1. TPS & Simulations within PARTNER D. Bertrand, D. Prieels Valencia, SPAIN 19 JUNE 2009

2. © 2006 2 TPS & simulations within PARTNER CERN CNAO GSI HIT Karolinska Surrey TERA IBA Siemens MedAustron IFIC ETOILE PARTNER = Clinical studies, Epidemiology, Radiobiology, TPS, Simulations, Image guided particle therapy, PET In-situ monitoring, Gantry design, new accelerator design. ESR : 6/20 = 30% activity ER: 1/5 = 20% activity

3. © 2006 3 Detailed TPS scope (P4)  Research will focus on external ion beam therapy techniques and on adaptive treatments based on combined modalities:  Appropriate model of particle beam spots (spatial distribution, dose deposition)  Study the requirements on the mathematical structure of models  Optimization of algorithms for model evaluations Introduction of biological models for photon radiation into treatment planning  Treatment plan optimization based on biological modelling  Dose assessment with a special attention to the heterogeneities  Biology-based segmentation within the structures (hypoxic regions, dose-volume limits based on LET differences)  Robustness against volume changes  Treatment strategies based on outcome analysis: assessment of tumor control and normal tissues toxicity  Multidimensional dosimetric verification including portal dosimetry  Planning for novel treatment delivery modalities  Analytical or hybrid approaches  Comparative assessment of different Monte-Carlo approaches (Geant4, FLUKA, SHIELD-HIT)

4. © 2006 4 Detailed Simulation scope (P5)  Research will focus on facilitating the use of GEANT and FLUKA for medical therapy applications:  Collect of available information on the simulation of different ion species used in particle therapy  Simulation, for these different ion species, the relevant physical processes (such as neutron production and capture, break-ups and generation of secondaries,…)  Development of a basic data generation tool  Understanding of the interactions of ion beams with materials of the human body  Generation of reference codes for clinical use  Benchmarking of treatment planning algorithms by comparison of output plans to MC models  Use of simulation data for optimising or confirming the choices of ion species  Transfer of available Monte Carlo simulation tools for industrial applications (for treatment planning or beamline design)

5. © 2006 5 TPS - ESR / ER individual projects  WP 10 – Clinical effects of hadron therapy (Surrey)  Multiscale In-silico models describing the clinical effects of hadron beams  Acquisition of simulation input parameters through single ion irradiation experiments

6. © 2006 6 TPS - ESR / ER individual projects  WP 11 – TPS robustness against volume deformations (MedAustron, IBA)  CT data acquisitions reflecting inter- and intra- fractional changes  Computation of fractionated plans, image deformation and registration  Assessment of treatment strategies in the presence of inter- and intra-fractional deformations

7. © 2006 7 TPS - ESR / ER individual projects  WP12 – Geant4/GATE Monte Carlo platform (IBA, Etoile)  Elaboration of a detailed MC model for proton and carbon ion therapy  Assessment of beam physical characteristic and therapeutic quality  Computation of relevant parameters for radiobiological modelling  Assessment of TPS output

8. © 2006 8 TPS - ESR / ER individual projects  WP13 – Treatment plan with combined modalities (MedAustron, Etoile)  Assessment of tumor changes that might require combined treatments  Definition of relevant combined strategies (photons + protons, photons + carbons)  Calculation of separate plans and reconstruction of the overall plan

9. © 2006 9 Simus - ESR / ER individual projects  WP14 – Comprehensive reference MC codes for hadron therapy (CERN)  Comparison of existing MC codes (G4, FLUKA, Shield-HIT) for their simulation of biomedical effects  Simulate the key physical processes undergone by clinical ion species  Generate basic input data for TPS benchmarking

10. © 2006 10 Simus - ESR / ER individual projects  WP15 – FLUKA customisation for plan verifications (HIT)  Customisation of FLUKA in the HIT research planning platform  Computation of dose depositions and comparison with treatment plan data  Experimental validation with homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms  Integration of MC-based verification of treatment plans in an efficient clinical workflow

11. © 2006 11 Simus - ESR / ER individual projects  WP16 – FLUKA & Geant4 simulations at Siemens Healthcare PT (Siemens)  Setup a simulation environment for carbon ions & protons  Develop, test and document the interface between treatment planning and the simulation environment  Determine the characteristic numbers for the comparison between TPS and simulation platform

12. © 2006 12 What comes out of these research topics?  Research on key TPS aspects (physical processes, biological effetcs, optimisation) => Training of high-quality TPS experts  Clear overlap between multiple projects, even if clear independant objectives for all of them  Already some connexion between researchers; more should be developed => Creation of a real collaborative framework through PARTNER

13. © 2006 13 Thank you!