IBA is bringing plan verification into proton therapy system at Trento Proton Therapy Center, in Italy.

By utilizing CT at the point of treatment, physicians at the center will immediately be able to evaluate dose distribution and confirm if any treatment changes need to be made on a weekly or daily basis. Tumor shrinking, for example, would warrant an adjustment that could be discerned through the in-room imaging modality.

In time, IBA and the Trento Proton Therapy Center are hoping to use the CT to integrate even quicker indicators of target and dose precision. That could allow for reassessment and adaptation before each individual fraction, to obtain the best results. Being able to monitor dose so closely could mean faster, more accurate and less expensive treatment.
"We are very proud to be among the first to benefit from this highly-advanced imaging modality," said Dr. Maurizo Amichetti, clinical director of the Trento Proton Therapy Center, in a statement. "We strongly believe that proton therapy still has a lot in store as a cancer treatment modality, and we are intent on staying on the cutting edge of every feature that brings it closer to its full potential."

The CT scanner they've installed is a 64 slice, large bore system. It features low dose and pediatric imaging protocols, optimized workflow, and high performance iterative reconstruction.

IBA currently has 18 proton therapy centers in operation and an additional 14 in various stages of installation. They also have plans to install more CT integrated proton systems in the interest of boosting research and reducing treatment margins.

They hope, through better targeting, hypofractionation can be used to lower the amount of fractions to five or 10 instead of 25 to 35, while also lowering costs to the health system and achieving better tumor control.

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