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Feasibility study of…
Feasibility study of a plastic scintillating plate-based tre…
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe a plastic scintillating plate-based gantryattachable
dosimetry system for pencil beam scanning proton therapy to monitor entrance proton beam
fluence, and to evaluate the dosimetric characteristics of this system and its feasibility for clinical use.
Methods: The dosimetry system, consisting of a plastic scintillating plate and a CMOS camera, was
attached to a dedicated scanning nozzle and scintillation during proton beam irradiation was
recorded. Dose distribution was calculated from the accumulated recorded frames. The dosimetric
characteristics (energy dependency, dose linearity, dose rate dependency, and reproducibility) of the
gantry-attachable dosimetry system for use with therapeutic proton beams were measured, and the
feasibility of this system during clinical use was evaluated by determining selected quality assurance
items at our institution.
Results: The scintillating plate shortened the range of the proton beam by the water-equivalent thickness
of the plate and broadened the spatial profile of the single proton spot by 11% at 70 MeV. The
developed system functioned independently of the beam energy (<1.3%) and showed dose linearity,
and also functioned independently of the dose rate. The feasibility of the system for clinical use was
evaluated by comparing the measured quality assurance dose distribution to that of the treatment
planning system. The gamma passing rate with a criterion of 3%/3 mm was 97.58%.
Conclusions: This study evaluated the dosimetric characteristics of a plastic scintillating plate-based
dosimetry system for use with scanning proton beams. The ability to account for the interference of
the dosimetry system on the therapeutic beam enabled offline monitoring of the entrance beam fluence
of the pencil beam scanning proton therapy independent of the treatment system with high resolution
and in a cost-effective manner.

Seonghoon Jeong
Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Kwangzoo Chung, Sung Hwan Ahn, and Boram Lee
Department of Radiation Oncology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of
Korea
Jaehyeon Seo and Myonggeun Yoon
Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Med. Phys. 47 (2), February 2020.

Tumor-treating field…
Tumor-treating fields induce autophagy by blocking the Akt2/…
  Tumor-treating fields (TTFs) — a type of electromagnetic field-based therapy using low-intensity electrical fields — has
recently been characterized as a potential anticancer therapy for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). However, the molecular
mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Our results show that the activation of autophagy contributes to the TTFinduced anti-GBM activity in vitro or in vivo and GBM patient stem cells or primary in vivo culture systems. TTF-treatment
upregulated several autophagy-related genes (~2-fold) and induced cytomorphological changes. TTF-induced autophagy in
GBM was associated with decreased Akt2 expression, not Akt1 or Akt3, via the mTOR/p70S6K pathway. An Affymetrix
GeneChip miRNA 4.0 Array analysis revealed that TTFs altered the expression of many microRNAs (miRNAs). TTFinduced
autophagy upregulated miR-29b, which subsequently suppressed the Akt signaling pathway. A luciferase reporter assay confirmed that TTFs induced miR-29b to target Akt2, negatively affecting Akt2 expression thereby triggering autophagy. TTF-induced autophagy suppressed tumor growth in GBM mouse models subjected to TTFs as determined by positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT). GBM patient stem cells and a primary in vivo culture system with high Akt2 levels also showed TTF-induced inhibition. Taken together, our results identified autophagy as a critical cell death pathway triggered by TTFs in GBM and indicate that TTF is a potential treatment option for GBM.

Eun Ho Kim, Yunhui Jo1,2 , Sei Sai3 , Mung-Jin Park1 , Jeong-Yub Kim1, Jin Su Kim4, Yeon-Joo Lee 1,
Jae-Min Cho1, Seo-Young Kwak5, Jeong-Hwa Baek1, Youn Kyoung Jeong6, Jie-Young Song 1,
Myonggeun Yoon2, Sang-Gu Hwang1

