Glossary

BNCT: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy – boron reacts with thermal neutrons. The NeuCure BNCT-system by SHI has approval as medical device in Japan after several years of clinical trials. It is the only clinically operational commercial BNCT system today.

Bragg Peak: Dose peak at the end of the range of the charged particle beam. Used to optimize dose distribution of proton and light ion beams. More about Bragg Peak.

Cyclotron: Isochronous cyclotrons are designed to emit a steady particle beam with high energy and high current.

ESS: Energy Selection System, also known as the Degrader, comprises of energy degrader and beam purification bend before the nozzle, which determines the energy i.e. depth of the Bragg Peak.

Gantry: Structure to rotate a beamline to allow ideally 360 degrees of treatment angles. The Gantry holds bending magnets and nozzle to deliver radiation precisely.

IMT: Integrated Medical Technologies Inc. makes good phantoms and QA tools. IMT is now a part of Standard Imaging.

LIONESS: Light Ion Energy Selection System – Energy selection system for charged  particles from a cyclotron which adjusts range of different light ion beams’ Bragg Peak.

Light Ions: In particle therapy.

MeV: Kinetic energy measured in MegaelectronVolts.

NEUCURE: First and only commercially available (in Japan) clinical BNCT product consist of a cyclotron accelerator and beryllium target from Sumitomo, boron compound for injection by Stella Pharma, and RayStation TPS from Raysearch.

OAR: Organs At Risk – Avoidance structures in treatment planning.

Photons/X-Rays, are used in conventional radiotherapy with linear accelerators.

Protons, Proton Therapy is a specialized sub-discipline of radiation therapy and radiosurgery, offering the dosimetric advantages of the Bragg Peak. 

PSI: Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen near Zurich, Switzerland.

QA and QC: Rigorous Quality Assurance and Quality Control are key to accurate and safe delivery of tumoricidal radiation doses. The phantoms from Standard Imagine do a great job as pseudo patients for end to end verification of dose deliveries.

SOBP: Spread Out Bragg Peak achieved by superposition of proton beams with varying energy.

SRS: Stereotactic radiosurgery of the brain, head and neck. High precision, high dose, single fraction or few fractions.

Superconducting: Superconducting magnets are cooled with Sumitomo cryocoolers. Most MRi’s and superconducting accelerators use SHI cryocoolers.

TSL – The Svedberg Laboratory: Research particle accelerator at Uppsala University 1951-2016. The  first animal experiments with stereotactic radiosurgery, and the first human cancer treatments with proton therapy were performed at the Svedberg Laboratory using the  Gustav Werner cyclotron in 1957.

TLA – Three Letter Acronym: TSL, SRS, ESS, MRL, PSI, TPS, ZAP, SHI, OIS, OAR, MeV,MRI, PET, CIA, FBI, FAQ. LMT (Lioness Medtech), TSS.

TSS – Training Support Specialists: Clinical and technical specialist training ensures smooth and efficient ramp-up and operations of your new precision radiation technology.

TPS: Treatment Planning System is the computerized calculation of the dose distribution and development of treatment technique and strategy. Based on CT and MRI images and dose optimization and calculation algorithms.

ZAP-X: Futuristic self-shielded new radiosurgery system with 3 MV linac. Design to spread radiosurgery to benefit more patients.