Programming and computing suite for simulating the therapeutic absorbed dose in radiotherapy

Objectives . Simulation of the absorbed dose is an essential part of radiation therapeutic treatment, performed not only for its correct evaluation, but also for assuring quality control and retrospective evaluation of the provided cure. From the technological point of view, strict requirements are imposed on the software applications and hardware units that support a successful decision-making process before, during, or after the provided therapy. This paper reports an R&D project aimed at technological support of radiation treatment planning systems coupled with the creation of a mathematical framework for estimating the absorbed dose for radiobiological and medical therapeutic purposes. Methods . Adedicated automated software suite for executing multipurpose Monte Carlo simulations was developed. The suite is backed up with virtualization techniques for structured hardware access, data intercommunication using diverse connection channels, various physical interaction engines, and coupled end-user software. Results. The developed suite facilitates a wide array of tasks in the realm of radiobiological research conducted using radiation beams of different qualities. Additionally, it serves as a foundation toolkit for developing radiotherapy planning systems for both existing and new therapeutic facilities, as well as software packages for estimation of the long-term effects of the conducted radiotherapy. Conclusions . The developed programming and computing suite is an effective tool for organizing a specialized environment for multipurpose estimation of the absorbed dose of radiation for therapeutic applications of radiation beams of different qualities. The suite can be updated and extended upon end-user needs and modified by skilled software developers for specific purposes.