas J. Moseley
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Lisa M. Undahl
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Yojan Patel
- Google Health, Mountain View, CA, United States
| | - Erik J. Tryggestad
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | | | | | - Samir H. Patel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
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9
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Baehr A, Hummel D, Gauer T, Oertel M, Kittel C, Löser A, Todorovic M, Petersen C, Krüll A, Buchgeister M. Risk management patterns in radiation oncology-results of a national survey within the framework of the Patient Safety in German Radiation Oncology (PaSaGeRO) project. Strahlenther Onkol 2023; 199:350-359. [PMID: 35931889 PMCID: PMC10033570 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-022-01984-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Risk management (RM) is a key component of patient safety in radiation oncology (RO). We investigated current approaches on RM in German RO within the framework of the Patient Safety in German Radiation Oncology (PaSaGeRO) project. Aim was not only to evaluate a status quo of RM purposes but furthermore to discover challenges for sustainable RM that should be addressed in future research and recommendations. METHODS An online survey was conducted from June to August 2021, consisting of 18 items on prospective and reactive RM, protagonists of RM, and self-assessment concerning RM. The survey was designed using LimeSurvey and invitations were sent by e‑mail. Answers were requested once per institution. RESULTS In all, 48 completed questionnaires from university hospitals, general and non-academic hospitals, and private practices were received and considered for evaluation. Prospective and reactive RM was commonly conducted within interprofessional teams; 88% of all institutions performed prospective risk analyses. Most institutions (71%) reported incidents or near-events using multiple reporting systems. Results were presented to the team in 71% for prospective analyses and 85% for analyses of incidents. Risk conferences take place in 46% of institutions. 42% nominated a manager/committee for RM. Knowledge concerning RM was mostly rated "satisfying" (44%). However, 65% of all institutions require more information about RM by professional societies. CONCLUSION Our results revealed heterogeneous patterns of RM in RO departments, although most departments adhered to common recommendations. Identified mismatches between recommendations and implementation of RM provide baseline data for future research and support definition of teaching content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Baehr
- Outpatient Center of the UKE GmbH, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20251, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Daniel Hummel
- Department of Radiotherapy and Genetics, Outpatient Center Stuttgart, University Hospital Tübingen, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Tobias Gauer
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Oertel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Christopher Kittel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Anastassia Löser
- Outpatient Center of the UKE GmbH, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Manuel Todorovic
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Cordula Petersen
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Krüll
- Outpatient Center of the UKE GmbH, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Markus Buchgeister
- Faculty of Mathematics-Physics-Chemistry (II), Berliner Hochschule für Technik, Berlin, Germany
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Wang S, Mahon R, Weiss E, Jan N, Taylor RJ, McDonagh PR, Quinn B, Yuan L. Automated Lung Cancer Segmentation Using a PET and CT Dual-Modality Deep Learning Neural Network. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2023; 115:529-539. [PMID: 35934160 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.07.2312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop an automated lung tumor segmentation method for radiation therapy planning based on deep learning and dual-modality positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) images. METHODS AND MATERIALS A 3-dimensional (3D) convolutional neural network using inputs from diagnostic PETs and simulation CTs was constructed with 2 parallel convolution paths for independent feature extraction at multiple resolution levels and a single deconvolution path. At each resolution level, the extracted features from the convolution arms were concatenated and fed through the skip connections into the deconvolution path that produced the tumor segmentation. Our network was trained/validated/tested by a 3:1:1 split on 290 pairs of PET and CT images from patients with lung cancer treated at our clinic, with manual physician contours as the ground truth. A stratified training strategy based on the magnitude of the gross tumor volume (GTV) was investigated to improve performance, especially for small tumors. Multiple radiation oncologists assessed the clinical acceptability of the network-produced segmentations. RESULTS The mean Dice similarity coefficient, Hausdorff distance, and bidirectional local distance comparing manual versus automated contours were 0.79 ± 0.10, 5.8 ± 3.2 mm, and 2.8 ± 1.5 mm for the unstratified 3D dual-modality model. Stratification delivered the best results when the model for the large GTVs (>25 mL) was trained with all-size GTVs and the model for the small GTVs (<25 mL) was trained with small GTVs only. The best combined Dice similarity coefficient, Hausdorff distance, and bidirectional local distance from the 2 stratified models on their corresponding test data sets were 0.83 ± 0.07, 5.9 ± 2.5 mm, and 2.8 ± 1.4 mm, respectively. In the multiobserver review, 91.25% manual versus 88.75% automatic contours were accepted or accepted with modifications. CONCLUSIONS By using an expansive clinical PET and CT image database and a dual-modality architecture, the proposed 3D network with a novel GTVbased stratification strategy generated clinically useful lung cancer contours that were highly acceptable on physician review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqiu Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Rebecca Mahon
- Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Elisabeth Weiss
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Nuzhat Jan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Ross James Taylor
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Philip Reed McDonagh
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Bridget Quinn
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Lulin Yuan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
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Xie H, Chen Z, Deng J, Zhang J, Duan H, Li Q. Automatic segmentation of the gross target volume in radiotherapy for lung cancer using transresSEUnet 2.5D Network. J Transl Med 2022; 20:524. [PMID: 36371220 PMCID: PMC9652981 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03732-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective This paper intends to propose a method of using TransResSEUnet2.5D network for accurate automatic segmentation of the Gross Target Volume (GTV) in Radiotherapy for lung cancer. Methods A total of 11,370 computed tomograms (CT), deriving from 137 cases, of lung cancer patients under radiotherapy developed by radiotherapists were used as the training set; 1642 CT images in 20 cases were used as the validation set, and 1685 CT images in 20 cases were used as the test set. The proposed network was tuned and trained to obtain the best segmentation model and its performance was measured by the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) and with 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95). Lastly, as to demonstrate the accuracy of the automatic segmentation of the network proposed in this study, all possible mirrors of the input images were put into Unet2D, Unet2.5D, Unet3D, ResSEUnet3D, ResSEUnet2.5D, and TransResUnet2.5D, and their respective segmentation performances were compared and assessed. Results The segmentation results of the test set showed that TransResSEUnet2.5D performed the best in the DSC (84.08 ± 0.04) %, HD95 (8.11 ± 3.43) mm and time (6.50 ± 1.31) s metrics compared to the other three networks. Conclusions The TransResSEUnet 2.5D proposed in this study can automatically segment the GTV of radiotherapy for lung cancer patients with more accuracy.
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Wang J, Chen Y, Xie H, Luo L, Tang Q. Evaluation of auto-segmentation for EBRT planning structures using deep learning-based workflow on cervical cancer. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13650. [PMID: 35953516 PMCID: PMC9372087 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18084-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Deep learning (DL) based approach aims to construct a full workflow solution for cervical cancer with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy (BT). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of EBRT planning structures derived from DL based auto-segmentation compared with standard manual delineation. Auto-segmentation model based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) was developed to delineate clinical target volumes (CTVs) and organs at risk (OARs) in cervical cancer radiotherapy. A total of 300 retrospective patients from multiple cancer centers were used to train and validate the model, and 75 independent cases were selected as testing data. The accuracy of auto-segmented contours were evaluated using geometric and dosimetric metrics including dice similarity coefficient (DSC), 95% hausdorff distance (95%HD), jaccard coefficient (JC) and dose-volume index (DVI). The correlation between geometric metrics and dosimetric difference was performed by Spearman’s correlation analysis. The right and left kidney, bladder, right and left femoral head showed superior geometric accuracy (DSC: 0.88–0.93; 95%HD: 1.03 mm–2.96 mm; JC: 0.78–0.88), and the Bland–Altman test obtained dose agreement for these contours (P > 0.05) between manual and DL based methods. Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test indicated significant dosimetric differences in CTV, spinal cord and pelvic bone (P < 0.001). A strong correlation between the mean dose of pelvic bone and its 95%HD (R = 0.843, P < 0.001) was found in Spearman’s correlation analysis, and the remaining structures showed weak link between dosimetric difference and all of geometric metrics. Our auto-segmentation achieved a satisfied agreement for most EBRT planning structures, although the clinical acceptance of CTV was a concern. DL based auto-segmentation was an essential component in cervical cancer workflow which would generate the accurate contouring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahao Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yuanyuan Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hongling Xie
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lumeng Luo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qiu Tang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China.
