A novel conformity index for intensity modulated radiation therapy plan evaluation

Abstract

The CI(DD) scoring system was successfully developed to incorporate patient-specific spatial dose information and provide a geometry-based physical index for comparison of IMRT plans for head-and-neck cancers. By taking individual tumor geometry into account, the superiority of CI(DD) in plan discerning power was demonstrated. The use of CI(DD) could provide an effective means of benchmarking performance, reducing treatment plan variability, and advancing the quality of current IMRT planning.