Development and evaluation of surface-guided patient position system for boron neutron capture therapy

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an advanced form of radiotherapy that uses the neutron capture reaction of boron-10 to selectively destroy cancer cells. Accurate and reproducible patient positioning is critical to treatment efficacy, yet conventional workflows rely on manual adjustments and laser alignment, introducing operator dependence and potential geometric uncertainty. This study presents an integrated Surface-Guided BNCT patient positioning system (SG-BNCT) that combines a binocular stereo-vision (BSV) module, the BNCT-specific treatment planning system NeuMANTA, and a six-axis industrial robot. The BSV system uses fiducial markers with You Only Look Once (YOLO)-based detection and stereo triangulation to reconstruct 3D geometry, while TPS-derived transformation matrices drive six-degree-of-freedom robotic adjustments. Validation with anthropomorphic phantoms demonstrated millimeter accuracy. By eliminating laser dependence and providing closed-loop corrections, SG-BNCT enhances positioning precision, reduces operator variability, and streamlines setup, supporting more reliable and efficient BNCT treatment delivery.