Incorporating dynamic collimator motion in Monte Carlo simulations: an application in modelling a dynamic wedge

In radiation therapy, new treatment modalities employing dynamic collimation and intensity modulation increase the complexity of dose calculation because a new dimension, time, has to be incorporated into the traditional three-dimensional problem. In this work, we investigated two classes of sampling technique to incorporate dynamic collimator motion in Monte Carlo simulation. The methods were initially evaluated for modelling enhanced dynamic wedges (EDWs) from Varian accelerators (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, USA). In the position-probability-sampling or PPS method, a cumulative probability distribution function (CPDF) was computed for the collimator position, which could then be sampled during simulations. In the static-component-simulation or SCS method, a dynamic field is approximated by multiple static fields in a step-shoot fashion. The weights of the particles or the number of particles simulated for each component field are computed from the probability distribution function (PDF) of the collimator position. The CPDF and PDF were computed from the segmented treatment tables (STTs) for the EDWs. An output correction factor had to be applied in this calculation to account for the backscattered radiation affecting monitor chamber readings. Comparison of the phase-space data from the PPS method (with the step-shoot motion) with those from the SCS method showed excellent agreement. The accuracy of the PPS method was further verified from the agreement between the measured and calculated dose distributions. Compared to the SCS method, the PPS method is more automated and efficient from an operational point of view. The principle of the PPS method can be extended to simulate other dynamic motions, and in particular, intensity-modulated beams using multileaf collimators. (author)