Simulation of 4-dimensional tumor motion and the assessment of the interplay effect in pencil beam scanning proton beam therapy

Introduction Holland PTC (Delft, The Netherlands) is an independent outpatient clinic where ten different types of cancer are treated with Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS). Some of these cancer types are situated in the thoracic region and therefore exposed to breathing motion. The interplay between the dynamic pencil beam delivered in PBS and the...

Impact of Variations in Patient and Beam Parameters on Proton Therapy using Pencil Beam Scanning technique

Pencil beam scanning is a technique used in the proton therapy. This technique makes use of a thin beam which can irradiate each spot at millimetre precision. It is a very promising technique, especially for more radiation sensitive areas, e.g. lung carcinogenesis, as it can spare more healthy surrounding tissue compared to conventional...

Irregular breathing in proton therapy: The effect of irregular breathing on the interplay effect in pencil beam scanning proton therapy

Pencil beam scanning is becoming a more common treatment modality. However, its ability to deal with moving targets is known to be limited, as beam motion and target motion can reinforce each other, deteriorating the planned dose distribution in what is called the interplay effect. Literature concerning breathing motion usually investigates...