Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Publication Date

6-1-2025

Journal

Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics

DOI

10.1002/acm2.70023

PMID

40048322

PMCID

PMC12148799

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-6-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: This work presents a multi-institutional study on image quality provided by a novel cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The main goal is to investigate the consistency of imaging performance across multiple institutions.

METHODS: Phantoms for measuring relative electron density (RED) and image quality were sent to six institutions for imaging on Ethos and Halcyon units equipped with HyperSight CBCT. The imaging protocols included tube potential from 100 to 140 kVp and exposure from 80 to 800 mAs. Imaging performance was evaluated with regard to RED versus Hounsfield units (HU), uniformity, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), slice thickness, circular symmetry, modulation transfer function (MTF), and spatial resolution.

RESULTS: Among all institutions, some variability was observed among institutions in the RED-to-HU relationship, especially for RED values greater than 1, although no outliers were found (|z-score| < 2 in all cases). In this range, RED/HU slopes were 475 ± 25 10

CONCLUSIONS: This multi-institutional analysis of CBCT imaging performance showed consistency in radial uniformity, circular symmetry, integral nonuniformity, contrast, and spatial resolution. Some variability was seen in the RED-to-HU relationship for RED > 1 depending on exposure. More data from different institutions would be necessary to establish more robust statistical metrics, which ensure quality parameters.

Keywords

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography, Particle Accelerators, Humans, Phantoms, Imaging, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted, Radiotherapy Dosage, Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated, Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Published Open-Access

yes

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