The path from clinical requirements to technical implementation is filtered by the translation of the modality to the technology. An important part of that filter is that the modality be safe. For that to be the case, it is imperative to understand what clinical parameters affect the safety of a treatment and then determine how the technology can affect those parameters. This book provides a practical introduction to particle therapy. It provides a thorough introduction to the technological tools and their applications and then details the components that are needed to implement them. It explains the foundations of beam production and beam delivery that serve to meet the necessary clinical requirements. It emphasizes the relationship between requirements and implementation, including how safety and quality are considered and implemented in the solution. The reader will learn to better understand what parameters are important to achieve these goals. Particle Therapy Technology for Safe Treatment will be a useful resource for professionals in the field of particle therapy in addition to biomedical engineers and practitioners in the field of beam physics. It can also be used as a textbook for graduate medical physics and beam physics courses. Key Features Presents a practical and accessible journey from application requirements to technical solutions Provides a pedagogic treatment of the underlying technology Describes how safety is to be considered in the application of this technology and how safety and quality can be factored into the overall system Author Bio After receiving his PhD in nuclear physics, Dr. Jacob Flanz was the Accelerator Physics Group leader and Principal Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, where he designed the recirculator and the GeV stretcher/storage ring. He joined Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard and became project and technical director of proton therapy, with responsibility for specifications, integration, and commissioning ensuring safe clinical performance. He invented the universal nozzle and led the design and implementation of beam scanning at MGH in 2008, including quality assurance. Dr. Flanz has been involved in several FDA applications for particle therapy. He developed and taught the US Particle Accelerator School course "Medical Applications of Accelerators and Beams." He was cochair of education and is currently the president of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group. Exercise solutions to accompany this book can be accessed via the 'Instructor Resources' tab on the book webpage.

The path from clinical requirements to technical implementation is filtered by the translation of the modality to the technology. An important part of that filter is that the modality be safe. For that to be the case, it is imperative to understand what clinical parameters affect the safety of a treatment and then determine how the technology can affect those parameters. This book provides a practical introduction to particle therapy. It provides a thorough introduction to the technological tools and their applications and then details the components that are needed to implement them. It explains the foundations of beam production and beam delivery that serve to meet the necessary clinical requirements. It emphasizes the relationship between requirements and implementation, including how safety and quality are considered and implemented in the solution. The reader will learn to better understand what parameters are important to achieve these goals. Particle Therapy Technology for Safe Treatment will be a useful resource for professionals in the field of particle therapy in addition to biomedical engineers and practitioners in the field of beam physics. It can also be used as a textbook for graduate medical physics and beam physics courses. Key Features Presents a practical and accessible journey from application requirements to technical solutions Provides a pedagogic treatment of the underlying technology Describes how safety is to be considered in the application of this technology and how safety and quality can be factored into the overall system Author Bio After receiving his PhD in nuclear physics, Dr. Jacob Flanz was the Accelerator Physics Group leader and Principal Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, where he designed the recirculator and the GeV stretcher/storage ring. He joined Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard and became project and technical director of proton therapy, with responsibility for specifications, integration, and commissioning ensuring safe clinical performance. He invented the universal nozzle and led the design and implementation of beam scanning at MGH in 2008, including quality assurance. Dr. Flanz has been involved in several FDA applications for particle therapy. He developed and taught the US Particle Accelerator School course "Medical Applications of Accelerators and Beams." He was cochair of education and is currently the president of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group. Exercise solutions to accompany this book can be accessed via the 'Instructor Resources' tab on the book webpage.

