Real-time tumor motion tracking in 3D using planning 4D CT images during image-guided radiation therapy

In this paper we propose a novel method for tracking the respiratory phase and 3D tumor position in real time during treatment. The method uses planning four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography (CT) obtained through the respiratory phase, and a kV projection taken during treatment. First, digitally rendered radiographs (DRRs) are generated from the 4DCT, and the structural similarity (SSIM) between the DRRs and the kV projection is computed to determine the current respiratory phase and magnitude. The 3D position of the tumor corresponding to the phase and magnitude is estimated using non-rigid registration by utilizing the tumor path segmented in the 4DCT. This method is evaluated using data from six patients with lung cancer and dynamic diaphragm phantom data. The method performs well irrespective of the gantry angle used, i.e., a respiration phase tracking accuracy of 97.2 ± 2.5%, and tumor tracking error in 3D of 0.9 ± 0.4 mm. The phantom study reveals that the DRRs match the actual projections well. The time taken to track the tumor is 400 ± 53 ms. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a technique used to track the respiratory phase and 3D tumor position in real time using kV fluoroscopy acquired from arbitrary angles around the freely breathing patient.