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13
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Zhang H, Onochie I, Hilal L, Wijetunga NA, Hipp E, Guttmann DM, Cahlon O, Washington C, Gomez DR, Gillespie EF. Prospective clinical evaluation of integrating a radiation anatomist for contouring in routine radiation treatment planning. Adv Radiat Oncol 2022; 7:101009. [PMID: 36092987 PMCID: PMC9449753 DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2022.101009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose A radiation anatomist was trained and integrated into clinical practice at a multi-site academic center. The primary objective of this quality improvement study was to determine whether a radiation anatomist improves the quality of organ-at-risk (OAR) contours, and secondarily to determine the impact on efficiency in the treatment planning process. Methods and Materials From March to August 2020, all patients undergoing computed tomography–based radiation planning at 2 clinics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center were assigned using an “every other” process to either (1) OAR contouring by a radiation anatomist (intervention) or (2) contouring by the treating physician (standard of care). Blinded dosimetrists reported OAR contour quality using a 3-point scoring system based on a common clinical trial protocol deviation scale (1, acceptable; 2, minor deviation; and 3, major deviation). Physicians reported time spent contouring for all cases. Analyses included the Fisher exact test and multivariable ordinal logistic regression. Results There were 249 cases with data available for the primary endpoint (66% response rate). The mean OAR quality rating was 1.1 ± 0.4 for the intervention group and 1.4 ± 0.7 for the standard of care group (P < .001), with subset analysis showing a significant difference for gastrointestinal cases (n = 49; P <.001). Time from simulation to contour approval was reduced from 3 days (interquartile range [IQR], 1-6 days) in the control group to 2 days (IQR, 1-5 days) in the intervention group (P = .007). Both physicians and dosimetrists self-reported decreased time spent contouring in the intervention group compared with the control group, with a decreases of 8 minutes (17%; P < .001) and 5 minutes (50%; P = .002), respectively. Qualitative comments most often indicated edits required to bowel contours (n = 14). Conclusions These findings support improvements in both OAR contour quality and workflow efficiency with implementation of a radiation anatomist in routine practice. Findings could also inform development of autosegmentation by identifying disease sites and specific OARs contributing to low clinical efficiency. Future research is needed to determine the potential effect of reduced physician time spent contouring OARs on burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Erin F. Gillespie
- Department of Radiation Oncology
- Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Corresponding author: Erin F. Gillespie, MD
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Measuring and improving radiotherapy delivery efficiency. JOURNAL OF RADIOTHERAPY IN PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s146039692200005x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction:
The researcher’s centre was in a unique position of merging with another established radiotherapy centre to create a Satellite Site. It was noted that the Satellite Site delivered more fractions per linac within the same working day profile as the Main Site. Subtle differences in the workflows allowed for an appraisal of the processes within a fraction of radiotherapy and how this can be refined to improve efficiency.
Methods:
Retrospective fraction timings were collected using the Oncology Information System for 98 breast and prostate treatments at both sites. A literature review was also conducted to further explore factors that impact fraction timings in other departments internationally.
Results:
Breast and prostate treatments took 2·1 and 2·93 minutes, respectively, longer to deliver at the Main Site. Set-up to the isocentre and verification image assessment took significantly longer in all cases at the Main Site. Literature surrounding efficiency is scarce but suggests methods used for online management of verification imaging significantly impacts appointment times.
Conclusion:
Implementation of a paperless workflow and process improvements for image assessment such as introducing a traffic light protocol may reduce the time to deliver a fraction of radiotherapy and maximise service efficiency.
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15
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Dai X, Lei Y, Wang T, Zhou J, Rudra S, McDonald M, Curran WJ, Liu T, Yang X. Multi-organ auto-delineation in head-and-neck MRI for radiation therapy using regional convolutional neural network. Phys Med Biol 2022; 67:10.1088/1361-6560/ac3b34. [PMID: 34794138 PMCID: PMC8811683 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac3b34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows accurate and reliable organ delineation for many disease sites in radiation therapy because MRI is able to offer superb soft-tissue contrast. Manual organ-at-risk delineation is labor-intensive and time-consuming. This study aims to develop a deep-learning-based automated multi-organ segmentation method to release the labor and accelerate the treatment planning process for head-and-neck (HN) cancer radiotherapy. A novel regional convolutional neural network (R-CNN) architecture, namely, mask scoring R-CNN, has been developed in this study. In the proposed model, a deep attention feature pyramid network is used as a backbone to extract the coarse features given by MRI, followed by feature refinement using R-CNN. The final segmentation is obtained through mask and mask scoring networks taking those refined feature maps as input. With the mask scoring mechanism incorporated into conventional mask supervision, the classification error can be highly minimized in conventional mask R-CNN architecture. A cohort of 60 HN cancer patients receiving external beam radiation therapy was used for experimental validation. Five-fold cross-validation was performed for the assessment of our proposed method. The Dice similarity coefficients of brain stem, left/right cochlea, left/right eye, larynx, left/right lens, mandible, optic chiasm, left/right optic nerve, oral cavity, left/right parotid, pharynx, and spinal cord were 0.89 ± 0.06, 0.68 ± 0.14/0.68 ± 0.18, 0.89 ± 0.07/0.89 ± 0.05, 0.90 ± 0.07, 0.67 ± 0.18/0.67 ± 0.10, 0.82 ± 0.10, 0.61 ± 0.14, 0.67 ± 0.11/0.68 ± 0.11, 0.92 ± 0.07, 0.85 ± 0.06/0.86 ± 0.05, 0.80 ± 0.13, and 0.77 ± 0.15, respectively. After the model training, all OARs can be segmented within 1 min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianjin Dai
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Yang Lei
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Tonghe Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Jun Zhou
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Soumon Rudra
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Mark McDonald
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Walter J Curran
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Tian Liu
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Xiaofeng Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
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16
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Wahid KA, Ahmed S, He R, van Dijk LV, Teuwen J, McDonald BA, Salama V, Mohamed AS, Salzillo T, Dede C, Taku N, Lai SY, Fuller CD, Naser MA. Evaluation of deep learning-based multiparametric MRI oropharyngeal primary tumor auto-segmentation and investigation of input channel effects: Results from a prospective imaging registry. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 2022; 32:6-14. [PMID: 34765748 PMCID: PMC8570930 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctro.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) primary gross tumor volume (GTVp) segmentation is crucial for radiotherapy. Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is increasingly used for OPC adaptive radiotherapy but relies on manual segmentation. Therefore, we constructed mpMRI deep learning (DL) OPC GTVp auto-segmentation models and determined the impact of input channels on segmentation performance. MATERIALS/METHODS GTVp ground truth segmentations were manually generated for 30 OPC patients from a clinical trial. We evaluated five mpMRI input channels (T2, T1, ADC, Ktrans, Ve). 3D Residual U-net models were developed and assessed using leave-one-out cross-validation. A baseline T2 model was compared to mpMRI models (T2 + T1, T2 + ADC, T2 + Ktrans, T2 + Ve, all five channels [ALL]) primarily using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). False-negative DSC (FND), false-positive DSC, sensitivity, positive predictive value, surface DSC, Hausdorff distance (HD), 95% HD, and mean surface distance were also assessed. For the best model, ground truth and DL-generated segmentations were compared through a blinded Turing test using three physician observers. RESULTS Models yielded mean DSCs from 0.71 ± 0.12 (ALL) to 0.73 ± 0.12 (T2 + T1). Compared to the T2 model, performance was significantly improved for FND, sensitivity, surface DSC, HD, and 95% HD for the T2 + T1 model (p < 0.05) and for FND for the T2 + Ve and ALL models (p < 0.05). No model demonstrated significant correlations between tumor size and DSC (p > 0.05). Most models demonstrated significant correlations between tumor size and HD or Surface DSC (p < 0.05), except those that included ADC or Ve as input channels (p > 0.05). On average, there were no significant differences between ground truth and DL-generated segmentations for all observers (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION DL using mpMRI provides reasonably accurate segmentations of OPC GTVp that may be comparable to ground truth segmentations generated by clinical experts. Incorporating additional mpMRI channels may increase the performance of FND, sensitivity, surface DSC, HD, and 95% HD, and improve model robustness to tumor size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareem A. Wahid