The path from clinical requirements to technical implementation is filtered by the translation of the modality to the technology. An important part of that filter is that the modality be safe. For that to be the case, it is imperative to understand what clinical parameters affect the safety of a treatment and then determine how the technology can affect those parameters. This book provides a practical introduction to particle therapy. It provides a thorough introduction to the technological tools and their applications and then details the components that are needed to implement them. It explains the foundations of beam production and beam delivery that serve to meet the necessary clinical requirements. It emphasizes the relationship between requirements and implementation, including how safety and quality are considered and implemented in the solution. The reader will learn to better understand what parameters are important to achieve these goals. Particle Therapy Technology for Safe Treatment will be a useful resource for professionals in the field of particle therapy in addition to biomedical engineers and practitioners in the field of beam physics. It can also be used as a textbook for graduate medical physics and beam physics courses. Key Features Presents a practical and accessible journey from application requirements to technical solutions Provides a pedagogic treatment of the underlying technology Describes how safety is to be considered in the application of this technology and how safety and quality can be factored into the overall system Author Bio After receiving his PhD in nuclear physics, Dr. Jacob Flanz was the Accelerator Physics Group leader and Principal Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, where he designed the recirculator and the GeV stretcher/storage ring. He joined Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard and became project and technical director of proton therapy, with responsibility for specifications, integration, and commissioning ensuring safe clinical performance. He invented the universal nozzle and led the design and implementation of beam scanning at MGH in 2008, including quality assurance. Dr. Flanz has been involved in several FDA applications for particle therapy. He developed and taught the US Particle Accelerator School course "Medical Applications of Accelerators and Beams." He was cochair of education and is currently the president of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group.

Surface Guided Radiation Therapy provides a comprehensive overview of optical surface image guidance systems for radiation therapy. It serves as an introductory teaching resource for students and trainees, and a valuable reference for medical physicists, physicians, radiation therapists, and administrators who wish to incorporate surface guided radiation therapy (SGRT) into their clinical practice. This is the first book dedicated to the principles and practice of SGRT, featuring: Chapters authored by an internationally represented list of physicists, radiation oncologists and therapists, edited by pioneers and experts in SGRT Covering the evolution of localization systems and their role in quality and safety, current SGRT systems, practical guides to commissioning and quality assurance, clinical applications by anatomic site, and emerging topics including skin mark-less setups. Several dedicated chapters on SGRT for intracranial radiosurgery and breast, covering technical aspects, risk assessment and outcomes. Jeremy Hoisak, PhD, DABR is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Hoisak’s clinical expertise includes radiosurgery and respiratory motion management. Adam Paxton, PhD, DABR is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Utah. Dr. Paxton’s clinical expertise includes patient safety, motion management, radiosurgery, and proton therapy. Benjamin Waghorn, PhD, DABR is the Director of Clinical Physics at Vision RT. Dr. Waghorn’s research interests include intensity modulated radiation therapy, motion management, and surface image guidance systems. Todd Pawlicki, PhD, DABR, FAAPM, FASTRO, is Professor and Vice-Chair for Medical Physics in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Pawlicki has published extensively on quality and safety in radiation therapy. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Radiology Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as an important innovative treatment for various primary and metastatic cancers. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the physical/technological, biological, and clinical aspects of SBRT. It will serve as a detailed resource for this rapidly developing treatment modality. The organ sites covered include lung, liver, spine, pancreas, prostate, adrenal, head and neck, and female reproductive tract. Retrospective studies and prospective clinical trials on SBRT for various organ sites from around the world are examined, and toxicities and normal tissue constraints are discussed. This book features unique insights from world-renowned experts in SBRT from North America, Asia, and Europe. It will be necessary reading for radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents and fellows, medical physicists, medical physics residents, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and cancer scientists.

