Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Zhang, Rongxiao.
To present a Monte Carlo (MC) beam model and its implementation in a clinical treatment planning system (TPS, Varian Eclipse) for a modified ultrahigh dose-rate electron FLASH radiation therapy (eFLASH-RT) linear accelerator (LINAC) using clinical accessories and geometry.
Delivery of radiation at ultrahigh dose rates (UHDRs), known as FLASH, has recently been shown to preferentially spare normal tissues from radiation damage compared with tumor tissues. However, the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon remains unknown, with one of the most widely considered hypotheses being that the effect is related to substantial oxygen depletion upon FLASH, thereby altering the radiochemical damage during irradiation, leading to different radiation responses of normal and tumor cells. Testing of this hypothesis would be advanced by direct measurement of tissue oxygen in vivo during and after FLASH irradiation.
In this study, procedures were developed to achieve efficient reversible conversion of a clinical linear accelerator (LINAC) and deliver ultrahigh-dose-rate (UHDR) electron or conventional beams to the treatment room isocenter for FLASH radiation therapy.