Article
From Passive to Active Beam Spreading at MGH
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Published: | September 24, 2009 |
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The central goal of radiotherapy is to deliver a dose distribution which conforms as closely as possible to the target, without irradiating tissue external to the target. In order to accomplish this for external beam radiotherapy, most of the time, one needs to spread the unmodified beam to the target shape. Depending upon the beam properties (e.g. charged or uncharged particles), a variety of tools that can be used. Over the past few decades, the field has evolved from using truly passively scattered fields to scattered fields that are only called passive, but are not, to finally, active Particle Beam Scanning (PBS).
The evolution of these beam spreading modalities will be summarized with an emphasis on the MGH and Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory experience. The challenges of developing improved beam delivery systems in the context of a clinically active environment and the influence of accelerator beam properties will be considered.
This talk will deal with the evolution of the MGH beam spreading systems, include our experiences, and how we use or plan to use these systems. Current status of developments will also be covered.