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Sara Ahmed
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Renjie He
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Lisanne V. van Dijk
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Jonas Teuwen
- Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Brigid A. McDonald
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Vivian Salama
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Abdallah S.R. Mohamed
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Travis Salzillo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Cem Dede
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Nicolette Taku
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Stephen Y. Lai
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Clifton D. Fuller
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
| | - Mohamed A. Naser
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX USA
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17
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Li Y, Rao S, Chen W, Azghadi SF, Nguyen KNB, Moran A, Usera BM, Dyer BA, Shang L, Chen Q, Rong Y. Evaluating Automatic Segmentation for Swallowing-Related Organs for Head and Neck Cancer. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2022; 21:15330338221105724. [PMID: 35790457 PMCID: PMC9340321 DOI: 10.1177/15330338221105724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of deep-learning-based
auto-segmentation of the superior constrictor, middle constrictor, inferior
constrictor, and larynx in comparison with a traditional multi-atlas-based
method. Methods and Materials: One hundred and five computed
tomography image datasets from 83 head and neck cancer patients were
retrospectively collected and the superior constrictor, middle constrictor,
inferior constrictor, and larynx were analyzed for deep-learning versus
multi-atlas-based segmentation. Eighty-three computed tomography images (40
diagnostic computed tomography and 43 planning computed tomography) were used
for training the convolutional neural network, and for atlas-based model
training. The remaining 22 computed tomography datasets were used for validation
of the atlas-based auto-segmentation versus deep-learning-based
auto-segmentation contours, both of which were compared with the corresponding
manual contours. Quantitative measures included Dice similarity coefficient,
recall, precision, Hausdorff distance, 95th percentile of Hausdorff distance,
and mean surface distance. Dosimetric differences between the auto-generated
contours and manual contours were evaluated. Subjective evaluation was obtained
from 3 clinical observers to blindly score the autosegmented structures based on
the percentage of slices that require manual modification. Results:
The deep-learning-based auto-segmentation versus atlas-based auto-segmentation
results were compared for the superior constrictor, middle constrictor, inferior
constrictor, and larynx. The mean Dice similarity coefficient values for the 4
structures were 0.67, 0.60, 0.65, and 0.84 for deep-learning-based
auto-segmentation, whereas atlas-based auto-segmentation has Dice similarity
coefficient results at 0.45, 0.36, 0.50, and 0.70, respectively. The mean 95th
percentile of Hausdorff distance (cm) for the 4 structures were 0.41, 0.57,
0.59, and 0.54 for deep-learning-based auto-segmentation, but 0.78, 0.95, 0.96,
and 1.23 for atlas-based auto-segmentation results, respectively. Similar mean
dose differences were obtained from the 2 sets of autosegmented contours
compared to manual contours. The dose–volume discrepancies and the average
modification rates were higher with the atlas-based auto-segmentation contours.
Conclusion: Swallowing-related structures are more accurately
generated with DL-based versus atlas-based segmentation when compared with
manual contours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimin Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Radiotherapy Quality
Control Center, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology,
The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, The Third Clinical Medical
College, Fujian Medical University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Shyam Rao
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Wen Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South
University, Changsha, China
| | - Soheila F. Azghadi
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Ky Nam Bao Nguyen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Angel Moran
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Brittni M Usera
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Brandon A Dyer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Legacy Health, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lu Shang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Quan Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, City of Hope comprehensive Cancer
Center, Duarte, CA, USA
- Quan Chen, PhD, Department of Radiation
Oncology, City of Hope comprehensive cancer center, Duarte, CA 91010..
| | - Yi Rong
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis Medical
Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Yi Rong, PhD, Department of Radiation
Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, 5777 E. Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85054, USA.
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18
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Yu X, Jin F, Luo H, Lei Q, Wu Y. Gross Tumor Volume Segmentation for Stage III NSCLC Radiotherapy Using 3D ResSE-Unet. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2022; 21:15330338221090847. [PMID: 35443832 PMCID: PMC9047806 DOI: 10.1177/15330338221090847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Radiotherapy is one of the most effective ways to treat lung cancer. Accurately delineating the gross target volume is a key step in the radiotherapy process. In current clinical practice, the target area is still delineated manually by radiologists, which is time-consuming and laborious. However, these problems can be better solved by deep learning-assisted automatic segmentation methods. METHODS In this paper, a 3D CNN model named 3D ResSE-Unet is proposed for gross tumor volume segmentation for stage III NSCLC radiotherapy. This model is based on 3D Unet and combines residual connection and channel attention mechanisms. Three-dimensional convolution operation and encoding-decoding structure are used to mine three-dimensional spatial information of tumors from computed tomography data. Inspired by ResNet and SE-Net, residual connection and channel attention mechanisms are used to improve segmentation performance. A total of 214 patients with stage III NSCLC were collected selectively and 148 cases were randomly selected as the training set, 30 cases as the validation set, and 36 cases as the testing set. The segmentation performance of models was evaluated by the testing set. In addition, the segmentation results of different depths of 3D Unet were analyzed. And the performance of 3D ResSE-Unet was compared with 3D Unet, 3D Res-Unet, and 3D SE-Unet. RESULTS Compared with other depths, 3D Unet with four downsampling depths is more suitable for our work. Compared with 3D Unet, 3D Res-Unet, and 3D SE-Unet, 3D ResSE-Unet can obtain superior results. Its dice similarity coefficient, 95th-percentile of Hausdorff distance, and average surface distance can reach 0.7367, 21.39mm, 4.962mm, respectively. And the average time cost of 3D ResSE-Unet to segment a patient is only about 10s. CONCLUSION The method proposed in this study provides a new tool for GTV auto-segmentation and may be useful for lung cancer radiotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinhao Yu
- College of Bioengineering, 47913Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.,Department of radiation oncology, 605425Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Fu Jin
- Department of radiation oncology, 605425Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - HuanLi Luo
- Department of radiation oncology, 605425Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Qianqian Lei
- Department of radiation oncology, 605425Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Yongzhong Wu
- Department of radiation oncology, 605425Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