Oncogene (2019) 38:6630–6646

Effectiveness of a F…
Effectiveness of a Fractionated Therapy Scheme in Tumor Trea…
  This study aimed to evaluate the biological effectiveness of cancer therapy with tumor treating fields using a fractionated
treatment scheme that was originally designed for radiotherapy. Discontinuous fractional tumor treating fields of an intensity of
0.9 to 1.2 V/cm and a frequency of 150 KHz were applied to U373 cancer cells and IEC6 normal cells for 3 days, with durations of 3, 6, 12, or 24 h/d. As the treatment duration of the tumor treating fields increased from 3 to 24 h/d, the relative tumor cell (U373) number (% of control) reduced in proportion to the treatment duration. Compared to a 25% cell number reduction (75% of
control) for the group of 6 h/d treatment at 1.2 V/cm, only 5% (70% of control) and 8% (67% of control) of additional reductions
were observed for the group of 12 and 24 h/d treatment, respectively. This experimental result indicates that the dependence on
treatment duration in tumor cell inhibition was weakened distinctly at treatment duration over 6 h/d. For normal cells (IEC6), the
relative cell number corresponding to the treatment time of the tumor treating fields at 1.2 V/cm of electric field strength was not
decreased much for the treatment times of 3, 6, and 12 h/d, revealing 93.3%, 90.0%, and 89.3% relative cell numbers, respectively, but it suddenly decreased to *73% for the 24 h/d treatment. Our results showed that the effects of tumor treating fields on tumor cells were higher than on normal cells for treatment duration of 3 to 12 h/d, but the difference became minimal for treatment duration of 24 h/d. The fractionated scheme, using tumor treating fields, reduced the treatment time while maintaining efficacy, suggesting that this method may be clinically applicable for cancer treatment.

Yunhui Jo, BS1,2, Jiwon Sung, PhD1, Hyesun Jeong, MS3,
Sunghoi Hong, PhD3, Youn Kyoung Jeong, PhD4, Eun Ho Kim, PhD2, and
Myonggeun Yoon, PhD1

Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment
Volume 18: 1-10 The Author(s) 2019

Quantitative study o…
Quantitative study of fast non-local means-based denoising f…
In chest radiography, a solitary pulmonary nodule, which may be a precursor of lung cancer, is a frequently detected finding. However, as the image quality is deteriorated owing to the increase in the noise, lung cancer screening studies revealed that the likelihood of finding a nodule is lower than those of other modalities. This study quantitatively evaluates three widely used filters (median, Wiener, and total variation) and a newly proposed filter (fast non-local means (FNLM)), which reduce image noise. Images of a phantom with lung nodules, obtained from a patient using the 3D printing technology, were acquired at the chest anterior–posterior, lateral, and posterior– anterior positions. To evaluate their denoising performance, normalized noise power spectrum, contrast to noise ratio and coefficient of variation were used. In the quantitative evaluation
of the overall image, the proposed FNLM filter exhibited the best image performance. In the quantitative evaluation of the nodule image, the FNLM filter, which exhibits outstanding denoising performance and time efficiency, can be employed. Therefore, with the use of the FNLM filter in chest radiography, the detection probability of a nodule, which can be a precursor of lung
cancer, is increased, and the cancer can be prevented even with a lower dose. 


Jina Shim, Myonggeun Yoon, Youngjin Lee
a Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
b Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Severance Hospital, 50-1, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
c Department of Radiological Science, Gachon University, 191, Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea

Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron Optics 179(2019)
Toward a novel dosim…
Toward a novel dosimetry system using acrylic disk radiation…
Purpose: Fabricate an acrylic disk radiation sensor (ADRS) and characterize the photoluminescence
signal generated from the optical device as basis for the development and evaluation of a new
dosimetry system for pencil beam proton therapy.
Methods: Based on the characteristics of the proposed optical dosimetry sensor, we established the
relation between the photoluminescence output and the applied dose using an ionization chamber.
Then, we obtained the relative integral depth dose profiles using the photoluminescence signal generated
by pencil beam irradiation at energies of 99.9 and 162.1 MeV, and compared the results with the
curve measured using a Bragg peak ionization chamber.
Results: The relation between the photoluminescence output and applied dose was linear. In addition,
the ADRS was dose independent for beam currents up to 6 Gy/min, and the calibration factor
for energy was close to 1. Hence, the energy dependence on the optical device can be disregarded.
The integral depth dose profiles obtained for the ADRS suitable agreed with the curve measured in
the Bragg peak ionization chamber without requiring correction.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the ADRS is suitable for dosimetry measurements in pencil
beam scanning, and it will be employed as a low-cost and versatile dosimetry sensor in upcoming
developments. 

