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Macro Monte Carlo: Clinical Implementation in a Distributed Computing Environment

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Abstract

The Monte Carlo (MC) method is the most accurate method for the calculation of dose distributions in radiotherapy treatment planning (RTP) for high energy electron beams, if the source of electrons and the patient geometry can be accurately modeled and a sufficiently large number of electron histories are simulated. Due to the long calculation times, MC methods have long been considered as impractical for clinical use. Two main advances have improved the situation and made clinical MC RTP feasible: The development of highly specialized radiotherapy MC systems, and the ever-falling price/performance ratio of computer hardware. Moreover, MC dose calculation codes can easily be parallelized, which allows their implementation as distributed computing systems in networked departments. This paper describes the implementation and clinical validation of the Macro Monte Carlo (MMC) method, a fast method for clinical electron beam treatment planning.

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Neuenschwander, H., Volken, W., Frei, D., Cris, C., Born, E., Mini, R. (2001). Macro Monte Carlo: Clinical Implementation in a Distributed Computing Environment. In: Kling, A., Baräo, F.J.C., Nakagawa, M., Távora, L., Vaz, P. (eds) Advanced Monte Carlo for Radiation Physics, Particle Transport Simulation and Applications. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18211-2_37

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18211-2_37

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62113-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-18211-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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