Treatment planning using MRI data: an analysis of the dose calculation accuracy for different treatment regions

Abstract

Because of superior soft tissue contrast, the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a complement to computed tomography (CT) in the target definition procedure for radiotherapy is increasing. To keep the workflow simple and cost effective and to reduce patient dose, it is natural to strive for a treatment planning procedure based entirely on MRI. In the present study, we investigate the dose calculation accuracy for different treatment regions when using bulk density assignments on MRI data and compare it to treatment planning that uses CT data.