Open AccessPersonalized Dosimetry for Liver Cancer Y-90 Radioembolization Using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Monte Carlo Simulation
Author(s) -
Emilie Roncali,
Amirtahà Taebi,
Cameron C. Foster,
Catherine Vu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
annals of biomedical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1573-9686
pISSN - 0090-6964
DOI - 10.1007/s10439-020-02469-1
Subject(s) - dosimetry , radiation treatment planning , monte carlo method , selective internal radiation therapy , computational fluid dynamics , nuclear medicine , microsphere , positron emission tomography , hepatocellular cancer , biomedical engineering , computer science , radiation therapy , medicine , physics , radiology , cancer , mathematics , engineering , mechanics , statistics , chemical engineering
Yttrium-90 (Y-90) transarterial radioembolization uses radioactive microspheres injected into the hepatic artery to irradiate liver tumors internally. One of the major challenges is the lack of reliable dosimetry methods for dose prediction and dose verification. We present a patient-specific dosimetry approach for personalized treatment planning based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the microsphere transport combined with Y-90 physics modeling called CFDose. The ultimate goal is the development of a software to optimize the amount of activity and injection point for optimal tumor targeting. We present the proof-of-concept of a CFD dosimetry tool based on a patient's angiogram performed in standard-of-care planning. The hepatic arterial tree of the patient was segmented from the cone-beam CT (CBCT) to predict the microsphere transport using multiscale CFD modeling. To calculate the dose distribution, the predicted microsphere distribution was convolved with a Y-90 dose point kernel. Vessels as small as 0.45 mm were segmented, the microsphere distribution between the liver segments using flow analysis was predicted, the volumetric microsphere and resulting dose distribution in the liver volume were computed. The patient was imaged with positron emission tomography (PET) 2 h after radioembolization to evaluate the Y-90 distribution. The dose distribution was found to be consistent with the Y-90 PET images. These results demonstrate the feasibility of developing a complete framework for personalized Y-90 microsphere simulation and dosimetry using patient-specific input parameters.