This book provides a practical introduction to particle therapy. It provides a thorough introduction to the tools, their applications, and then details the components that are needed to implement it. It explains the foundations of beam production and beam delivery which serve to meet the necessary clinical requirements.
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- 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.
Dr. Jacob Flanz is Associate Professor of Physics at Harvard University Medical School.After receiving his Ph.D. in nuclear physics, Dr. Flanz worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT Dr. Flanz was the accelerator physics group leader and Principle Research Scientist. Included in the work done at MIT was the design, construction and commissioning of Recirculated beam equipment and a storage/stretcher ring with resonant extraction. Both of these projects used symmetry corrected optics invented by Dr. Flanz.
Dr. Flanz joined the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard and became the Project Director and Technical Director of the Burr Proton Therapy Center. His involvement began during the proposal stages for this facility and participated in the development of the technical specifications required for a clinical Proton Therapy System. He was responsible for the system integration of the accelerator and clinical systems, and, working with vendors, to ensure that the technical systems were appropriate for the medical requirements. He contributed to the design and operational optimization of the proton therapy equipment and adaptation to the clinical uses. He played the leading role in the initial commissioning of the entire Proton Therapy system. A central focus for Dr. Flanz is the continuing upgrade of the beam delivery modality for optimal patient treatments. He led the effort for the development of the universal nozzle and the implementation, in 2008, of proton beam scanning at MGH including aspects of Quality Assurance methodology.
He created the first United States Particle Accelerator School (USPAS) course on Beam Measurement at MIT. This was the first course where hands on experience was offered in beam tuning and measurement of beam properties. He developed and taught the USPAS course entitled Medical Applications of Accelerators and Beams numerous times.
His commitment to Particle therapy extends beyond his employment. He was co-chair of the Educational Subcommittee of the Proton Therapy Cooperative Group (PTCOG) and is currently the President of PTCOG.
Chapter 1 Introduction. Chapter 2 Evolution of Medical Particles. Chapter 3 A Personal Historical Perspective. Chapter 4 Flow of Requirements. Chapter 5 External Beam Systems. Chapter 6 How to Damage Unwanted Cells. Chapter 7 Exponentials. Chapter 8 Relativistic Dynamics. Chapter 9 Charged Particle Interactions in Matter. Chapter 10 Review of Charged Particle Motion. Chapter 11 Clinical Perspective of Charged Particle Therapy Beams. Chapter 12 Three-Dimensional Dose Conformation. Chapter 13 Accelerator Systems. Chapter 14 Gantries. Chapter 15 Safety in Radiotherapy. Chapter 16 Sensitivities and Tolerances: Scattering. Chapter 17 From Clinical to Technical Tolerances: Scanning. Chapter 18 Afterword. Acknowledgments. Appendix A: Particle Therapy Facilities (as of June 2021). Appendix B: Some Useful Constants. Appendix C: Hazard Topics. Appendix D: Beam QA Frequency Possibility. Appendix E: Some Element and Compound Parameters. Index.