TY  - JOUR
AU  - Sitarz, Mateusz
AU  - Ronga, Maria Grazia
AU  - Gesualdi, Flavia
AU  - Bonfrate, Anthony
AU  - Wahl, Niklas
AU  - De Marzi, Ludovic
TI  - Implementation and validation of a very-high-energy electron model in the matRad treatment planning system.
JO  - Medical physics
VL  - 52
IS  - 1
SN  - 0094-2405
CY  - College Park, Md.
PB  - AAPM
M1  - DKFZ-2024-02098
SP  - 518-529
PY  - 2025
N1  - 2025 Jan;52(1):518-529
AB  - While electron beams of up to 20 MeV are commonly used in radiotherapy, the use of very-high-energy electrons (VHEEs) in the range of 100-200 MeV is now becoming a realistic option thanks to the recent advancements in accelerator technology. Indeed, VHEE offers several clinically attractive features and can be delivered using various conformation methods (including scanning, collimation, and focussing) at ultra-high dose rates. To date, there is a lack of research tools for fast simulation of treatment plans using VHEE beams.This work aims to implement and validate a simple and fast dose calculation algorithm based on the Fermi-Eyges theory of multiple Coulomb scattering for VHEE radiation therapy, with energies up to 200 MeV. A treatment planning system (TPS) toolkit with VHEE modality would indeed allow for further preclinical investigations, including treatment plan optimization and evaluation, and thus contribute to the gradual introduction of VHEE radiotherapy in clinical practice.A VHEE pencil beam scanning double Gaussian model was introduced into the open-source TPS matRad environment along with new functions and options dedicated to VHEE dose calculations. Various geometries and field configurations were then calculated in matRad (up to 200 MeV and 15 × 15 cm2, with complex bone or lung heterogeneities) and the results were compared to Monte Carlo simulations in the TOPAS/Geant4 toolkit. Two types of beam model (divergent or focused) were also tested. Examples of clinical treatment plans were computed, and the results were compared between the two codes.VHEE modality was fully implemented in matRad with GUI capabilities while preserving all original TPS features. New relevant options such as the importation of specific spot-lists or adjustment of the lateral dose calculation cutoff to optimize the calculation speed were validated. Single spot and square field dose distributions were validated in water alone as well as in clinically relevant inhomogeneities. Dose maps from the VHEE model in matRad were in good agreement with TOPAS (2D gamma index [2
KW  - Monte Carlo (Other)
KW  - VHEE (Other)
KW  - beam model (Other)
KW  - radiotherapy (Other)
KW  - treatment planning system (Other)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:39419015
DO  - DOI:10.1002/mp.17392
UR  - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/294077
ER  -