Benefits of Proton Therapy In most cancers requiring radiation therapy, proton therapy can produce better radiation dose distributions with respect to cancer and normal tissue than techniques employing X-rays. A better radiation dose distribution is more important in some clinical situations than others. When considering possible benefits of proton therapy, it is useful to consider the therapeu...

Recent developments in radiation therapy have been focused on applications of charged particles, especially—protons. Proton therapy can allow higher dose conformality compared to conventional radiation therapy. Dose calculations have an integral role in the successful application of proton therapy. Over the years several dose calculation methods have been proposed in proton therapy. A common ch...

The main hindrance to the diffusion of proton therapy facilities is the high cost for gantry installations. An alternative technical option is provided by fixed-beam treatment rooms, where the patient is rotated and translated in space with a robotic arm solution to enable beam incidence from various angles. The technological efforts based on robotic applications made up to now for patient posi...

Within the past few years, interest in proton therapy has significantly increased. This interest has been generated by a number of factors including: 1) the reporting of positive clinical results using proton beams; 2) approval of reimbursement for delivery of proton therapy; 3) the success of hospital-based proton therapy centers; and 4) the availability of modern, integrated proton therapy te...

Purpose: To assess the risk of a secondary malignant neoplasm (SMN) from proton therapy relative to intensitymodulated radiation therapy (IMRT) using X-rays, taking into account contributions from both primary and secondary sources of radiation, for prostate cancer. Methods andMaterials: A proton therapy plan and a 6-MV IMRT plan were constructed for 3 patients with earlystage adenocarcinoma of...

Proton therapy has struck a nerve in the national dialogue about cancer comparative effectiveness research in the United States. Unlike photon-based radiotherapy, proton therapy delivers radiation within a finite range, depositing dose in a tumor target with essentially no residual radiation beyond the tumor. Proton therapy radiation dose distributions often appear superior to photon-based trea...

Nuclear power production can benefit from the development of more comprehensive alternatives for dealing with long-term radioactive waste. One such alternative is an accelerator-driven subcritical reactor (ADSR) which has been proposed for both energy production and for burning radioactive waste. Here we investigate the effects of the size of the ADSR spallation target on the total neutron yiel...

Contrary to popular opinion, the concept of treating cancer using high energy beams of protons is not new. First conceived in 1946, following a period in which patients were treated only in laboratory facilities, the first hospital-based facility opened in 1990 at Loma Linda University Medical Center (United States). Currently there are 67 centres in operation, with a further 32 in the construc...