Optimal selection of beam orientations in intensity-modulated radiation therapy

Abstract

Radiation therapy is a common and important treatment for some specific tumors in the treatment of cancer. In recent years, there has been a new development in radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT modulates the intensity of the radiation beam to focus a higher radiation dose on the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding normal tissues. This study aims to investigate the optimal selection of beam angles. Besides limiting the radiation dose to the tumor and the adjacent organs, we also take the dose distribution into consideration and optimize the beam angles and beam intensity maps simultaneously. Compared with the typical equi-spaced model, our proposed approach can provide optimal beam configuration to help physicians in decision-making.