Facility overview for a proton beam treatment center.

Proton beam therapy is now widely recognized as the most precise form of radiation treatment available for certain types of diseases. As such, there is an ever-increasing demand for efficient hospital-based systems capable of providing proton therapy on a routine basis. A hospital-based proton-beam treatment center consists of many systems that must be integrated to form a single simple-to-operate and maintain medical device. The system must be capable of accelerating the proton beam to the needed energies safely and effectively, transporting the beam successfully to the appropriate treatment room, and shaping the proton beam to the desired target volume within the patient. This paper overviews the major systems needed to meet these objectives as part of a complete proton-beam treatment system. This paper focuses on the areas of beam acceleration, beam transport, and beam delivery methods, including an introduction to both passive and active beam delivery methods. Additionally, it introduces and provides examples of the required simplicity and types of automation needed to achieve a high-capacity proton-beam treatment system, with specific examples based on use at the system at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Microdosimetric comparison of scanned and conventional proton beams used in radiation therapy.

Multiple groups have hypothesised that the use of scanning beams in proton therapy will reduce the neutron component of secondary radiation in comparison with conventional methods with a corresponding reduction in risks of radiation-induced cancers. Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) has had FDA marketing clearance for scanning beams since 1988 and an experimental scanning beam has been available at the LLUMC proton facility since 2001. The facility has a dedicated research room with a scanning beam and fast switching that allows its use during patient treatments. Dosimetric measurements and microdosimetric distributions for a scanned beam are presented and compared with beams produced with the conventional methods presently used in proton therapy.