Shinhaeng Cho
Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea
Nuri Lee
Department of Radiation and Oncology, National Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
Sanghyeon Song
Department of Radiation and Oncology, Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
Jaeman Son
Department of Radiation and Oncology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
Haksoo Kim, Jong Hwi Jeong, Se Byeong Lee, and Youngkyung Lim
Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea
Sunyoung Moon and Myonggeun Yoon
Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Dongho Shina)
Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea

Med. Phys. 45(11), November 2018

Study on the Dose Un…
Study on the Dose Uncertainties in the Lung during Passive P…
A moving phantom is manufactured for mimicking lung model to study the dose uncertainty from CT number-stopping power conversion and dose calculation in the soft tissue, light lung tissue and bone regions during passive proton irradiation with compensator smearing value. The phantom is scanned with a CT system, and a proton beam irradiation plan is carried out with the use of a treatment planning system (Eclipse). In the case of the moving phantom, a RPM system is used for respiratory gating. The uncertainties in the dose distribution between the measured data and the planned data are investigated by a gamma analysis with 3%-3 mm acceptance criteria. To investigate smearing effect, three smearing values (0.3 cm, 0.7 cm, 1.2 cm) are used to for fixed and moving phantom system. For both fixed and moving phantom, uncertainties in the light lung tissue are severe than those in soft tissue region in which the dose uncertainties are within clinically tolerable ranges. As the smearing value increases, the uncertainty in the proton dose distribution decreases.

Seung Hoon Yoo
Division of Heavy-Ion Clinical Research, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Science, Seoul 01812, Korea
Jae Man Son and Myonggeun Yoon
Department of Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Sung Yong Park
McLaren Proton Therapy Center, McLaren Cancer Institute, Flint, Michigan 48532, USA
Dongho Shin
Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea
Byung Jun Min
Department of Radiation Oncology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital,
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 03181, Korea

Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 72, No. 11, June 2018, pp. 1369∼1378
Development of Optic…
Development of Optical Fiber Based Measurement System for th…
 This study describes the development of a beam monitoring system for the verification of entrance dose map in pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy based on fiber optic radiation sensors (FORS) and the validation of this system through a feasibility study. The beam monitoring system consisted of 128 optical fibers optically coupled to photo-multiplier tubes. The performance of the beam monitoring system based on FORS was verified by comparing 2D dose maps of square-shaped fields of various sizes, which were obtained using conventional dosimeters such as MatriXX and EBT3 film, with those measured using FORS. The resulting full-width at half maximum and penumbra were compared for PBS proton beams, with a 2% difference between each value, indicating that measurements using the conventional dosimetric tool corresponded to measurements based on FORS. For irregularly-shaped fields, a comparison based on the gamma index between 2D dose maps obtained using MatriXX and EBT3 film and the 2D dose map measured by the FORS showed passing rates of 96.9  1.3% and 96.2  1.9%, respectively, confirming that FORS-based measurements for PBS proton therapy agreed well with those measured using the conventional dosimetric tools. These results demonstrate that the developed beam monitoring system based on FORS is good candidate for monitoring the entrance dose map in PBS proton therapy.

Jaeman Son 1, Se Byeong Lee 2, Youngkyung Lim 2, Sung Yong Park 3, Kwanho Cho 2, Myonggeun Yoon 1,* and Dongho Shin 2,*
1 Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea; jaeman0410@naver.com
2 Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea; sblee@ncc.re.kr (S.B.L.);
yklim@ncc.re.kr (Y.L.); kwancho@ncc.re.kr (K.C.)
3 Department of Medical Physics, Chinan Biomedical Technology Inc., Zhubei 30268, Taiwan;
sungyong.park63@gmail.com

