PARTICLE THERAPY SCAN DOSE SYSTEMS AND DIAGNOSTICS

Particle therapy, of which Proton Therapy is a particular type, is an exciting new treatment for certain types of cancer that are difficult to treat with conventional methods. The mode of beam delivery called Pencil Beam Scanning is now finding favour in many treatment centres, where it offers a new level of precision and control in delivery of the beam, so minimising damage to healthy tissue.

Pyramid has developed electronics, beam scan magnets and ionization chambers that install in the final part of the therapy beamline, called the nozzle. Some of these components are shown in the picture above.

An important aspect of particle therapy is quality assurance procedures that ensure the particle beam actually has the characteristics assumed by the medical treatment plan. Pyramid products are available for quality assurance of pencil beam scanning systems.

The 2016 brochure describing the Pyramid products that are used in particle therapy is available here (12 Mb).

Posters presented by Pyramid at recent particle therapy conferences:

2013: A multipole magnet design for PBS
2013: Amplifier developments at MGH
2014: Multifunction isocenter diagnostic system
2014: Towards a beam QA procedure for PBS
2015: A large-area high-resolution imaging detector system
2015: An enhanced system for pencil beam characterization
2016: Use of a multi-layer Faraday collector
2016: A simulator system for PBS
2018: Large area QA IC for PBS spot position calibration
2019: Methods for improved accuracy and speed from spot scanning systems
2022: Low energy performance of MLFCs

More information on particle beam therapy here.