Publication

Abstract : Background: Commercial treatment planning system does not have any tool to provide the quantitative analysis of DVH bands corresponding to each delineated structure in a radiotherapy treatment plan. The proposed study reveals the design and algorithm of an in-house developed "DVH Analyzer" tool that provides quantitative analysis of DVH bands. Further, the clinical use of this tool demonstrated with the use of four different clinical cases. Methods: DVH bands for each of the delineated structures in different RTPs generated using the "Plan Uncertainty Parameters" module in the TPS by simulating different patient setup errors in iso-center of the base plan in x-, y-, and z-directions. DVH bands were exported from the TPS and imported into the DVH Analyzer for processing, analysis, and plotting through various modules. Results: Various user-defined volumetric and dosimetric parameters were calculated from DVH bands of each of the delineated structures in different RTPs. The impact of PSE on the user-defined parameters was also analyzed and graphically demonstrated for different clinical sites. Conclusions: The unique feature of DVH Analyzer to handle DVH bands provides a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the robust RTPs generated with different PSE. The flexibility in design and implementation of DVH Analyzer makes it a promising tool for the clinics that could be utilized for clinical evaluation of robust treatment plans.