Respiratory motion causes either over-dose to the tumor or under-dose to the organ at risk in radiation therapy treatment for cancer. In order to characterize the motion, a nonlinear finite element model of the lungs has been developed based on 4D computed tomography (CT) data of a cancer patient with a tumor in the right lung. Pressure-volume (PV) curve data was applied to deform the model in real time. Realistic results are obtained when contact conditions are imposed between the pleura and the thoracic cavity.

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