Ultrasound imaging for external-beam prostate treatment setup and dosimetric verification.

Ultrasound (US) image-guided patient positional verification was performed daily on four prostate cancer patients using the BAT system (NOMOS Corporation, CA). The BAT system has shown that the prostate can shift by as much as 1 cm from its intended position in any direction. Furthermore, the daily shifts measured by the BAT system were included into the treatment planning system to assess changes in prostate dose coverage. Dose volume histograms were used to compare the dosimetry between the ideal patient set-up situation (prostate always positioned correctly) and that taking all patient daily shifts into consideration. Daily patient shifts on the order of magnitudes measured, can significantly and adversely affect dosimetric coverage, therefore an US-based patient positioning system is required for improving the therapeutic ratio.