Drivers of the proton beam quality
Unlike conventional radiotherapy, proton beam therapy delivers high radiation doses to tumor cells with minimal exposure of the surrounding tissue. This is achieved thanks to the well-defined penetration range of proton beams. When a proton beam penetrates the tissue, the beam dose deposition gradually increases, culminating in the Bragg peak within the target area, followed by a swift radiation dose decline. By modulating the proton beam energy, the Bragg peak can be aligned with the tumor to precisely deliver the maximum radiation while sparing healthy surrounding tissue.1,2
The quality of clinical proton beams used in tumor treatment, including their precision and effectiveness, can be optimized based on several key parameters, including the beam energy, the beam intensity, the beam spot size, its distal dose fall-off, and lateral penumbra.3-5
Read more about the drivers of beam quality in the Why Beam Quality Matters Solution Paper:
Beam quality impacts patient treatment
The quality of the proton beam can influence different parameters of the proton therapy treatment sessions.
IBA’s ProteusONE is designed to deliver the sharpest beam among all compact accelerator solutions without the need for accessories or multileaf collimators (MLC), liberating users from the MLC impact on treatment workflow, treatment planning, commissioning, uptime, and maintenance.
ProteusONE's high-quality beam has a native small spot size and constant symmetry regardless of gantry angle. This brings several advantages for patient care, including sharper dose delivery, improved conformity and consistent spot symmetry, enhancing treatment planning and speeding up the critical commissioning period and overall quality assurance. It is why medical centers worldwide have chosen IBA’s high-precision pioneering proton therapy system to treat a diverse mix of eligible patients.5,6
Moreover, ProteusONE's superconducting synchrocyclotron delivers a structured and stable beam that reduces treatment time compared to synchrotron-based systems, making it ideal for moving targets.7,8 And the design of ProteusONE aims to significantly reduce stray radiation and neutron dose exposure during treatment, for the patient and for the healthcare staff.9
Discover the unmatched advantages of IBA’s high quality proton beam by downloading the Why Beam Quality Matters Solution Paper:
Beam quality may influence the hospital's efficiency
Several characteristics of a high-quality beam delivery system directly impact a hospital's efficiency and financial success. The high-quality & high-intensity beam delivered by ProteusONE can have an impact on:
- treatment versatility, broadening the possibilities of treated cancer types,
- treatment speed, increasing the number of patients treated
- clinical commissioning and quality assurance (QA),
- minimizing downtime
- energy consumption efficiency, due to the streamlined design
- capability to integrate future innovations, such as DynamicARC® and ConformalFLASH®*
Other characteristics of IBA’s ProteusONE system aim to maximize clinical throughput and hospital efficiency ensuring cost-effectiveness and maximizing long-term value. They include a small footprint and building size, more affordable maintenance, high uptime, scalable design, and upgradability.
ProteusONE is designed to deliver a pure beam
IBA’s unequaled experience in particle accelerator technology, and its unmatched expertise in proton therapy, has powered the development of the ProteusONE system to deliver unparalleled precise radiation to every patient who could benefit from it.
Building upon the long experience with ProteusPLUS, ProteusONE has been designed with our users for the users. The components of its Beam Management System (BMS) have been carefully developed and optimized to deliver a clean and pure beam, aiming to help maximize proton therapy treatment possibilities and improve patient care.
It is important to understand that not all proton beams are the same.
IBA’s ProteusONE unequaled beam quality ensures clinical and operational excellence and the most advanced patient care.
Discover the beam’s impact on hospital efficiency by downloading the Why Beam Quality Matters Solution Paper:
Notes
*ConformalFLASH® & DynamicARC® are registered brands of IBA’s Proton Therapy which are currently under research and development. ConformalFLASH® and DynamicARC® will be available for sale when regulatory clearance is received. Due to a continuous research and development program, IBA reserves the right to make changes in design, technical descriptions, and specifications of its products without prior notice. Some features are under development and may be subject to review by competent authorities.
References
- Hu M et al. Proton beam therapy for cancer in the era of precision medicine. J Hematol Oncol. 2018;11(1):136.
- Newhauser WD and Zhang R. The physics of proton therapy. Phys. Med. Biol. 2015;60:R155-R209.
- Farr JB et al. New horizons in particle therapy systems. Med Phys. 2018;45(11):e953-e983
- Kraan AC et al. Effects of spot parameters in pencil beam scanning treatment planning. Med Phys. 2018.;45(1):60-73.
- Moteabbed M et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016 May 1;95(1):190-198.
- Kraan AC et al. Effects of spot parameters in pencil beam scanning treatment planning. Med Phys. 2018;45(1):60-73.
- Inoue T et al. Limited Impact of Setup and Range Uncertainties, Breathing Motion, and Interplay Effects in Robustly Optimized Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016;96(3):661-669.
- Ding X et al. The first modeling of the spot-scanning proton arc (SPArc) delivery sequence and investigating its efficiency improvement. Int J Part Ther. 2022;8(4):97.
- Stichelbaut F et al. Secondary neutron doses in a compact proton therapy system. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2014;161(1-4):368-72.