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D'Angelo K, Eansor P, D'Souza LA, Norris ME, Bauman GS, Kassam Z, Leung E, Nichols AC, Sharma M, Tay KY, Velker V, O'Neil M, Mitchell S, Feuz C, Warner A, Willmore KE, Campbell N, Probst H, Palma DA. Implementation and evaluation of an online anatomy, radiology and contouring bootcamp for radiation therapists. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci 2021; 52:567-575. [PMID: 34635471 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmir.2021.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As new treatments and technologies have been introduced in radiation oncology, the clinical roles of radiation therapists (RTs) have expanded. However, there are few formal learning opportunities for RTs. An online, anatomy, radiology and contouring bootcamp (ARC Bootcamp) originally designed for medical residents was identified as a prospective educational tool for RTs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an RT edition of the ARC Bootcamp on knowledge, contouring, and confidence, as well as to identify areas for future modification. METHODS Fifty licensed RTs were enrolled in an eight-week, multidisciplinary, online RT ARC Bootcamp. Contouring practice was available throughout the course using an online contouring platform. Outcomes were evaluated using a pre-course and post-course multiple-choice quiz (MCQ), contouring evaluation and qualitative self-efficacy and satisfaction survey. RESULTS Of the fifty enrolled RTs, 30 completed the course, and 26 completed at least one of the post-tests. Nineteen contouring dice similarity coefficient (DSC) scores were available for paired pre- and post-course analysis. RTs demonstrated a statistically significant increase in mean DSC scoring pooled across all contouring structures (mean ± SD improvement: 0.09 ± 0.18 on a scale from 0 to 1, p=0.020). For individual contouring structures, 3/15 reached significance in contouring improvement. MCQ scores were available for 26 participants and increased after RT ARC Bootcamp participation with a mean ± SD pre-test score of 18.6 ± 4.2 (46.5%); on a 40-point scale vs. post-test score of 24.5 ± 4.3 (61.4%) (p < 0.001). RT confidence in contouring, anatomy knowledge and radiographic identification improved after course completion (p < 0.001). Feedback from RTs recommended more contouring instruction, less in-depth anatomy review and more time to complete the course. CONCLUSIONS The RT ARC Bootcamp was an effective tool for improving anatomy and radiographic knowledge among RTs. The course demonstrated improvements in contouring and overall confidence. However, only approximately half of the enrolled RTs completed the course, limiting statistical power. Future modifications will aim to increase relevance to RTs and improve completion rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krista D'Angelo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paige Eansor
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Leah A D'Souza
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Madeleine E Norris
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Glenn S Bauman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zahra Kassam
- Department of Medical Imaging, St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Eric Leung
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anthony C Nichols
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Manas Sharma
- Department of Radiology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Keng Yeow Tay
- Department of Radiology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vikram Velker
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Melissa O'Neil
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sylvia Mitchell
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Carina Feuz
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew Warner
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Katherine E Willmore
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicole Campbell
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Heidi Probst
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - David A Palma
- Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
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20
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He Y, Zhang S, Luo Y, Yu H, Fu Y, Wu Z, Jiang X, Li P. Quantitative Comparisons of Deep-learning-based and Atlas-based Auto-segmentation of the Intermediate Risk Clinical Target Volume for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. Curr Med Imaging 2021; 18:335-345. [PMID: 34455965 DOI: 10.2174/1573405617666210827165031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Manual segment target volumes were time-consuming and inter-observer variability couldn't be avoided. With the development of computer science, auto-segmentation had the potential to solve this problem. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy and stability of Atlas-based and deep-learning-based auto-segmentation of the intermediate risk clinical target volume, composed of CTV2 and CTVnd, for nasopharyngeal carcinoma quantitatively. METHODS AND MATERIALS A cascade-deep-residual neural network was constructed to automatically segment CTV2 and CTVnd by deep learning method. Meanwhile, a commercially available software was used to automatically segment the same regions by Atlas-based method. The datasets included contrast computed tomography scans from 102 patients. For each patient, the two regions were manually delineated by one experienced physician. The similarity between the two auto-segmentation methods was quantitatively evaluated by Dice similarity coefficient, the 95th Hausdorff distance, volume overlap error and relative volume difference, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using the ranked Wilcoxon test. RESULTS The average Dice similarity coefficient (±standard deviation) given by the deep-learning-based and Atlas-based auto-segmentation were 0.84(±0.03) and 0.74(±0.04) for CTV2, 0.79(±0.02) and 0.68(±0.03) for CTVnd, respectively. For the 95th Hausdorff distance, the corresponding values were 6.30±3.55mm and 9.34±3.39mm for CTV2, 7.09±2.27mm and 14.33±3.98mm for CTVnd. Besides, volume overlap error and relative volume difference could also predict the same situations. Statistical analyses showed significant difference between the two auto-segmentation methods (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Compared with the Atlas-based segmentation approach, the deep-learning-based segmentation method performed better both in accuracy and stability for meaningful anatomical areas other than organs at risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yisong He
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Shengyuan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Yong Luo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Hang Yu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Yuchuan Fu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Zhangwen Wu
- Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Xiaoxuan Jiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province. China
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Kim N, Chun J, Chang JS, Lee CG, Keum KC, Kim JS. Feasibility of Continual Deep Learning-Based Segmentation for Personalized Adaptive Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Area. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13040702. [PMID: 33572310 PMCID: PMC7915955 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13040702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary We analyzed the contouring data of 23 organs-at-risk from 100 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent definitive radiation therapy (RT). Deep learning-based segmentation (DLS) with continual training was compared to DLS with conventional training and deformable image registration (DIR) in both quantitative and qualitative (Turing’s test) methods. Results indicate the effectiveness of DLS over DIR and that of DLS with continual training over DLS with conventional training in contouring for head and neck region, especially for glandular structures. DLS with continual training might be beneficial for optimizing personalized adaptive RT in head and neck region. Abstract This study investigated the feasibility of deep learning-based segmentation (DLS) and continual training for adaptive radiotherapy (RT) of head and neck (H&N) cancer. One-hundred patients treated with definitive RT were included. Based on 23 organs-at-risk (OARs) manually segmented in initial planning computed tomography (CT), modified FC-DenseNet was trained for DLS: (i) using data obtained from 60 patients, with 20 matched patients in the test set (DLSm); (ii) using data obtained from 60 identical patients with 20 unmatched patients in the test set (DLSu). Manually contoured OARs in adaptive planning CT for independent 20 patients were provided as test sets. Deformable image registration (DIR) was also performed. All 23 OARs were compared using quantitative measurements, and nine OARs were also evaluated via subjective assessment from 26 observers using the Turing test. DLSm achieved better performance than both DLSu and DIR (mean Dice similarity coefficient; 0.83 vs. 0.80 vs. 0.70), mainly for glandular structures, whose volume significantly reduced during RT. Based on subjective measurements, DLS is often perceived as a human (49.2%). Furthermore, DLSm is preferred over DLSu (67.2%) and DIR (96.7%), with a similar rate of required revision to that of manual segmentation (28.0% vs. 29.7%). In conclusion, DLS was effective and preferred over DIR. Additionally, continual DLS training is required for an effective optimization and robustness in personalized adaptive RT.
