Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is considered to deliver a better dose distribution and to shorten treatment time. There is a lack of research regarding breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) using VMAT with prone positioning. We developed a new small-arc VMAT methodology and compared it to conventional (fixed-field) intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the ...

BACKGROUND The newest release of the Eclipse (Varian) treatment planning system (TPS) includes an optimizing engine for Elekta volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this new algorithm and to compare it to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for various disease sites by creating single- and double-arc VMAT plans. METHODS A total of...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of an aperture complexity metric for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans to predict plan delivery accuracy. We developed a complexity analysis tool as a plug-in script to Varian's Eclipse treatment planning system. This script reports the modulation of plans, arcs, and individual control points for VMAT plans using a previously dev...

PURPOSE To make the planning of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) faster and to explore the tradeoffs between planning objectives and delivery efficiency. METHODS A convex multicriteria dose optimization problem is solved for an angular grid of 180 equi-spaced beams. This allows the planner to navigate the ideal dose distribution Pareto surface and select a plan of desired target covera...

PURPOSE To develop a method for inverse volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning that combines multicriteria optimization (MCO) with direct machine parameter optimization. The ultimate goal is to provide an efficient and intuitive method for generating high quality VMAT plans. METHODS Multicriteria radiation therapy treatment planning amounts to approximating the relevant treatment op...

An algorithm for dynamic multileaf-collimator (dMLC) tracking of a target performing a known a priori, rigid-body motion during volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), has been experimentally validated and applied to investigate the potential of the Agility (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden) multileaf-collimator (MLC) for use in motion-compensated VMAT delivery. For five VMAT patients, dosimetric ...

The aim of this study was to compare treatment plans of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for all esophageal cancer (EC) tumor locations.This retrospective study from July 2009 to June 2014 included 20 patients with EC who received definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy with radiation doses >50.4 Gy. Version 9.2 of Pinnacle with SmartArc was u...

PURPOSE To investigate the performances of two commercial treatment planning systems (TPS) for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) optimization regarding prostate cancer. The TPS were compared in terms of dose distributions, treatment delivery parameters and quality control results. MATERIALS AND METHODS For ten patients, two VMAT plans were generated: one with Monaco TPS (Elekta) and one...

In the present study, the dose verification between 6X and 6X flattening filter-free (FFF) in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was compared, and the advantages and disadvantages of different radiotherapy plans were evaluated. All four plans achieved comparable heterogeneity and conformity indices. For frontal tumor, VMAT demonstrated more ...

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to compare the dose distribution generated from photon volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT), and intensity modulated carbon ion therapy (IMCIT) in the delivery of hypo-fractionated thoracic radiotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS Ten selected patients who underwent thoracic particle therapy between 2015 and 201...