2025-2026 MCW Radiation Oncology Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 8
2025-2026 Medical College of Wisconsin, Radia琀椀on Oncology Annual Report
The system generates single-energy proton beams, with
depth modula琀椀on achieved through an integrated rangeshi昀琀ing system that precisely controls proton penetra琀椀on
within the pa琀椀ent. Lateral beam shaping is further refined
using an adap琀椀ve aperture mul琀椀-leaf collimator, enabling
pa琀椀ent-specific beam trimming and highly conformal dose
distribu琀椀ons. At its maximum energy, the system is capable
of reaching target depths of up to 32 cm, enabling treatment
of deep-seated tumors while preserving the intrinsic dosesparing advantages of proton therapy.
The facility’s above-grade, mul琀椀story vault design, spanning
mul琀椀ple floors of the hospital, represents a novel approach
to proton therapy infrastructure. Unlike tradi琀椀onal proton
facili琀椀es that are typically constructed en琀椀rely below grade,
this configura琀椀on was made possible by the compact
accelerator and op琀椀mized shielding strategy. Integra琀椀on of the proton unit into the hospital core allows
seamless alignment with exis琀椀ng clinical services, enhances pa琀椀ent access, and supports efficient clinical
workflows within Radia琀椀on Oncology.
Clinical precision is further enhanced through the integra琀椀on of advanced imaging, posi琀椀oning, and mo琀椀onmanagement technologies. Pa琀椀ent setup and alignment are performed using a six-degree-of-freedom robo琀椀c
treatment couch (KUKA Robo琀椀cs), enabling highly accurate transla琀椀onal and rota琀椀onal correc琀椀ons. This
capability supports complex treatment geometries and ensures excep琀椀onal reproducibility across treatment
sessions.
Complemen琀椀ng the robo琀椀c couch is the implementa琀椀on of the first six-camera surface-guided radia琀椀on
therapy (SGRT) system (Vision RT) in a proton therapy environment. This system provides con琀椀nuous, real琀椀me, non-ionizing monitoring of pa琀椀ent surface posi琀椀on and mo琀椀on, improving setup accuracy, and enabling
intrafrac琀椀on mo琀椀on monitoring without addi琀椀onal imaging dose. Together, these technologies provide a
robust and redundant framework for pa琀椀ent posi琀椀oning and mo琀椀on control.
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