Virtual Patients for Computing Radiation Doses

描述（由申请人提供）：我们提出了一个为期5年的跨学科项目，以整合我们的最新进展，并加快在计算辐射剂量的虚拟患者模型的关键领域的研究。目标是为美国和世界其他地区在高能光子/电子/质子放射治疗、X射线/CT成像和辐射风险流行病学研究的器官剂量计算方式方面的范式转变奠定基础。我们最近已经表明，使用现有的程式化的患者模型获得的器官剂量数据显着不同，从由CT，MR和可视人体图像定义的患者特定的解剖结构。因此，它假设，一个新的范例的基础上统一的三维全身计算患者体模框架，系统地开发从详细的解剖图像，并与现代蒙特卡罗模拟工具相结合，可以提高临床病人护理的质量，依赖于器官剂量计算。一个由杰出的研究人员组成的团队旨在实现以下具体目标：1）为不同年龄和体型的男性和女性患者创建计算患者3D/4D解剖模型的标准化参考库。2)将这些全身计算体模与易于使用的Monte Carlo计算工具相结合，用于3D/4D辐射传输模拟，涉及常见和新兴治疗和诊断程序的各种辐射类型。3)为了验证这一假设，我们将评估患者的改进解剖模型和现代蒙特卡罗模拟工具对器官剂量值和临床结局的影响程度。4)建立并维持国家计算幻象资源中心及网际网路传播管道。我们开发了两个共同的核心，在这个多组的努力：1）一个标准化的参考图书馆的计算幻影，和2）收集用户友好的图像处理算法和蒙特卡罗辐射输运模拟工具。这两个核心支持四个并行的临床项目。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose a 5-year interdisciplinary project to integrate our recent advances and to accelerate research in key areas of virtual patient models for computing radiation doses. The objective is to set the foundation for a paradigm shift in the United States and the rest of the world in the ways that organ doses are calculated for high-energy photon/electron/proton radiotherapy, X-ray/CT imaging, and radiation risk epidemiological studies. We have recently shown that organ dose data obtained using the existing stylized patient models differ remarkably from those from patient-specific anatomies defined by CT, MR and Visible Human images. Therefore, it hypothesized that a new paradigm based on a unified 3-D whole-body computational patient phantom framework, systematically developed from detailed anatomical images and integrated with the modern Monte Carlo simulation tools, can improve the quality of clinical patient care that relies on organ dose calculations. A team of distinguished researchers is assembled to achieve the following Specific Aims: 1) To create a standardized reference library of computational patient 3D/4D anatomical models for both male and female patients of various ages and body sizes. 2) To incorporate these whole-body computational phantoms with easy-to-use Monte Carlo computing tools for 3D/4D radiation transport simulations involving various radiation types for common and emerging therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. 3) To test the hypothesis, we will evaluate the degrees to which the improved anatomical models of patients and modern Monte Carlo simulation tools will impact on the organ dose values and the clinical outcomes. 4) To establish and maintain a national center of computational phantom resources and an internet-based dissemination channel. We develop two common cores in this multi-group effort: 1) A standardized reference library of computational phantoms, and 2) A collection of user-friendly image-processing algorithms and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation tools. These two cores then support four parallel clinical projects.