WP3 Treatment Planning and Delivery
One of the key components for small animal irradiation is the treatment plan. The choice of the most adequate energies, weights and angles for the proton beams are part of the dose optimization steps in the treatment planning system (TPS). However, dedicated small animal TPS are scarce and the characteristics of such an irradiation scenario cannot be fully covered by a clinical TPS.The different scale for the voxel dimensions required and the relying on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) or proton CT (pCT) are two examples on how small animal and clinical TPS can greatly differ. Furthermore, most, if not all, radiation delivery to a small animal can be considered as a small field, which adds another layer of complexity to the TPS modeling. This constraint, in addition to short proton ranges and small anatomical structures, makes the use of Monte Carlo-based calculation a necessity.
The small animal TPS μ-RayStation from RaySearch Laboratories AB was chosen to be used in the SIRMIO project. It is a dedicated TPS for small animal treatment planning, evolving from the vast experience accumulated with the widely spread clinical TPS version marketed as RayStation. The wealth of features and tools that can be applied to both clinical and preclinical use are readily available. Moreover, by being a research version, it gives the flexibility for developing, implementing and testing innovative irradiation and imaging modalities. On the one hand, SIRMIO, as a research platform aiming at deployment in any proton therapy center, requires fast and reliable development of beam models to accommodate the many conditions and irradiation possibilities. On the other hand, the state-of-the-art imaging modalities considered in SIRMIO, like proton tomography, ultrasound, ionacoustics, positron emission tomography (PET), need a flexible TPS platform that can utilize such information for both planning and monitoring.
WP3 is the work package responsible for the full exploitation of the TPS capabilities to fulfill the needs of the SIRMIO project.
Contact
Prof. K. Parodi, Dr. M Pinto
People
L. Zott, Prof. K. Parodi, Dr. M. Pinto
former members: S. Gerlach (formerly Kundel)