Introducing a novel prediction index for treatment quality of gamma knife and stereotactic-based radiotherapy: Nabaa Efficiency Index ( η Nabaa ).
An accurate assessment of the radiotherapy plans requires an accurate dose to the target and efficient confinement of the doses. However, present indices do not completely cover these aspects in a single framework.
To develop a unified, dimensionless metric that integrates geometric conformity and dosimetric efficiency for evaluating stereotactic and fractionated radiotherapy plans aims to reduce QA workload by providing a rapid, quantitative estimate of plan acceptability, allowing early prediction of treatment plan performance.
In this study, the Nabaa Efficiency Indexη N a b a a is introduced and defined as the product of the Conformity Index (CI) and a Dose-Efficiency Ratio (DER), evaluated at 50% and 90% isodose levels ( η 50 % N a b a a , η 90 % N a b a a ). We analyzed theoretical behavior against normalized dose-volume ratios and compared η N a b a a with established indices of conformity, homogeneity, and the Paddick efficiency index ( η 50 % P a d d i c k ) . Clinical validation used 100 plans (50 Gamma Knife, 50 VMAT-SRS). Statistics included ANOVA, correlations, ROC/AUC, and decision-curve analysis.
η 50 % N a b a a and η 90 % N a b a a were monotonic, bounded, and dimensionless. η 50 % N a b a a distinguished gradient/halo efficiency between stereotactic and linac plans (p < 0.001). η 90 % N a b a a most strongly reflected prescription-dose conformity (pooled AUC = 0.94) and outperformed the Paddick Efficiency Index ( η 50 % P a d d i c k ) in discrimination and interpretability.
η N a b a a unifies geometric and dosimetric assessment across modalities. Its simplicity, physical interpretability, and software-ready formulation support integration into automated QA and treatment-planning pipelines.
To develop a unified, dimensionless metric that integrates geometric conformity and dosimetric efficiency for evaluating stereotactic and fractionated radiotherapy plans aims to reduce QA workload by providing a rapid, quantitative estimate of plan acceptability, allowing early prediction of treatment plan performance.
In this study, the Nabaa Efficiency Index
Authors
Alsiraj Alsiraj, Alabedi Alabedi, Almusawi Almusawi, Faraj Faraj, Ahmad Ahmad, Alzuabidi Alzuabidi
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