Abstract
The design of a particle therapy system that integrates an innovative beam delivery concept based on a static toroidal gantry and an imaging configuration suitable for beam and online range monitoring is proposed and discussed. Such approach would provide a compact and cost-effective layout, with a highly flexible and fast beam delivery, single particle counting capability for fast measurement of beam fluence and position and a precise real time verification of the compliance between the treatment delivery and its prescription. The gantry configuration is discussed, presenting an analysis of the residual magnetic field in the bore and of the feasibility of irradiating a realistic target volume. Moreover, the expected performance of the PET-based range monitor is assessed through Monte Carlo simulations, showing a precision in the reconstruction of the activity distribution from a clinical treatment plan better than the state-of-the-art devices. The feasibility of the proposed design is then discussed through an assessment of the technological improvements required to actually start the construction and commissioning of a system prototype.
Highlights
Particle therapy exploits the energy deposition pattern of ion beams, with the Bragg peak at the end of range, to minimise the unwanted dose to healthy tissues
The present work focuses on the expected performance of the real time imaging system, by analysing different Positron Emission Tomography (PET) configurations integrated in the gantry, whose delivery configuration has already been discussed in detail in Ref. [28]
The beam monitoring design parameters are somehow set by the size of the beam entrance windows in the gantry; the technology choice will be addressed later on, in view of the construction of a prototype, based on results of ongoing R&D studies
Summary
Particle therapy exploits the energy deposition pattern of ion beams, with the Bragg peak at the end of range, to minimise the unwanted dose to healthy tissues. Fixed beam lines are relatively simple to implement with respect to gantries, but the beam incident angle on the patient in some conditions does not allow an optimal design of the dose distribution and the treatment field geometry; fixed lines require moving the patients, with both translations and rotations, in order to complete a full treatment session. Rotating gantries overcome this limitation, at the cost of a more complex and technically challenging implementation. Making use of superconducting magnets, it is possible to increase the magnetic field and reduce the footprint of the machine down to about 9 m and 300 tons [4]
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