Use of computerized tomography in dose calculations for radiation treatment planning.

The detailed anatomic information provided by CT scanners can be used to improve the accuracy of dose distribution calculations for radiation treatment planning. Commonly used methods for dose computations are described, with emphasis on their use with CT data, and measured data are presented to illustrate their relative merits. Modification of CT numbers to account for the difference in energies of diagnostic and therapeutic radiation is discussed. A description of a typical CT-based radiation treatment planning system is presented.