Anatomical modelling of the pregnant radiotherapy patient

Abstract

This study aimed to take existing anatomical models of pregnant women, currently used for radiation protection and nuclear medicine dose calculations, and adapt them for use in the calculation of fetal dose from external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The models investigated were ‘KATJA’, which was provided as an MCNPX geometry file, and ‘RPI-P6’, which was provided in a simple, voxelized binary format. In-house code was developed, to convert both models into an `egsphant’ format, suitable for use with DOSXYZnrc. The geometries and densities of the resulting phantoms were evaluated and found to accurately represent the source data. As an example of the use of the phantoms, the delivery of a cranial EBRT treatment was simulated using the BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc Monte Carlo codes and the likely out-of-field doses to the fetus in each model was calculated. The results of these calculations showed good agreement (within one standard deviation) between the doses calculated in KATJA and PRI-P6, despite substantial anatomical differences between the two models. For a 36 Gy prescription dose to a 233.2 cm3 target in the right brain, the mean doses calculated in a region of interest covering the entire uterus were 1.0 +/- 0.6 mSv for KATJA and 1.3 +/- 0.9 mSv for RPI-P 6. This work is expected to lead to more comprehensive studies of EBRT treatment plan design and its effects on fetal dose in the future.