Applying graphics processor units to Monte Carlo dose calculation in radiation therapy

We investigate the potential in using of using a graphics processor unit (GPU) for Monte-Carlo (MC)-based radiation dose calculations. The percent depth dose (PDD) of photons in a medium with known absorption and scattering coefficients is computed using a MC simulation running on both a standard CPU and a GPU. We demonstrate that the GPU's capability for massive parallel processing provides a significant acceleration in the MC calculation, and offers a significant advantage for distributed stochastic simulations on a single computer. Harnessing this potential of GPUs will help in the early adoption of MC for routine planning in a clinical environment.

我们研究了使用图形处理器单元（GPU）进行基于蒙特卡罗（MC）的辐射剂量计算的潜力。在具有已知吸收和散射系数的介质中，光子的百分深度剂量（PDD）通过在标准CPU和GPU上运行的蒙特卡罗模拟进行计算。我们证明了GPU的大规模并行处理能力在蒙特卡罗计算中提供了显著的加速，并为在单台计算机上进行分布式随机模拟提供了显著优势。利用GPU的这种潜力将有助于在临床环境中早期采用蒙特卡罗进行常规规划。