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22
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Naser MA, van Dijk LV, He R, Wahid KA, Fuller CD. Tumor Segmentation in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers Using Deep Learning Based-on Multi-modality PET/CT Images. HEAD AND NECK TUMOR SEGMENTATION : FIRST CHALLENGE, HECKTOR 2020, HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH MICCAI 2020, LIMA, PERU, OCTOBER 4, 2020, PROCEEDINGS 2021; 12603:85-98. [PMID: 33724743 PMCID: PMC7929493 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-67194-5_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Segmentation of head and neck cancer (HNC) primary tumors onmedical images is an essential, yet labor-intensive, aspect of radiotherapy.PET/CT imaging offers a unique ability to capture metabolic and anatomicinformation, which is invaluable for tumor detection and border definition. Anautomatic segmentation tool that could leverage the dual streams of informationfrom PET and CT imaging simultaneously, could substantially propel HNCradiotherapy workflows forward. Herein, we leverage a multi-institutionalPET/CT dataset of 201 HNC patients, as part of the MICCAI segmentationchallenge, to develop novel deep learning architectures for primary tumor auto-segmentation for HNC patients. We preprocess PET/CT images by normalizingintensities and applying data augmentation to mitigate overfitting. Both 2D and3D convolutional neural networks based on the U-net architecture, which wereoptimized with a model loss function based on a combination of dice similaritycoefficient (DSC) and binary cross entropy, were implemented. The median andmean DSC values comparing the predicted tumor segmentation with the groundtruth achieved by the models through 5-fold cross validation are 0.79 and 0.69for the 3D model, respectively, and 0.79 and 0.67 for the 2D model, respec-tively. These promising results show potential to provide an automatic, accurate,and efficient approach for primary tumor auto-segmentation to improve theclinical practice of HNC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Naser
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD AndersonCancer, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lisanne V van Dijk
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD AndersonCancer, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Renjie He
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD AndersonCancer, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Kareem A Wahid
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD AndersonCancer, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Clifton D Fuller
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD AndersonCancer, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Pezzano G, Ribas Ripoll V, Radeva P. CoLe-CNN: Context-learning convolutional neural network with adaptive loss function for lung nodule segmentation. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2021; 198:105792. [PMID: 33130496 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE An accurate segmentation of lung nodules in computed tomography images is a crucial step for the physical characterization of the tumour. Being often completely manually accomplished, nodule segmentation turns to be a tedious and time-consuming procedure and this represents a high obstacle in clinical practice. In this paper, we propose a novel Convolutional Neural Network for nodule segmentation that combines a light and efficient architecture with innovative loss function and segmentation strategy. METHODS In contrast to most of the standard end-to-end architectures for nodule segmentation, our network learns the context of the nodules by producing two masks representing all the background and secondary-important elements in the Computed Tomography scan. The nodule is detected by subtracting the context from the original scan image. Additionally, we introduce an asymmetric loss function that automatically compensates for potential errors in the nodule annotations. We trained and tested our Neural Network on the public LIDC-IDRI database, compared it with the state of the art and run a pseudo-Turing test between four radiologists and the network. RESULTS The results proved that the behaviour of the algorithm is very near to the human performance and its segmentation masks are almost indistinguishable from the ones made by the radiologists. Our method clearly outperforms the state of the art on CT nodule segmentation in terms of F1 score and IoU of 3.3% and 4.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The main structure of the network ensures all the properties of the UNet architecture, while the Multi Convolutional Layers give a more accurate pattern recognition. The newly adopted solutions also increase the details on the border of the nodule, even under the noisiest conditions. This method can be applied now for single CT slice nodule segmentation and it represents a starting point for the future development of a fully automatic 3D segmentation software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Pezzano
- Eurecat, Centre Tecnològic de Catalunya, eHealth Unit, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat de Barcelona, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Petia Radeva
- Universitat de Barcelona, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Barcelona, Spain; Computer Vision Center, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
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24
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Oktay O, Nanavati J, Schwaighofer A, Carter D, Bristow M, Tanno R, Jena R, Barnett G, Noble D, Rimmer Y, Glocker B, O’Hara K, Bishop C, Alvarez-Valle J, Nori A. Evaluation of Deep Learning to Augment Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Head and Neck and Prostate Cancers. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e2027426. [PMID: 33252691 PMCID: PMC7705593 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Importance Personalized radiotherapy planning depends on high-quality delineation of target tumors and surrounding organs at risk (OARs). This process puts additional time burdens on oncologists and introduces variability among both experts and institutions. Objective To explore clinically acceptable autocontouring solutions that can be integrated into existing workflows and used in different domains of radiotherapy. Design, Setting, and Participants This quality improvement study used a multicenter imaging data set comprising 519 pelvic and 242 head and neck computed tomography (CT) scans from 8 distinct clinical sites and patients diagnosed either with prostate or head and neck cancer. The scans were acquired as part of treatment dose planning from patients who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy between October 2013 and February 2020. Fifteen different OARs were manually annotated by expert readers and radiation oncologists. The models were trained on a subset of the data set to automatically delineate OARs and evaluated on both internal and external data sets. Data analysis was conducted October 2019 to September 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures The autocontouring solution was evaluated on external data sets, and its accuracy was quantified with volumetric agreement and surface distance measures. Models were benchmarked against expert annotations in an interobserver variability (IOV) study. Clinical utility was evaluated by measuring time spent on manual corrections and annotations from scratch. Results A total of 519 participants' (519 [100%] men; 390 [75%] aged 62-75 years) pelvic CT images and 242 participants' (184 [76%] men; 194 [80%] aged 50-73 years) head and neck CT images were included. The models achieved levels of clinical accuracy within the bounds of expert IOV for 13 of 15 structures (eg, left femur, κ = 0.982; brainstem, κ = 0.806) and performed consistently well across both external and internal data sets (eg, mean [SD] Dice score for left femur, internal vs external data sets: 98.52% [0.50] vs 98.04% [1.02]; P = .04). The correction time of autogenerated contours on 10 head and neck and 10 prostate scans was measured as a mean of 4.98 (95% CI, 4.44-5.52) min/scan and 3.40 (95% CI, 1.60-5.20) min/scan, respectively, to ensure clinically accepted accuracy. Manual segmentation of the head and neck took a mean 86.75 (95% CI, 75.21-92.29) min/scan for an expert reader and 73.25 (95% CI, 68.68-77.82) min/scan for a radiation oncologist. The autogenerated contours represented a 93% reduction in time. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, the models achieved levels of clinical accuracy within expert IOV while reducing manual contouring time and performing consistently well across previously unseen heterogeneous data sets. With the availability of open-source libraries and reliable performance, this creates significant opportunities for the transformation of radiation treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ozan Oktay
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Nanavati
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - David Carter
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Bristow
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Ryutaro Tanno
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rajesh Jena
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Gill Barnett
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - David Noble
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
- now with Edinburgh Cancer Centre, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Yvonne Rimmer
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
| | - Ben Glocker
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Kenton O’Hara
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Aditya Nori
- Health Intelligence, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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25
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Rhee DJ, Jhingran A, Rigaud B, Netherton T, Cardenas CE, Zhang L, Vedam S, Kry S, Brock KK, Shaw W, O’Reilly F, Parkes J, Burger H, Fakie N, Trauernicht C, Simonds H, Court LE. Automatic contouring system for cervical cancer using convolutional neural networks. Med Phys 2020; 47:5648-5658. [PMID: 32964477 PMCID: PMC7756586 DOI: 10.1002/mp.14467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a tool for the automatic contouring of clinical treatment volumes (CTVs) and normal tissues for radiotherapy treatment planning in cervical cancer patients. METHODS An auto-contouring tool based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) was developed to delineate three cervical CTVs and 11 normal structures (seven OARs, four bony structures) in cervical cancer treatment for use with the Radiation Planning Assistant, a web-based automatic plan generation system. A total of 2254 retrospective clinical computed tomography (CT) scans from a single cancer center and 210 CT scans from a segmentation challenge were used to train and validate the CNN-based auto-contouring tool. The accuracy of the tool was evaluated by calculating the Sørensen-dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and mean surface and Hausdorff distances between the automatically generated contours and physician-drawn contours on 140 internal CT scans. A radiation oncologist scored the automatically generated contours on 30 external CT scans from three South African hospitals. RESULTS The average DSC, mean surface distance, and Hausdorff distance of our CNN-based tool were 0.86/0.19 cm/2.02 cm for the primary CTV, 0.81/0.21 cm/2.09 cm for the nodal CTV, 0.76/0.27 cm/2.00 cm for the PAN CTV, 0.89/0.11 cm/1.07 cm for the bladder, 0.81/0.18 cm/1.66 cm for the rectum, 0.90/0.06 cm/0.65 cm for the spinal cord, 0.94/0.06 cm/0.60 cm for the left femur, 0.93/0.07 cm/0.66 cm for the right femur, 0.94/0.08 cm/0.76 cm for the left kidney, 0.95/0.07 cm/0.84 cm for the right kidney, 0.93/0.05 cm/1.06 cm for the pelvic bone, 0.91/0.07 cm/1.25 cm for the sacrum, 0.91/0.07 cm/0.53 cm for the L4 vertebral body, and 0.90/0.08 cm/0.68 cm for the L5 vertebral bodies. On average, 80% of the CTVs, 97% of the organ at risk, and 98% of the bony structure contours in the external test dataset were clinically acceptable based on physician review. CONCLUSIONS Our CNN-based auto-contouring tool performed well on both internal and external datasets and had a high rate of clinical acceptability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Joo Rhee
- MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate SchoolHoustonTXUSA
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Anuja Jhingran
- Department of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Bastien Rigaud
- Department of Imaging PhysicsThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Tucker Netherton
- MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate SchoolHoustonTXUSA
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Carlos E. Cardenas