Sensors 2018, 18, 227.
Development of Beam …
Development of Beam Monitoring System for Proton Pencil Beam…
 We aimed to develop a beam monitoring system based on a fiber-optic radiation sensor (FORS),
which can be used in real time in a beam control room, to monitor a beam in proton therapy, where
patients are treated using a pencil beam scanning (PBS) mode, by measuring the beam spot width
(BSW) and beam spot position (BSP) of the PBS. We developed two-dimensional detector arrays to
monitor the PBS beam in the beam control room. We measured the BSW for five energies of the PBS
beam and compared the measurements with those of Lynx and EBT3 film. In order to confirm the
BSP, we compared the BSP values of the PBS calculated from radiation treatment planning (RTP),
to five BSP values measured using FORS at 224.2 MeV. When comparing BSW values obtained
using developed monitoring system to the measurements obtained using commercial EBT3 film, the
average difference in BSW value of the PBS beam was 0.1 ± 0.1 mm. In the comparison of BSW
values with the measurements obtained using Lynx, the average difference was 0.2 ± 0.1 mm. When
comparing BSP measurements to the values calculated from RTP, the average difference was 0.4 ±
0.2 mm. The study results confirmed that the developed FORS-based beam monitoring system can
monitor a PBS beam in real time in a beam control room, where proton beam is controlled for the
patient.

Jaeman Son,∗ Jihye Koo, Sunyoung Moon and Myonggeun Yoon
Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 10408, Korea
Jonghwi Jeong,∗ Sun-Young Kim, Youngkyung Lim, Se Byeong Lee and Dongho Shin
Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang 02841, Korea
Meyoung Kim
Research Center, Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (DIRAMS), Busan 46033, Korea
Dongwook Kim
Department of Radiation Oncology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul 05278, Korea

Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 71, No. 7, October 2017, pp. 438∼443
Effect of topogram-t…
Effect of topogram-tube angle combination on CT radiation do…

 This study assessed the ability of various types of topograms, when used with an automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) technique, to reduce radiation dose from computed tomography (CT) scans. Three types of topograms were used with the ATCM technique: (i) anteroposterior (AP) topograms alone, (ii) AP topograms followed by lateral topograms, and (iii) lateral topograms followed by AP topograms. Various regions (chest, abdomen and whole-body) of a humanoid phantom were scanned at several tube voltages (80, 100 and 120 kVp) with the selected topograms. Although the CT dose depended on the order of topograms, the CT dose with respect to patient positioning depended on the number of topograms performed. The magnitude of the difference in CT dose between number and order of topograms was greater for the scans of the abdomen than the chest. These results suggest that, for the Siemens SOMATOM Definition AS CT scanner, choosing the right combination of CT scan conditions with the ATCM technique can minimize radiation dose to a patient.

J. Shim and M. Yoon

Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University,

145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Severance Hospital,

50-1, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Journal of Instrumentation

Gold nanoparticles a…
Gold nanoparticles as a potent radiosensitizer in neutron th…

 The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of gold nanoparticles as radiosensitizer for use in neutron therapy against hepatocellular carcinoma. The hepatocellular carcinoma cells lines Huh7 and HepG2 were irradiated with γ and neutron radiation in the presence or absence of gold nanoparticles. Effects were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, cell survival, cell cycle, DNA damage, migration, and invasiveness. Gold nanoparticles significantly enhanced the radiosensitivity of Huh7 and HepG2 cells to γ-rays by 1.41- and 1.16-fold, respectively, and by 1.80- and 1.35-fold to neutron radiation, which has high linear energy transfer. Accordingly, exposure to neutron radiation in the presence of gold nanoparticles induced cell cycle arrest, DNA damage, and cell death to a significantly higher extent, and suppressed cell migration and invasiveness more robustly. These effects are presumably due to the ability of gold nanoparticles to amplify the effective dose from neutron radiation more efficiently. The data suggest that gold nanoparticles may be clinically useful in combination therapy against hepatocellular carcinoma by enhancing the toxicity of radiation with high linear energy transfer.


