Pencil beam scanning: a dynamical approach to proton therapy

Abstract

Pencil Beam Scanning is a dynamic beam delivery system developed at IBA s.a. for proton therapy. The radiation field necessary to reach in a fast and robust way a prescribed 3D dose distribution is obtained by accurately controlling both the extraction of the beam from a 235 MeV accelerator and the motion of the beam spot thanks to scanning magnets. Compared to existing beam delivery systems, the hardware of the PBS system is considerably simplified while offering the possibility of accurate delivery and short treatment time. The simplification in hardware is compensated for by advanced actuation, which is the topic of the present paper.