Institutional experience report on the target contouring workflow in the radiotherapy department for stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation delivered on conventional linear accelerators

Abstract

Purpose: In stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR), the target is defined using multiple imaging studies and a multidisciplinary team consisting of electrophysiologist, cardiologist, cardiac radiologist, and radiation oncologist collaborate to identify the target and delineate it on the imaging studies of interest. This report describes the workflow employed in our radiotherapy department to transfer the target identified based on electrophysiology and cardiology imaging to the treatment planning image set.

Methods: The radiotherapy team was presented with an initial target in cardiac axes orientation, contoured on a wideband late gadolinium-enhanced (WB-LGE) cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) study, which was subsequently transferred to the computed tomography (CT) scan used for treatment planning-i.e., the average intensity projection (AIP) image set derived from a 4D CT-via an axial CMR image set, using rigid image registration focused on the target area. The cardiac and the respiratory motion of the target were resolved using ciné-CMR and 4D CT imaging studies, respectively.

Results: The workflow was carried out for 6 patients and resulted in an internal target defined in standard anatomical orientation that encompassed the cardiac and the respiratory motion of the initial target.

Conclusion: An image registration-based workflow was implemented to render the STAR target on the planning image set in a consistent manner, using commercial software traditionally available for radiation therapy.

Keywords: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; Mutimodality imaging; Stereotactic; Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation; Target definition; Ventricular tachycardia.