Feasibility of a General-Purpose Deep Learning Dose Engine: A Multi-Site Validation Study

Abstract

Conventional radiotherapy dose calculation algorithms are often computationally slow and non-differentiable, creating bottlenecks for online adaptive radiotherapy (ART) and limiting end-to-end automatic planning. Deep learning provides consistent inference performance and a differentiable framework essential for rapid optimization. In this study, we developed a generalized, site-independent deep learning dose engine using a beamlet-based input strategy. This establishes a computationally consistent and differentiable module that enables end-to-end training for autoplanning while maintaining accuracy across diverse geometries. A dataset of 3,600 plans from 120 patients across six anatomical sites was used to train two 3D convolutional neural networks, a standard U-Net and a Cascade U-Net, to predict 3D dose distributions from CT images and divergent MLC/jaw projections. Performance was validated via 3D gamma analysis on an independent cohort of 60 VMAT plans. The optimal model (U-Net with MAE loss) achieved a mean gamma passing rate of $98.9 \pm 1.6\%$ (3%/2mm, 10% threshold). Performance remained robust across all sites (passing rates $>98\%$), demonstrating that the beamlet-based strategy generalizes effectively to complex geometries without site-specific training. These results indicate that a single, site-independent model can calculate radiotherapy dose distributions with clinical accuracy. This differentiable engine is highly suitable for integration into end-to-end automatic planning, online ART, and secondary dose verification workflows.