Eun Ho Kim1, Mi-Sook Kim2, Hyo Sook Song3, Seung Hoon Yoo1, Sei Sai4, Kwangzoo
Chung5, Jiwon Sung3, Youn Kyoung Jeong6, YunHui Jo3 and Myonggeun Yoon3
1.Division of Heavy Ion Clinical Research, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
2.Department of Radiation Oncology, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
3.Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
4.Department of Basic Medical Sciences for Radiation Damages, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan
5.Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
6.Research Center for Radiotherapy, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea

Oncotarget, 2017, Vol. 8, (No. 68)
Secondary cancer-inc…
Secondary cancer-incidence risk estimates for external radio…
 This study was designed to estimate radiation-induced secondary cancer risks from high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy and external radiotherapy for patients with cervical cancer based on measurements of doses absorbed by various organs. Organ doses from HDR brachytherapy and external radiotherapy were measured using glass rod dosimeters. Doses to out-of-field organs were measured at various locations inside an anthropomorphic phantom. Brachytherapy-associated organ doses were measured using a specialized phantom that enabled applicator insertion, with the pelvis portion of the existing anthropomorphic phantom replaced by this new phantom. Measured organ doses were used to calculate secondary cancer risk based on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII models. In both treatment modalities, organ doses per prescribed dose (PD) mostly depended on the distance between organs. The locations showing the highest and lowest doses were the right kidney (external radiotherapy: 215.2 mGy; brachytherapy: 655.17 mGy) and the brain (external radiotherapy: 15.82 mGy; brachytherapy: 2.49 mGy), respectively. Organ doses to nearby regions were higher for brachytherapy than for external beam therapy, whereas organ doses to distant regions were higher for external beam therapy. Organ doses to distant treatment regions in external radiotherapy were due primarily to out-of-field radiation resulting from scattering and leakage in the gantry head. For brachytherapy, the highest estimated lifetime attributable risk per 100,000 population was to the stomach (88.6), whereas the lowest risks were to the brain (0.4) and eye (0.4); for external radiotherapy, the highest and lowest risks were to the thyroid (305.1) and brain (2.4). These results may help provide a database on the impact of radiotherapy-induced secondary cancer incidence during cervical cancer treatment, as well as suggest further research on strategies to counteract the risks of radiotherapy-associated secondary malignancies.

Boram Lee,1,2 Sung Hwan Ahn,2 Hyeyoung Kim,2 Jaeman Son,1
Jiwon Sung,1 Youngyih Han,3 Seung Jae Huh,3 Jin Sung Kim,4
Dong Wook Kim,5 and Myonggeun Yoon1a
Department of Bio-convergence Engineering,1 Korea University, Seoul; Department of Radiation Oncology,2 Samsung Medical Center, Seoul; Department of Radiation Oncology,3 Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul; Department of Radiation Oncology,4 College of Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center, Seoul; Department of Radiation Oncology,5 Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea

Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 17.5 (2016).
Tumor treating field…
Tumor treating fields inhibit glioblastoma cell migration, i…
 Treatment with alternating electric fields at an intermediate frequency (100?300 kHz), referred to as tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy, inhibits cancer cell proliferation. In the present study, we demonstrated that TTF application suppressed the metastatic potential of U87 and U373 glioblastoma cell lines via the NF-kB, MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Wound-healing and transwell assays showed that TTF suppressed cell migration and invasion compared with controls. Soft agar and three-dimensional culture assays showed that TTF inhibited both anchoragedependent (cell proliferation) and anchorage-independent (colony formation) GBM cell growth. TTF dysregulated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-related genes, such as vimentin and E-cadherin, which partially accounted for TTF inhibition of cell migration and invasion. We further demonstrated that TTF application suppressed angiogenesis by downregulating VEGF, HIF1α and matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9. TTF also inhibited NF-kB transcriptional activity. Collectively, our findings show that TTF represents a promising novel anti-invasion and anti-angiogenesis therapeutic strategy for use in GBM patients.

Eun Ho Kim1, Hyo Sook Song2, Seung Hoon Yoo1, Myonggeun Yoon2
1Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
2Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Oncotarget 7.40 (2016): 65125-65136.
Biological effect of…
Biological effect of an alternating electric field on cell p…
Alternating electric fields at an intermediate frequency (100~300 kHz), referred to as tumour-treating fields (TTF), are believed to interrupt the process of mitosis via apoptosis and to act as an inhibitor of cell proliferation. Although the existence of an antimitotic effect of TTF is widely known, the proposed apoptotic mechanism of TTF on cell function and the efficacy of TTF are controversial issues among medical experts. To resolve these controversial issues, a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of TTF on cell function and the differences between the effects of TTF alone and in combination with other treatment techniques is essential. Here, we report experimental evidence of TTF-induced apoptosis and the synergistic antimitotic effect of TTF in combination with ionizing radiation (IR). For these experiments, two human Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells (U373 and U87) were treated either with TTF alone or with TTF followed by ionizing radiation (IR). Cell apoptosis, DNA damage, and mitotic abnormalities were quantified after the application of TTF, and their percentages were markedly increased when TTF was combined with IR. Our experimental results also suggested that TTF combined with IR synergistically suppressed both cell migration and invasion, based on the inhibition of MMP-9 and vimentin.

