Discrete event simulation of a proton therapy facility: a case study

Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which utilizes a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue. The main difference with respect to conventional radiotherapy (X-rays, γ-rays) is the capability to target tumors with extreme precision, which makes it possible to treat deep-seated tumors and tumors affecting noble tissues as brain, eyes, etc. However, proton therapy needs high-energy cyclotrons and this requires sophisticated control-supervision schema to guarantee, further than the prescribed performance, the safety of the patients and of the operators. In this paper we present the modeling and simulation of the irradiation process of the PROSCAN facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut. This is a challenging task because of the complexity of the operation scenario, which consists of deterministic and stochastic processes resulting from the coordination-interaction among diverse entities such as distributed automatic control systems, safety protection systems, and human operators.