- Summarizes the state of the art in the most relevant areas of medical physics and engineering applied to radiation oncology - Covers all relevant areas of the subject in detail, including 3D imaging and image processing, 3D treatment planning, modern treatment techniques, patient positioning, and aspects of verification and quality assurance - Conveys information in a readily understandable way that will appeal to professionals and students with a medical background as well as to newcomers to radiation oncology from the field of physics

Proton Therapy Physics goes beyond current books on proton therapy to provide an in-depth overview of the physics aspects of this radiation therapy modality, eliminating the need to dig through information scattered in the medical physics literature. After tracing the history of proton therapy, the book summarizes the atomic and nuclear physics background necessary for understanding proton interactions with tissue. It describes the physics of proton accelerators, the parameters of clinical proton beams, and the mechanisms to generate a conformal dose distribution in a patient. The text then covers detector systems and measuring techniques for reference dosimetry, outlines basic quality assurance and commissioning guidelines, and gives examples of Monte Carlo simulations in proton therapy. The book moves on to discussions of treatment planning for single- and multiple-field uniform doses, dose calculation concepts and algorithms, and precision and uncertainties for nonmoving and moving targets. It also examines computerized treatment plan optimization, methods for in vivo dose or beam range verification, the safety of patients and operating personnel, and the biological implications of using protons from a physics perspective. The final chapter illustrates the use of risk models for common tissue complications in treatment optimization. Along with exploring quality assurance issues and biological considerations, this practical guide collects the latest clinical studies on the use of protons in treatment planning and radiation monitoring. Suitable for both newcomers in medical physics and more seasoned specialists in radiation oncology, the book helps readers understand the uncertainties and limitations of precisely shaped dose distribution.

Over the past twenty-five years, proton therapy has become more prominent worldwide. It is an important component of clinical radiation therapy for both adult and pediatric clinical care. Due to the inherent ability of protons to spare normal tissue, protons will continue to develop and become increasingly important in radiation oncology. As such, Proton Therapy - Current Status and Future Directions reviews many aspects of proton care including the application of protons in modern clinical trials. It also reviews problems associated with the migration of proton care worldwide and examines the future direction of proton care. This project was created by colleagues at IntechOpen and was carefully managed by Romina Rovan. It has been a privilege to help coordinate the text and chapters designed to acknowledge the history, footprint, and growing interest of proton care worldwide. Proton management is now embedded in the clinical trials process. In pediatric care, proton delivery is embedded with photons for the management of pediatric malignancies and adult groups have initiated proton-specific clinical trials. A proton registry has been established and outcomes are under evaluation. Due to the inherent ability of protons to spare normal tissue, protons will continue to develop and become increasingly important in radiation oncology.

This book provides a radiotherapy perspective on the management of brain metastases with case-based discussion. This management has been rapidly evolving in the face of changing technology, progressing systemic therapy, and paradigm changes that all impact practice. These changes can be difficult, and this text gives a practical approach to help practitioners and trainees understand these changes and incorporate them into their practices. The work has two main sections: Clinical and Technical. The clinical section has chapters that address all aspects of radiation therapy for brain metastases, including integrating advances in surgery and drug treatments. The technical section focuses on the “how to” aspects of treatment, including treatment planning and delivery. This is an ideal guide for practicing radiation oncologists and trainees.

Proton and Carbon Ion Therapy is an up-to-date guide to using proton and carbon ion therapy in modern cancer treatment. The book covers the physics and radiobiology basics of proton and ion beams, dosimetry methods and radiation measurements, and treatment delivery systems. It gives practical guidance on patient setup, target localization, and treatment planning for clinical proton and carbon ion therapy. The text also offers detailed reports on the treatment of pediatric cancers, lymphomas, and various other cancers. After an overview, the book focuses on the fundamental aspects of proton and carbon ion therapy equipment, including accelerators, gantries, and delivery systems. It then discusses dosimetry, biology, imaging, and treatment planning basics and provides clinical guidelines on the use of proton and carbon ion therapy for the treatment of specific cancers. Suitable for anyone involved with medical physics and radiation therapy, this book offers a balanced and critical assessment of state-of-the-art technologies, major challenges, and the future outlook of proton and carbon ion therapy. It presents a thorough introduction for those new to the field while providing a helpful, up-to-date reference for readers already using the therapy in clinical settings.