MURILLO BELLEZZO

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  • Artigo IPEN-doc 27125
    Advanced design, simulation, and dosimetry of a novel rectal applicator for contact brachytherapy with a conventional HDR 192Ir source
    2020 - BELLEZZO, MURILLO; FONSECA, GABRIEL P.; VONCKEN, ROBERT; VERRIJSSEN, AN-SOFIE; VAN BEVEREN, CELINE; ROELOFS, ERIK; YORIYAZ, HELIO; RENIERS, BRIGITTE; VAN LIMBERGEN, EVERT J.; BERB EE, MAAIKE; VERHAEGEN, FRANK
    PURPOSE: Dose escalation yields higher complete response to rectal tumors, which may enable the omission of surgery. Dose escalation using 50 kVp contact x-ray brachytherapy (CXB) allow the treatment of a selective volume, resulting in low toxicity and organs-at-risk preservation. However, the use of CXB devices is limited because of its high cost and lack of treatment planning tools. Hence, the MAASTRO applicator (for HDR 192Ir sources) was developed and characterized by measurements and Monte Carlo simulations to be a cost-effective alternative to CXB devices. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A cylindrical applicator with lateral shielding was designed to be used with a rectoscope using its tip as treatment surface. Both the applicator and the rectoscope have a slanted edge to potentially allow easier placement against tumors. The applicator design was achieved by Monte Carlo modeling and validated experimentally with film dosimetry, using the Papillon 50 (P50) device as reference. RESULTS: The applicator delivers CXB doses in less than 9 min using a 20375 U source for a treatment area of approximately 20 20 mm2 at 2 mm depth. Normalized at 2 mm, the dose falloff for depths of 0 mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm are 130%, 70%, and 43% for the P50 and 140%, 67%, and 38% for the MAASTRO applicator, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The MAASTRO applicator was designed to use HDR 192Ir sources to deliver a dose distribution similar to those of CXB devices. The applicator may provide a cost-effective solution for endoluminal boosting with clinical treatment planning system integration.
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 26471
    Mechanical evaluation of the Bravos afterloader system for HDR brachytherapy
    2019 - BELLEZZO, MURILLO; BAEZA, JOSE A.; VONCKEN, ROBERT; RENIERS, BRIGITTE; VERHAEGEN, FRANK; FONSECA, GABRIEL P.
    PURPOSE: The Bravos afterloader system was released by Varian Medical Systems in October of 2018 for high-dose-rate brachytherapy with 192Ir sources, containing new features such as the CamScale (a new device for daily quality assurance and system recalibration), channel length verification, and different settings for rigid and flexible applicators. This study mechanically evaluated the Bravos system precision and accuracy for clinically relevant scenarios, using dummy sources. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The system was evaluated after three sets of experiments: (1) The CamScale was used to verify inter- and intra-channel dwelling variability and system calibration; (2) A high-speed camera was used to verify the source simulation cable movement inside a transparent quality assurance device, where dwell positions, dwell times, transit times, speed profiles, and accelerations were measured; (3) The source movement inside clinical applicators was captured with an imaging panel while being exposed to an external kV source. Measured and planned dwell positions and times were compared. RESULTS: Maximum deviations between planned and measured dwell positions and times for the source cable were 0.4 mm for the CamScale measurements and 0.07 seconds for the high-speed camera measurements. Mean dwell position deviations inside clinical applicators were below 1.2 mm for all applicators except the ring that required an offset correction of 1 mm to achieve a mean deviation of 0.4 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Features of the Bravos afterloader system provide a robust and precise treatment delivery. All measurements were within manufacturer specifications.