First experimental demonstration of magnetic resonance-guided multileaf collimator tracking for (ultra-)hypofractionated prostate radiotherapy

Abstract

Background and purpose: (Ultra-)hypofractionated radiotherapy is an effective treatment for localized prostate cancer, but intrafraction motion can increase toxicity and/or reduce treatment efficacy. Therefore, motion management is essential. This study explores magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking for 2-fraction prostate radiotherapy on an MR-linac. Materials and methods: We compared two MRI-guided MLC centroid tracking workflows, each using a different motion manager to derive and stream target positions to our in-house MLC tracking software. The first workflow relies on interleaved 2D (2.5D) cine-MRI, introducing minimal latency. In contrast, the second workflow utilized 3D cine-MRI, which operates at a relatively lower imaging frequency that introduces more latency. For experimental validation, we used a motion phantom equipped with an integrated insert that combines film with plastic scintillation dosimetry. A 2x12 Gy 11-beam prostate intensity modulated radiotherapy plan was created for tracking deliveries. Results: The signal latency introduced by the motion managers was 0.6 s for 2.5D cine-MRI and 6.3 s for 3D cine-MRI. Despite this latency, MLC tracking effectively restored the planned dose, improving the 2%/2mm local gamma pass-rates from 21% (due to linear drift) to 89% (2.5D) and 91% (3D). Plastic scintillator measurements showed reduced dose deviations at the periphery of the clinical target volume from 13–64% (no tracking) to 0–11% (2.5D) and 2–26% (3D). Conclusion: Our experiments demonstrated the technical feasibility of 2.5D and 3D cine-MRI-based MLC tracking on an MR-linac for 2-fraction prostate radiotherapy, with both motion management strategies achieving comparable dosimetric improvements despite the difference in latency.