Reconstructed and Real Proton Radiographs for Image-Guidance in Proton Beam Therapy

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Proton beam therapy faces challenges due to uncertainties in proton range within human tissues.
• These range uncertainties necessitate larger safety margins, potentially affecting treatment precision and safety.
• Accurate range determination is crucial for effective tumor targeting and minimizing dose to healthy tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential of proton radiography as an image-guidance tool for proton beam therapy.
• To assess the feasibility of using proton radiography for estimating particle beam range in clinical settings.
• To present initial results from a novel proton radiography system.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of a specific proton radiography system.
• Acquisition of real and reconstructed proton radiographs.
• Qualitative review of the generated proton radiographic images.

Main Results:

• The developed proton radiography system produced interpretable real and reconstructed images.
• Qualitative assessment indicated excellent potential for image guidance applications.
• Preliminary results suggest feasibility for clinical use in proton therapy.

Conclusions:

• Proton radiography demonstrates significant potential as an image-guidance system for proton beam therapy.
• This technique may help address the critical issue of particle beam range uncertainty.
• Further quantitative analysis is warranted to fully establish its clinical utility.