Author: Jaehee Chun, Jin Sung Kim, Siddhant Sen, James J. Sohn, Ethan D. Stolen 👨🔬
Affiliation: Department of Radiation & Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Heavy Ion Therapy Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Oncosoft Inc 🌍
Purpose: In LDR brachytherapy for prostate cancer, anatomical changes between pre-planning and implantation require adjustment of needle and seed configurations. Currently, clinics spend significant time manually comparing pre-OR and OR plans to generate adjustment workflows. We developed ONCOSEED, a software tool that automates this comparison process and generates optimized adjustment workflows.
Methods: The software processes pre-OR and OR-plan data from VariSeed, employing optical character recognition to extract needle and seed configurations. A novel "LScore" metric quantifies the labor required for plan adjustments. We evaluated ONCOSEED using three simulated treatment plans, comparing its performance against manual workflow generation by experienced staff.
Results: ONCOSEED reduced workflow generation time from an average of 410 seconds (manual) to 14.7 seconds (automated). The software demonstrated a 2,795% efficiency improvement over manual methods across all test cases, with accuracy matching manual calculations. Processing times remained consistent regardless of plan complexity.
Conclusion: ONCOSEED significantly streamlines the workflow generation process for prostate seed implant adjustments, potentially reducing OR time and improving clinical efficiency. This tool could promote the adoption of adaptive brachytherapy practices by reducing the labor burden of plan comparisons.