Introduction to Ion Beam Therapy

Abstract

Presently, ion beam therapy reaches an increasing interest within the field of radiation therapy, which is caused by the promising clinical results obtained in the last decades. Ion beams enable higher dose conformation to the tumor and increased sparing of the surrounding tissue in comparison to the standard therapy using high energy photons. Heavy ions, like carbon, offer in addition increased biological effectiveness, which makes them suitable for treatment of radioresistant tumors. This contribution gives an overview over the physical and biological properties of ion beams. Common fundamental principles of ion beam therapy are summarized and differences between standard therapy with high energy photons, proton and carbon ion therapy are discussed. The technologies used for the beam production and delivery are introduced, with emphasis to the differences between passive and active beam delivery systems. The last part concentrates on the quality assurance in ion therapy. Specialties of dosimetry in medical ion beams are discussed.