Application of 3D-printed compensators for proton pencil beam scanning of shallowly localized pediatric tumors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In modern proton radiotherapy facilities with pencil beam scanning technology, the lowest energy of a proton beam typically ranges between 60 and 100 MeV, corresponding to a proton range in water of 3.1-7.5 cm. The irradiation of superficial lesions usually requires the application of a range shifter (RS) to further reduce the proton range. A certain distance from the patient to the RS increases the spot size, causing worse plan conformity. As an alternative solution, a patient-specific 3D-printed proton beam compensator (BC) can be applied to reduce the air gap and beam scattering.

Materials and methods

This study is based on treatment planning system simulations using retrospectively selected data from six pediatric patients with diagnosed sarcomas located in th

SUBMITTER: Wochnik A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12042327 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature