Research Project
6197336
The aim of Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy is to plan, deliver, and verify radiotherapy source ("seed") positions in near real-time during the implant. Using this technique, the treatment plan is modified on-line in the operating room to account for changes in the prostate and discrepancies between planned and delivered seed locations. The result is that the implanted dosimetry compares more accurately to the prescribed dosimetry. Currently, because these differences are not detected at the time of implant, the treatment plan cannot be modified to reflect them. As a result, the patient may be incorrectly dosed, resulting in side effects such as urinary or rectal complications or a need for additional therapy. Seeds are currently delivered by needles inserted into specific pre-planned holes in a templated keyed and fixed to a transrectal ultrasound probe. The R21 phase of this project will determine the feasibility of image-guided treatment delivery using automated implant-needle localization and image- guided treatment verification using automated seed localization. A complete prototype Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy system will be developed and delivered to two brachytherapy treatment institutions. At those institutions, teams will perform implants using both conventional pre-planned treatments and using dynamically planned treatments. The difference between the prescribed and delivered dosimetry to each patient will be measured. More accurate treatments using Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy will support full-scale development (R33 phase) of the supporting technology.