Eun Ho Kim1, Ye Jin Kim1, Hyo Sook Song2, Youn Kyoung Jeong1, Ji Young Lee1,
Jiwon Sung2, Seung Hoon Yoo1, Myonggeun Yoon2
1Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Seoul, 01812, Korea
2Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea

Oncotarget 7.38 (2016): 62267-62279.
Feasibility Study of…
Feasibility Study of Patient-specific Quality Assurance Syst…

 This study was conducted for the purpose of establishing a quality-assurance (QA) system for brachytherapy that can ensure patient-specific QA by enhancing dosimetric accuracy for the patient’s therapy plan. To measure the point-absorbed dose and the 2D dose distribution for the patient’s therapy plan, we fabricated a solid phantom that allowed for the insertion of an applicator for patient-specific QA and used an ion chamber and a film as measuring devices. The patient treatment plan was exported to the QA dose-calculation software, which calculated the time weight of dwell position stored in the plan DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) file to obtain an overall beam quality correction factor, and that correction was applied to the dose calculations. Experiments were conducted after importing the patient’s treatment planning source data for the fabricated phantom and inserting the applicator, ion chamber, and film into the phantom. On completion of dose delivery, the doses to the ion chamber and film were checked against the corresponding treatment plan to evaluate the dosimetric accuracy. For experimental purposes, five treatment plans were randomly selected. The beam quality correction factors for ovoid and tandem brachytherapy applicators were found to be 1.15 and 1.10 ? 1.12, respectively. The beam quality correction factor in tandem fluctuated by approximately 2%, depending on the changes in the dwell position. The doses measured by using the ion chamber showed differences ranging from ?2.4% to 0.6%, compared to the planned doses. As for the film, the passing rate was 90% or higher when assessed using a gamma value of the local dose difference of 3% and a distance to agreement of 3 mm. The results show that the self-fabricated phantom was suitable for QA in clinical settings. The proposed patient-specific QA for the treatment planning is expected to contributeto reduce dosimetric errors in brachytherapy and, thus, to enhancing treatment accuracy. 

Boram Lee
Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea, and
Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center,
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
Sung Hwan Ahn, Hyeyoung Kim, Youngyih Han and Seung Jae Huh
Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center,
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
Jin Sung Kim
Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center, Seoul 03722, Korea
Dong Wook Kim
Department of Radiation Oncology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul 05278, Korea
Jina Sim and Myonggeun Yoon?
Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea

Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 68, No. 8, April 2016
Development of a nov…
Development of a novel proton dosimetry system using an arra…
This study describes the development and evaluation of a new dosimetric system for proton therapy
using an array of fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensors (AFCRS). The AFCRS was superior to a conventional,
multi-layer ion chamber (MLIC) system in real-time data acquisition and cost effectiveness.
 
 
 
 
Jaeman Son a,b, Meyoung Kim c, Dongho Shin a,?, Uijung Hwang d, Sebyeong Lee a, Youngkyung Lim a,
Jeonghoon Park a, Sung yong Park e, Kwanho Cho a, Daeyong Kim a, Kyoung Won Jang f,
Myonggeun Yoon b,?
a Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang; b Department of Bio-Convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; c Research Center,
Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Busan, Republic of Korea; d Radiation Oncology, National Medical Center, Seoul; e Great Lakes Cancer Institute, McLaren
Regional Medical Center, Flint, USA; and f Department of Medical Engineering, Konkuk University, Chungju, Republic of Korea
 
Son J et al. Development of a novel proton dosimetry system using an array of fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensors.
Radiother Oncol (2015)
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