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Lifei Zhang
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Sastry Vedam
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Stephen Kry
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - Kristy K. Brock
- Department of Imaging PhysicsThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
| | - William Shaw
- Department of Medical Physics (G68)University of the Free StateBloemfonteinSouth Africa
| | - Frederika O’Reilly
- Department of Medical Physics (G68)University of the Free StateBloemfonteinSouth Africa
| | - Jeannette Parkes
- Division of Radiation Oncology and Medical PhysicsUniversity of Cape Town and Groote Schuur HospitalCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Hester Burger
- Division of Radiation Oncology and Medical PhysicsUniversity of Cape Town and Groote Schuur HospitalCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Nazia Fakie
- Division of Radiation Oncology and Medical PhysicsUniversity of Cape Town and Groote Schuur HospitalCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Chris Trauernicht
- Division of Medical PhysicsStellenbosch UniversityTygerberg Academic HospitalCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Hannah Simonds
- Division of Radiation OncologyStellenbosch UniversityTygerberg Academic HospitalCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Laurence E. Court
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTXUSA
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Baehr A, Oertel M, Kröger K, Eich HT, Haverkamp U. Implementing a new scale for failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) for risk analysis in a radiation oncology department. Strahlenther Onkol 2020; 196:1128-1134. [PMID: 32951162 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-020-01686-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Patients and staffs are endangered by different failure modes during clinical routine in radiation oncology and risks are difficult to stratify. We implemented the method of failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) via questionnaires in our institution and introduced an adapted scale applicable for radiation oncology. METHODS Failure modes in physical treatment planning and daily routine were detected and stratified by ranking occurrence, severity, and detectability in a questionnaire. Multiplication of these values offers the risk priority number (RPN). We implemented an ordinal rating scale (ORS) as a combination of earlier published scales from the literature. This scale was optimized for German radiation oncology. We compared RPN using this ORS versus use of a rather subjective visual analogue rating scale (VRS). RESULTS Mean RPN using ORS was 62.3 vs. 67.5 using VRS (p = 0.7). Use of ORS led to improved completeness of questionnaires (91 vs. 79%) and stronger agreement among the experts, especially concerning failure modes during radiation routine. The majority of interviewed experts found the analysis by using the ORS easier and expected a saving of time as well as higher intra- and interobserver reliability. CONCLUSION The introduced rating scale together with a questionnaire survey provides merit for conducting FMEA in radiation oncology as results are comparable to the use of VRS and the process is facilitated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Baehr
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
| | - Michael Oertel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Kai Kröger
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Hans Theodor Eich
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Uwe Haverkamp
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
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Guo C, Huang P, Li Y, Dai J. Accurate method for evaluating the duration of the entire radiotherapy process. J Appl Clin Med Phys 2020; 21:252-258. [PMID: 32710490 PMCID: PMC7497908 DOI: 10.1002/acm2.12959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Along with the increasing demand for high-quality radiotherapy and the growing number of high-precision radiotherapy devices, precise radiotherapy workflow management and accurate time evaluation of the entire radiotherapy process are crucial to providing appropriate, timely treatment for cancer patients. This study therefore aimed to establish an accurate, reliable method for evaluating the duration of the radiotherapy process, from beginning to end, based on real-time measurement data. These data are vital for improving the quality and efficiency of radiotherapy delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Altogether, 17 620 cancer patients' radiotherapy experiences were measured in real time in our radiation oncology department. The process was divided into five sequential core modules, with the start and stop times of each module automatically recorded using MOSAIQ software, an automated radiotherapy management system. The duration for each module and the total duration of the entire process were then automatically calculated and qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS The analysis showed significant treatment-time differences depending on the tumor site, which provided a practical reference for improvement of previous treatment modules and appointments management. In all, >60% of the cancer patients' total treatment time could be shortened. CONCLUSIONS We established a reliable method for evaluating the overall duration of radiotherapy protocols. The results pointed out a clear pathway by which we could improve future radiotherapy workflow management and appointment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenlei Guo
- Department of Radiation OncologyNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Radiation OncologyNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
| | - Yexiong Li
- Department of Radiation OncologyNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
| | - Jianrong Dai
- Department of Radiation OncologyNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
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Improving automatic delineation for head and neck organs at risk by Deep Learning Contouring. Radiother Oncol 2020; 142:115-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2019.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Rhee DJ, Cardenas CE, Elhalawani H, McCarroll R, Zhang L, Yang J, Garden AS, Peterson CB, Beadle BM, Court LE. Automatic detection of contouring errors using convolutional neural networks. Med Phys 2019; 46:5086-5097. [PMID: 31505046 PMCID: PMC6842055 DOI: 10.1002/mp.13814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a head and neck normal structures autocontouring tool that could be used to automatically detect the errors in autocontours from a clinically validated autocontouring tool. METHODS An autocontouring tool based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) was developed for 16 normal structures of the head and neck and tested to identify the contour errors from a clinically validated multiatlas-based autocontouring system (MACS). The computed tomography (CT) scans and clinical contours from 3495 patients were semiautomatically curated and used to train and validate the CNN-based autocontouring tool. The final accuracy of the tool was evaluated by calculating the Sørensen-Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) and Hausdorff distances between the automatically generated contours and physician-drawn contours on 174 internal and 24 external CT scans. Lastly, the CNN-based tool was evaluated on 60 patients' CT scans to investigate the possibility to detect contouring failures. The contouring failures on these patients were classified as either minor or major errors. The criteria to detect contouring errors were determined by analyzing the DSC between the CNN- and MACS-based contours under two independent scenarios: (a) contours with minor errors are clinically acceptable and (b) contours with minor errors are clinically unacceptable. RESULTS The average DSC and Hausdorff distance of our CNN-based tool was 98.4%/1.23 cm for brain, 89.1%/0.42 cm for eyes, 86.8%/1.28 cm for mandible, 86.4%/0.88 cm for brainstem, 83.4%/0.71 cm for spinal cord, 82.7%/1.37 cm for parotids, 80.7%/1.08 cm for esophagus, 71.7%/0.39 cm for lenses, 68.6%/0.72 for optic nerves, 66.4%/0.46 cm for cochleas, and 40.7%/0.96 cm for optic chiasm. With the error detection tool, the proportions of the clinically unacceptable MACS contours that were correctly detected were 0.99/0.80 on average except for the optic chiasm, when contours with minor errors are clinically acceptable/unacceptable, respectively. The proportions of the clinically acceptable MACS contours that were correctly detected were 0.81/0.60 on average except for the optic chiasm, when contours with minor errors are clinically acceptable/unacceptable, respectively. CONCLUSION Our CNN-based autocontouring tool performed well on both the publically available and the internal datasets. Furthermore, our results show that CNN-based algorithms are able to identify ill-defined contours from a clinically validated and used multiatlas-based autocontouring tool. Therefore, our CNN-based tool can effectively perform automatic verification of MACS contours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Joo Rhee
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at HoustonHoustonTX77030USA
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Carlos E. Cardenas
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Hesham Elhalawani
- Department of Radiation OncologyDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Rachel McCarroll
- Department of Radiation OncologyThe University of Maryland Medical SystemBaltimoreMD21201USA
| | - Lifei Zhang
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Jinzhong Yang
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Adam S. Garden
- Department of Radiation OncologyDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Christine B. Peterson
- Department of BiostatisticsDivision of Basic SciencesThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
| | - Beth M. Beadle
- Department of Radiation OncologyStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCA94305USA
| | - Laurence E. Court
- Department of Radiation PhysicsDivision of Radiation OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTX77030USA
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Defourny N, Perrier L, Borras JM, Coffey M, Corral J, Hoozée S, Loon JV, Grau C, Lievens Y. National costs and resource requirements of external beam radiotherapy: A time-driven activity-based costing model from the ESTRO-HERO project. Radiother Oncol 2019; 138:187-194. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2019.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Bibault JE, Pernet A, Mollo V, Gourdon L, Martin O, Giraud P. Empowering patients for radiation therapy safety: Results of the EMPATHY study. Cancer Radiother 2016; 20:790-793. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canrad.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Revised: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Vinod SK, Jameson MG, Min M, Holloway LC. Uncertainties in volume delineation in radiation oncology: A systematic review and recommendations for future studies. Radiother Oncol 2016; 121:169-179. [PMID: 27729166 DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 214] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Revised: 08/27/2016] [Accepted: 09/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Volume delineation is a well-recognised potential source of error in radiotherapy. Whilst it is important to quantify the degree of interobserver variability (IOV) in volume delineation, the resulting impact on dosimetry and clinical outcomes is a more relevant endpoint. We performed a literature review of studies evaluating IOV in target volume and organ-at-risk (OAR) delineation in order to analyse these with respect to the metrics used, reporting of dosimetric consequences, and use of statistical tests. METHODS AND MATERIALS Medline and Pubmed databases were queried for relevant articles using keywords. We included studies published in English between 2000 and 2014 with more than two observers. RESULTS 119 studies were identified covering all major tumour sites. CTV (n=47) and GTV (n=38) were most commonly contoured. Median number of participants and data sets were 7 (3-50) and 9 (1-132) respectively. There was considerable heterogeneity in the use of metrics and methods of analysis. Statistical analysis of results was reported in 68% (n=81) and dosimetric consequences in 21% (n=25) of studies. CONCLUSION There is a lack of consistency in conducting and reporting analyses from IOV studies. We suggest a framework to use for future studies evaluating IOV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalini K Vinod
- Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Australia; Western Sydney University, Australia.
