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Generation of arbitrary intensity profiles by dynamic jaws or multileaf collimators
Author(s) -
Spirou Spiridon V.,
Chui Chen S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.597345
Subject(s) - multileaf collimator , collimator , intensity (physics) , optics , piecewise , piecewise linear function , computer science , dosimetry , algorithm , mathematics , physics , beam (structure) , linear particle accelerator , geometry , nuclear medicine , mathematical analysis , medicine
An algorithm, which calculates the motions of the collimator jaws required to generate a given arbitrary intensity profile, is presented. The intensity profile is assumed to be piecewise linear, i.e., to consist of segments of straight lines. The jaws move unidirectionally and continuously with variable speed during radiation delivery. During each segment, at least one of the jaws is set to move at the maximum permissible speed. The algorithm is equally applicable for multileaf collimators (MLC), where the transmission through the collimator leaves is taken into account. Examples are presented for different intensity profiles with varying degrees of complexity. Typically, the calculation takes less than 10 ms on a VAX 8550 computer.