Purpose: We report inverse-optimized GRID and Lattice pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton treatment techniques and their dosimetric characteristics.
Methods: GRID and Lattice plans were created in a water phantom in a commercial treatment planning system with a clinical PBS proton system. An in-house script generated evenly spaced cylinders and spheres within a 10 cm cube centered at 10 cm from surface; the cylinder axes and the sphere lattice were positioned along the vertical direction. The diameter of the cylinders and spheres was 3 mm; patterns with 4 different center-to-center spacings were tested: 1.5 cm, 2.0 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3.0 cm. Two plans were created for each center-to-center spacing, a GRID plan and a Lattice plan, using the cylinders and the spheres as targets, respectively, with a single beam from gantry angle 0. All plans were optimized to deliver a uniform dose (15 Gy in 1 fraction) to the target while minimizing dose outside of the targets.
Results: At the depth of 10 cm (center of cube), the peak-to-valley ratios (PVRs) are 1.54, 3.47, 9.52, 26.79 for the GRID plans and 1.52, 3.26, 9.15, 22.39 for the Lattice plans for the center-to-center distances of 1.5 cm, 2.0 cm, 2.5 cm, and 3.0 cm, respectively. The ranges of PVR at different depths for the GRID plans are: 1.27-1.71, 2.48-4.32, 5.39-13.54, and 17.65-34.88, respectively. For the Lattice plans, the ranges are: 1.23-1.67, 2.33-3.90, 5.13-9.15, and 15.00-29.41, respectively.
Conclusion: Proton GRID and Lattice plans were feasible with multiple center-to-center distances. The achievable PVRs are mainly determined by the center-to-center distances for both GRID and Lattice plans. For the same center-to-center distance, GRID plans have slightly higher PVRs than the Lattice plans. The PVRs decrease with depth for both GRID and Lattice plans.
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