by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | September 22, 2015
While proton beams provide exceptional precision and less dose to healthy tissue, researchers have struggled with finding ways to monitor the beam during treatment. Now, scientists at the National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology - OncoRay and at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) believe they have developed a solution to that problem.
Conventionally, CT scans are used in the planning stages to ensure the beam, which is a projectile that operates on similar physics to a bullet, will hit its target. Unfortunately, without image guidance during the administration of the dose, it's difficult to be sure your target is exactly where you think it is.
"Even a trifle like a stuffed nose in the preliminary examination can distort the data for the treatment plan and, later on, this will mean that the beam will not stop right on target," said Dr. Guntram Pausch of the OncoRay center, in a statement. "Therefore, we have to consider safety margins around the tumor during the treatment."
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For that reason, figuring out how to track the proton beam in real time could be extremely useful.
Pausch, in partnership with the team at HZDR, have conceived a new measurement system that depends on a single detector to record the time between when the proton beam enters the body and when the gamma radiation — which is generated by the protons' journey through the body — hits the detector. They are calling it Prompt Gamma Timing.
If the timing is inconsistent then the technician is immediately aware of it and can adapt the radiation to conform to the new parameters. If the timing is identical to the timing documented in the planning stage, then the technician can be sure of the dose conformity.
The researchers tested their hypothesis using test objects at the West German Proton Therapy Centre in Essen, which has been operational with a four-room ProteusPLUS proton therapy system from IBA since 2013.
"Our approach could tide us over until more elaborate detector systems have been developed and tested," said Pausch.
