While proton beam therapy enables directing of a proton beam at a tumor with pinpoint precision, failure to achieve high-precision irradiation will undermine its intended effects. Currently, X-ray CT images are used for dose calculation during treatment planning for proton therapy, but the depth-dose calculation is not accurate enough. One solution to this problem is high-accuracy calculation using proton CT imaging (a new type of CT imaging), but it is not refined to a clinical level yet.

R&D conducted on proton CT imaging at our laboratory involves a wide range of topics from the development of detection systems using radiation measurement and signal processing technologies to research on software for CT image reconstruction and image processing and studies using Monte Carlo simulations. We are striving to develop proton CT imaging at adequate levels of accuracy for use in the clinical setting.

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2) S. Tanaka, T. Nishio, K. Matsushita, M. Tsuneda, S. Kabuki, M. Uesaka, “Development of proton CT imaging system using plastic scintillator and CCD camera”, Physics in Medicine and Biology, 61, 4156–4167, 2016