Imaging, segmentation, guidance and dosimetry for prostate brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a widely used treatment for localized prostate cancer and it consists of the ultrasound-guided trans-perineal insertion of radioactive sources or “seeds” into the prostate to kill cancerous tissue. The insertion is performed by a radiation oncologist who uses a guiding template to insert needles into the prostate and place the seeds. Typically 25 to 35 needles are inserted with 80 to 130 seeds, according to a plan designed by a medical physicist with the goal of delivering sufficient radiation to kill the cancerous tissue while sparing the urethra and rectum.
Our goals are:
- to develop treatment planning and guidance tools based on conventional ultrasound imaging (e.g. segmentation for volume studies, [Badiei et al, 2006]) and vibro-elastography imaging ([Salcudean et al, 2006])
- to find the distribution of seeds with respect to the prostate using ultrasound imaging (see, for example [Xu et al 2006]).
