Interactive multiobjective optimization for 3D HDR brachy therapy applying IND-NIMBUS

Abstract

An anatomy based three-dimensional dose optimization approach for HDR brachytherapy using interactive multiobjective optimization is presented in this paper. In brachytherapy, the goals are to irradiate a tumor without causing damage to healthy tissue. These goals are often conflicting, i.e. when one target is optimized the other one will suffer, and the solution is a compromise between them. Our interactive approach is capable of handling multiple and strongly conflicting objectives in a convenient way, and thus, the weaknesses of widely used optimization techniques (e.g. defining weights, computational burden and trial-and-error planning) can be avoided. In addition, our approach offers an easy way to navigate among the obtained Pareto optimal solutions (i.e. different treatment plans), and plan quality can be improved by finding advantageous trade-offs between the solutions. To demonstrate the advantages of our interactive approach, a clinical example of seeking dwell time values of a source in a gynecologic cervix cancer treatment is presented. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.