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Ridge-filter crosstalk in conformal proton FLASH planning: dependence on beamlet pitch and iterative mitigation
Arxiv
|July 3, 2026
Summary
Ridge-filter (RF) crosstalk causes dose errors in proton FLASH therapy planning. An iterative re-optimization method significantly reduces these discrepancies, improving the accuracy of patient-specific single-energy proton FLASH delivery.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiation Oncology
- Particle Therapy
Background:
- Patient-specific ridge filters (PSRFs) enable single-energy proton FLASH delivery.
- Converting spot-based plans to PSRFs can introduce modulation errors.
- Ridge-filter (RF) crosstalk is a potential source of dose inconsistency.
Purpose of the Study:
- Characterize RF crosstalk in proton FLASH.
- Evaluate crosstalk dependence on beam-width-to-pitch.
- Develop an iterative strategy to mitigate RF crosstalk errors.
Main Methods:
- Monte Carlo dose calculations for proton beamlets through RFs.
- Optimized intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans converted to PSRF geometries.
- Quantified RF crosstalk by comparing PSRF and baseline IMPT dose distributions.
- Evaluated iterative re-optimization in phantom and patient CT data.
Main Results:
- RF crosstalk created hot and cold spots, decreasing plan agreement.
- Crosstalk increased with decreased beamlet spacing.
- Iterative re-optimization reduced mean relative dose difference from 8.9% to 3.4% (water) and 3.7% to 1.8% (CT).
Conclusions:
- RF crosstalk is a significant dose error source in proton FLASH.
- Crosstalk depends on beam-width-to-pitch ratio.
- Iterative re-optimization offers a practical solution for accurate proton FLASH delivery.
