Relational database of treatment planning system information

  • Michael Eugene Kantor MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030
  • George Starkschall MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030
  • Peter Balter MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030

Abstract

The purpose of the present work was to develop a relational database and associated applications to facilitate retrospective review of data present in radiation treatment plans. The data source was a commercial radiation treatment planning system (Pinnacle3, Philips Medical Systems, Milpitas CA), which is specifically characterized by an open data storage format and internal scripting capability. The database is an open-source, relational database (PostgreSQL, PostgreSQL Global Development Group, http://www.postgresql.org). The data is presented through a web interface in addition to being fully query-accessible using standard tools. A database schema was created to organize the large collection of parameters used to generate treatment plans as well as the parameters that characterized these plans. The system was implemented through a combination of the treatment planning systems internal scripting language and externally executed code. Data is exported in a way that is transparent to the user, through integration into an existing and routinely-used process. The system has been transparently incorporated into our radiation treatment planning workflow. The website-based database interface has allowed users with minimal training to extract information from the database.
Published
2017-10-02
How to Cite
Kantor, M. E., Starkschall, G., & Balter, P. (2017). Relational database of treatment planning system information. Journal of Radiation Oncology Informatics, 5(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5166/jroi-5-1-15
Section
Articles