a cvh-based computational female pelvic phantom for radiation dosimetry simulation

background: accurate voxel phantom is needed for dosimetric simulation in radiation therapy for malignant tumors in female pelvic region. however, most of the existing voxel phantoms are constructed on the basis of caucasian or non-chinese population. materials and methods: a computational framework for constructing female pelvic voxel phantom for radiation dosimetry was performed based on chinese visible human (cvh) datasets. first, several organs within pelvic region were segmented from cvh datasets. then, polygonization and voxelization were performed based on the segmented organs and a 3d computational phantom is built in the form of a set of voxel arrays. results: the generated phantom can be converted and loaded into treatment planning system for radiation dosimetry calculation. from the observed dosimetric results of those organs and structures, we can evaluate their absorbed dose and implement some simulation studies. conclusion: a voxel female pelvic phantom was developed from cvh datasets. it can be utilized for dosimetry evaluation and planning simulation, which would be very helpful to improve the clinical performance and reduce the radiation toxicity on organ at risk (oar). iran. j. radiat. res., 2010 8 (2): 87-91