Quantitative analysis of treatment process time and throughput capacity for spot scanning proton therapy

Abstract

The spot scanning port at our proton therapy center has operated at a high performance level and has been used to treat a large number of complex cases. Further improvements in efficiency may be feasible in the areas of facility operation, beam delivery, patient immobilization and setup, and optimization of treatment scheduling.

Technical Note: Using experimentally determined proton spot scanning timing parameters to accurately model beam delivery time

“…As shown in Fig. , more than 70% of the BDT is spent on layer switch, which is consistent with the values reported by Suzuki et al 2016 . Therefore, techniques that can reduce layer switch, such as multiple energy extraction, would have a large impact on improving system efficiency …”

Analysis of treatment process time for real‐time‐image gated‐spot‐scanning proton‐beam therapy (RGPT) system

“…In this study, we used the machine log data to analyze the patient treatment process flow. The treatment process time without gating has already been defined in previous studies . However, in order to include the gating function as the treatment process time, we redefined the treatment process time up to the marker gated irradiation, as presented in Table .…”

“…It is important for proton therapy facilities to consider the treatment‐room throughput and efficiency. In previous studies, Suzuki et al evaluated the treatment time for passive scattering proton therapy and SSPT in a multiroom facility . Using the gating function, we can use a proton pencil beam to irradiate a moving tumor with high accuracy, but the treatment‐room throughput may be reduced because of the longer beam delivery time compared to that without the gating function.…”

“…At the SSPT facility, the daily treatment schedule for a patient is divided into fixed 30‐min time slots . For pediatric patients who require anesthesia, many proton facilities generally allot a fixed time slot of 30–90 min for a treatment session depending upon the patient characteristics.…”

Analysis of Treatment and Delay Times by Disease Site and Delivery Technique at Samsung Medical Center: Proton Therapy Center

“…Other institutions have conducted studies to estimate the maximum capacity of proton therapy patients as a function of the distribution of disease sites, the number of ports, tumor size, facility operating capacity, and patient treatment time. 4,5) These studies discussed the cost effectiveness of proton therapy and provide basic data for improving the efficacy of proton therapy and calculating the appropriate number of personnel involved.…”