| | - Michael G Jameson
- Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Australia
| | - Myo Min
- Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Australia; Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool Hospital, Australia
| | - Lois C Holloway
- Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Australia; Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool Hospital, Australia; Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Australia
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Beech R, Burgess K, Stratford J. Process evaluation of treatment times in a large radiotherapy department. Radiography (Lond) 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radi.2016.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Radiotherapy infrastructure and human resources in Switzerland. Strahlenther Onkol 2016; 192:599-608. [DOI: 10.1007/s00066-016-1022-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Vinod SK, Min M, Jameson MG, Holloway LC. A review of interventions to reduce inter-observer variability in volume delineation in radiation oncology. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 2016; 60:393-406. [DOI: 10.1111/1754-9485.12462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shalini K Vinod
- Cancer Therapy Centre; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School; University of NSW; Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Western Sydney University; Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Myo Min
- Cancer Therapy Centre; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School; University of NSW; Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Michael G Jameson
- Cancer Therapy Centre; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
- Centre for Medical Radiation Physics; University of Wollongong; Wollongong New South Wales Australia
| | - Lois C Holloway
- Cancer Therapy Centre; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School; University of NSW; Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Western Sydney University; Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research; Liverpool Hospital; Liverpool New South Wales Australia
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Staffing Model for Radiation Therapists in Ontario. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci 2015; 46:388-395. [PMID: 31052119 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmir.2015.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2015] [Revised: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The Cancer Care Ontario's (CCO) Radiation Program Leadership tasked the Radiation Therapy Professional Advisory Committee (RTPAC) to develop a radiation therapist (RT) staffing model to support current radiation therapy practice. BACKGROUND A 1999 RT staffing model was outdated. Limitations included: (1) the inability to keep pace with advanced treatment planning and/or delivery techniques, (2) the exclusion of staffing for brachytherapy and orthovoltage, and (3) the omission of vital patient safety activities that are required to support clinical practices. METHODS The RTPAC used a comprehensive scientific methodology to develop the new staffing model. A thorough literature review was completed, and an evidence-based model was developed. A unique creativity tool, the simplex process, was used to identify all the RTs' domains of practice that are integral for professional practice. All domains identified were included in the recommended staffing model. RESULTS The staffing model recommends basing the number of RTs on equipment and associated clinical activities. The following staffing numbers are recommended: (1) linear accelerators: 4 full-time equivalent (FTEs) RTs per 10-hour day, (2) brachytherapy: 3 FTEs/8-hour day, (3) orthovoltage: 3 FTEs/8-hour day, (4) CT simulator: 3 FTEs/8-hour day and 4 FTEs/10-hour day, (5) dosimetry: 1 FTE/325 courses per year, (6) radiation oncology systems support and technology development implementation: 1 FTE/4 linear accelerator, (7) administration and education: 1 manager, 1 FTE supervisor/30 staff, 1 FTE professional practice leader/8 linear accelerators, 1 FTE staff educator/8 linear accelerators, 1 FTE undergraduate educator/8-10 students, and (8) additional 20% FTEs of the total for vacation, sick time, maternity leaves, and other leaves. CONCLUSIONS The recommended staffing model is now more suitable for today's radiation therapy profession by addressing the domains of practice and clinical activities. Further research includes monitoring performance indicators annually to ensure that the staffing model is current. These indicators include wait times, access to care, radiation incidents, technological advances, and the quality of work-life of RTs.
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Bridge P, Dempsey S, Giles E, Maresse S, McCorkell G, Opie C, Wright C, Carmichael MA. Practice patterns of radiation therapy technology in Australia: results of a national audit. J Med Radiat Sci 2015; 62:253-60. [PMID: 27512571 PMCID: PMC4968555 DOI: 10.1002/jmrs.127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Revised: 05/25/2015] [Accepted: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This article presents the results of a single-day census of radiation therapy (RT) treatment and technology use in Australia. The primary aim of the study was to ascertain patterns of RT practice and technology in use across Australia. These data were primarily collated to inform curriculum development of academic programs, thereby ensuring that training is matched to workforce patterns of practice. METHODS The study design was a census method with all 59 RT centres in Australia being invited to provide quantitative summary data relating to patient case mix and technology use on a randomly selected but common date. Anonymous and demographic-free data were analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Overall data were provided across all six Australian States by 29 centres of a possible 59, yielding a response rate of 49% and representing a total of 2743 patients. Findings from this study indicate the increasing use of emerging intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image fusion and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) technology in Australian RT planning and delivery phases. IMRT in particular was used for 37% of patients, indicating a high uptake of the technology in Australia when compared to other published data. The results also highlight the resource-intensive nature of benign tumour radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS In the absence of routine national data collection, the single-day census method offers a relatively convenient means of measuring and tracking RT resource utilisation. Wider use of this tool has the potential to not only track trends in technology implementation but also inform evidence-based guidelines for referral and resource planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete Bridge
- School of Health Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Shane Dempsey
- The University of Newcastle Callaghan New South Wales Australia
| | - Eileen Giles
- University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | | | | | - Craig Opie
- Northern Sydney Cancer Centre Royal North Shore Hospital St Leonards New South Wales Australia
| | | | - Mary-Ann Carmichael
- School of Health Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia
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Chakraborty S, Patil VM, Babu S, Muttath G, Thiagarajan SK. Locoregional recurrences after post-operative volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) in oral cavity cancers in a resource constrained setting: experience and lessons learned. Br J Radiol 2015; 88:20140795. [PMID: 25645107 DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20140795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The conformal nature of dose distribution produced by volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) increases the risk of geographic miss. Data regarding patterns of failure after VMAT in oral cavity cancers in resource-constrained settings are scarce. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the patterns of failure in patients receiving adjuvant VMAT intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for oral cavity cancer in Malabar Cancer Center, Kerala, India. METHODS Data of patients with oral cavity cancer receiving adjuvant VMAT IMRT between April 2012 and March 2014 were collected. Recurrent volumes were delineated on the treatment planning images and classified as defined by Dawson et al (Dawson LA, Anzai Y, Marsh L, Martel MK, Paulino A, Ship JA, et al. Patterns of local-regional recurrence following parotid-sparing conformal and segmental intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2000; 46: 1117-26). RESULTS 75 patients with a median follow-up of 24 months were analysed. 41 (55%) patients had oral tongue cancers and 52 (69%) of the patients had Stage IVA cancers. The 2-year locoregional recurrence-free survival, disease-free survival and overall survival were 88.9%, 82.1% and 80.5%, respectively. With a median time to failure of 6.5 months, five infield and three outfield failures were identified. CONCLUSION A relatively low rate of outfield failure and lack of marginal failure attests to the efficacy of VMAT in such patients. Modifications to our existing target delineation policy have been proposed. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE The use of standardized target delineation methods allows safe use of VMAT IMRT even in resource-constrained settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Chakraborty
