A 3D computer-assisted treatment planning system for breast cancer brachytherapy treatment

Abstract

Purpose : Brachytherapy is an option for treatment of breast cancer in some cases. This modality requires patient-specific dosimetry based on CT simulator scans. A 3D computer-assisted breast brachytherapy treatment planning system called Vision was developed and tested. Methods : The brachytherapy treatment planning system used volume estimation and dose analysis with advanced 3D visualization. The patient treatment volume reconstruction was designed to ensure high-volume accuracy requirement of radioactive seed implantation procedure for this treatment. The system enables interactive placement of radioactive seeds embedded in original patient CT images with 3D display. Results : The system achieved 99.73 % accuracy in volume estimation measured against the true volume and is statistically significantly more accurate than current existing commercial software at the $$p=0.05$$p=0.05 level. Conclusion : A virtual 3D environment was developed to perform volume measurements, seed placements, and dose distribution planning and analysis based on 2D contours on patient CT images. This system was demonstrated to be feasible and accurate in a clinical setting.