Abstract

Purpose: An overview of the ultrasound imaging artifacts encountered in Mammosite balloon APBI is presented. Analysis of ultrasound measurement errors and the dosimetric impact of balloon leakage were used to determine whether clinically relevant changes in balloon size can be reliably detected. Methods: Ultrasound imaging of a Mammosite balloon phantom was performed to better understand measurement errors and accuracy. The dose to the prescription point as a function of balloon diameter was computed for different sized balloons. The results were compared to phantom measurements of balloon diameter versus filling volume to assess the dose change that would result from tissue moving inward with a shrinking balloon boundary. In APBI patients undergoing a course of 10 treatment fractions, the accuracy and variability of balloon size measured with ultrasound imaging was compared to CT. Results: Ultrasound artifacts combine to form a false image of the distal balloon boundary. Proper US probe orientation and choice of measurement point locations improved distance measurement accuracy. A 1 mm change in balloon diameter is measurable with ±0.1 mm error and corresponds to <4% change in dose 1 cm from the balloon. Measurement errors relative to CT averaged less than 1.4 mm and variability (standard deviation) over the course of treatment averaged 1.9 mm. Conclusions: Properly performed ultrasound image acquisition and analysis can detect dosimetrically relevant changes in the size of a leaking balloon. This study confirms that US imaging is a valid method of verifying APBI balloon integrity over the course of treatment.

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