- 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Malabar Cancer Center, Kerala, India
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Lievens Y, Defourny N, Coffey M, Borras JM, Dunscombe P, Slotman B, Malicki J, Bogusz M, Gasparotto C, Grau C, Kokobobo A, Sedlmayer F, Slobina E, Coucke P, Gabrovski R, Vosmik M, Eriksen JG, Jaal J, Dejean C, Polgar C, Johannsson J, Cunningham M, Atkocius V, Back C, Pirotta M, Karadjinovic V, Levernes S, Maciejewski B, Trigo ML, Šegedin B, Palacios A, Pastoors B, Beardmore C, Erridge S, Smyth G, Cleries Soler R. Radiotherapy staffing in the European countries: final results from the ESTRO-HERO survey. Radiother Oncol 2014; 112:178-86. [PMID: 25300718 DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2014.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2014] [Accepted: 08/21/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ESTRO Health Economics in Radiation Oncology (HERO) project has the overall aim to develop a knowledge base of the provision of radiotherapy in Europe and build a model for health economic evaluation of radiation treatments at the European level. The first milestone was to assess the availability of radiotherapy resources within Europe. This paper presents the personnel data collected in the ESTRO HERO database. MATERIALS AND METHODS An 84-item questionnaire was sent out to European countries, through their national scientific and professional radiotherapy societies. The current report includes a detailed analysis of radiotherapy staffing (questionnaire items 47-60), analysed in relation to the annual number of treatment courses and the socio-economic status of the countries. The analysis was conducted between February and July 2014, and is based on validated responses from 24 of the 40 European countries defined by the European Cancer Observatory (ECO). RESULTS A large variation between countries was found for most parameters studied. Averages and ranges for personnel numbers per million inhabitants are 12.8 (2.5-30.9) for radiation oncologists, 7.6 (0-19.7) for medical physicists, 3.5 (0-12.6) for dosimetrists, 26.6 (1.9-78) for RTTs and 14.8 (0.4-61.0) for radiotherapy nurses. The combined average for physicists and dosimetrists is 9.8 per million inhabitants and 36.9 for RTT and nurses. Radiation oncologists on average treat 208.9 courses per year (range: 99.9-348.8), physicists and dosimetrists conjointly treat 303.3 courses (range: 85-757.7) and RTT and nurses 76.8 (range: 25.7-156.8). In countries with higher GNI per capita, all personnel categories treat fewer courses per annum than in less affluent countries. This relationship is most evident for RTTs and nurses. Different clusters of countries can be distinguished on the basis of available personnel resources and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS The average personnel figures in Europe are now consistent with, or even more favourable than the QUARTS recommendations, probably reflecting a combination of better availability as such, in parallel with the current use of more complex treatments than a decade ago. A considerable variation in available personnel and delivered courses per year however persists among the highest and lowest staffing levels. This not only reflects the variation in cancer incidence and socio-economic determinants, but also the stage in technology adoption along with treatment complexity and the different professional roles and responsibilities within each country. Our data underpin the need for accurate prediction models and long-term education and training programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ben Slotman
- VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Julian Malicki
- Poznan University of Medical Sciences and Greater-Poland Cancer Centre, Poland
| | - Marta Bogusz
- Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Centre, Katowice, Poland
| | | | - Cai Grau
- Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
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Sack C, Sack H, Willich N, Popp W. Evaluation of the time required for overhead tasks performed by physicians, medical physicists, and technicians in radiation oncology institutions: the DEGRO-QUIRO study. Strahlenther Onkol 2014; 191:113-24. [PMID: 25245470 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-014-0758-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Developments in radiation oncology in recent years have highlighted the increasing deployment of personnel resources for tasks not directly related to patients. These tasks include patient-related activities such as treatment planning, reviewing files, and administrative duties (e.g., invoicing for services, documentation). The aim of the present study, part of the QUIRO project of the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO), was to describe, on the basis of valid data, the deployment of personnel resources in radiation oncology centers for "overhead" tasks. METHODS Questionnaires were used to analyze the percentages of time needed for various tasks. The target group comprised physicians, medical physics experts (MPE), and medical technical radiology assistants (MTRA). A total of 760 personnel from 65 radio-oncology centers in the German inpatient and outpatient sector participated (32 % physicians, 23 % MPE, and 45 % MTRA). RESULTS High percentages of overhead tasks during working time were measured for each of the three personnel groups considered (physicians, MPE, and MTRA). Patient-related efficiency, i.e., the percentage of working time associated directly or indirectly with the patient, was highest among MTRA and lowest among MPE. Particular features could be seen in the activity profiles of personnel in university clinics. Duties in the areas of research and teaching resulted in a greater percentage of overhead tasks for physicians and MPE. Irrespective of function (physician, MPE, or MTRA), a managerial role resulted in lower patient-related efficiency, as well as a narrower time budget for direct patient care compared with non-managerial employees. CONCLUSION Using the data gathered, it was possible to systematically investigate the time required for overhead tasks in radio-oncological centers. Overall, relatively high time requirements for a variety of overhead tasks were measured. These time requirements, generated for example by administrative duties or research and teaching, are currently not taken into adequate consideration in terms of remuneration or personnel capacity planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Sack
- Stabsstelle Controlling, Universitätsklinikum Essen (AöR), Hufelandstraße 55, 45147, Essen, Germany,
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Lohr F, Georg D, Cozzi L, Eich HT, Weber DC, Koeck J, Knäusl B, Dieckmann K, Abo-Madyan Y, Fiandra C, Mueller RP, Engert A, Ricardi U. Novel radiotherapy techniques for involved-field and involved-node treatment of mediastinal Hodgkin lymphoma: when should they be considered and which questions remain open? Strahlenther Onkol 2014; 190:864-6, 868-71. [PMID: 25209551 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-014-0719-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a highly curable disease. Reducing late complications and second malignancies has become increasingly important. Radiotherapy target paradigms are currently changing and radiotherapy techniques are evolving rapidly. DESIGN This overview reports to what extent target volume reduction in involved-node (IN) and advanced radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and proton therapy-compared with involved-field (IF) and 3D radiotherapy (3D-RT)- can reduce high doses to organs at risk (OAR) and examines the issues that still remain open. RESULTS Although no comparison of all available techniques on identical patient datasets exists, clear patterns emerge. Advanced dose-calculation algorithms (e.g., convolution-superposition/Monte Carlo) should be used in mediastinal HL. INRT consistently reduces treated volumes when compared with IFRT with the exact amount depending on the INRT definition. The number of patients that might significantly benefit from highly conformal techniques such as IMRT over 3D-RT regarding high-dose exposure to organs at risk (OAR) is smaller with INRT. The impact of larger volumes treated with low doses in advanced techniques is unclear. The type of IMRT used (static/rotational) is of minor importance. All advanced photon techniques result in similar potential benefits and disadvantages, therefore only the degree-of-modulation should be chosen based on individual treatment goals. Treatment in deep inspiration breath hold is being evaluated. Protons theoretically provide both excellent high-dose conformality and reduced integral dose. CONCLUSION Further reduction of treated volumes most effectively reduces OAR dose, most likely without disadvantages if the excellent control rates achieved currently are maintained. For both IFRT and INRT, the benefits of advanced radiotherapy techniques depend on the individual patient/target geometry. Their use should therefore be decided case by case with comparative treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Lohr
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany,
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