Using NIPAM gel dosimeter and concentric swing machine to simulate the dose distribu- tion during breathing: A feasibility study

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy plays an important role in cancer treatment today. Successful radiotherapy includes precise positioning and accurate dosimetry. OBJECTIVE: To use NIPAM gel dosimeter and concentric swing machine to simulate and evaluate the feasibility of lung or upper abdominal tumor dose distribution during breathing. METHODS: We used a concentric swing machine to simulate actual radiotherapy for lung or upper abdomen tumors. A 4 [Formula: see text] 4 cm [Formula: see text] irradiation field area was set and MRI was performed. Next, readout analysis was performed using MATLAB and the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate [Formula: see text] 95% was used as a basis for evaluation. RESULTS: The concentric dynamic dose curve for a simulated respiratory rate of 3 seconds/breath and 4 [Formula: see text] 4 cm [Formula: see text] field was compared with 4 [Formula: see text] 4, 3 [Formula: see text] 3, and 2 [Formula: see text] 2 cm [Formula: see text] treatment planning systems (TPS), and the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate was 42.87%, 54.96%, and 49.92%, respectively. Pre-simulation showed that the high-dose region dose curve was similar to the 2 [Formula: see text] 2 cm [Formula: see text] TPS result. After appropriate selection and comparison, we found that the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate was 97.92% on comparing the [Formula: see text] 60% dose curve with the 2 [Formula: see text] 2 cm [Formula: see text] TPS. CONCLUSIONS: NIPAM gel dosimeter and concentric swing machine use is feasible to simulate dose distribution during breathing and results conforming to clinical evaluation standards.