IU Health Proton Therapy Center Research

To stay on the forefront of proton therapy, the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center has an active research program, which encompasses both the fundamental understanding of proton interactions in heterogeneous medium, as well as clinical applications of modern technologies in patient care. IU Health Proton Therapy Center staff members are involved in independent and collaborative research with a number of partner organizations.

(NOTE: IU Health Proton Therapy Center staff members involved with the various research initiatives are listed in bold. Prior to January 2011, items were presented under our former name, Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute or MPRI.)

Presentations and Posters

American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) 
February 23-26, 2011
Coronado, CA

  • Reed R, Conley T, Simoneaux V.  Proton Beam Attenuation through Immobilization Devices

50th PTCOG
May 12-14, 2011
Philadelphia, PA

  • Zhao L, Cheng C.-W. and Das IJ.  Verification of patient-specific depth dose distributions for uniformly scanned proton beams on irregular fields.
  • Cheng C.-W., Buchsbaum J, Zhao L, Simmons J, Johnstone PAS, Das IJ.    Field Junction Dosimetry in Proton Therapy of Craniospinal Irradiation (CSI).
  • Das IJ, Bartlett G, Hoene T, Chang A, Buchsbaum J, Cheng C.-W., Johnstone PAS.   Dosimetric Comparison of IMRT and Proton Beam Therapy for Posterior Fossae Tumors.
  • Wu H, Zhao Q, Lu M, Das IJ, Cheng C.-W. Gamma Spectrum of Therapeutic Proton Beam for the Design and Shielding of Treatment Room Electronics.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Cheng C.-W., Das IJ. Comparison of Respiratory Motion Effects between Scattering and Uniform Scanning Proton Beam 
  • Moskvin V, Cheng C.-W., Das IJ.  Optimal Material for Multi-Leaf Collimator in Proton Beam Therapy.
  • Das IJ, Zhao Q, Cheng CW, Johnstone PAS.  Patterns of Technical Treatment Parameters in Proton Beam Therapy.

IU Health School of Medicine Research Day
Indianapolis, IN

  • Conley T, Reed WR, Simoneaux V.  Proton beam attenuation through various immobilization materials.
  • Reed WR, T. Conley T, Gaither E, Simoneaux V. Adjusting scanning magnet patterns to reduce neutron production in proton therapy at the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center.

AAPM Ohio River Valley Chapter Meeting
March 2011
Cincinnati, OH

  • Zhao L, Cheng CW,  Moskvin V, James JA, Gossman M, Das IJ.  Towards understanding the uncertainty in range and dose in presence of high-Z materials in proton Therapy.
  • Moskvin VP, Cheng CW,  Das IJ. Multi-leaf Collimator for Proton Beam Therapy: A Double Edge Sword.

Joint AAPM/COMP meeting
July 31 - Aug. 4, 2011
Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Li M, Srivastava S, Cheng CW, Das IJ. Investigation of Positional Accuracy and Reproducibility of Small Fields Defined by Collimating Jaws and MLC.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Cheng CW, Das IJ.  Comparing the Effects of Tumor Motion Patterns and Beam Delivery Timing Between Scattering and Uniform Scanning Proton Beam.
  • Moskvin V, Cheng CW, Das IJ. Hazards of a Tungsten Multi-Leaf Collimator in Proton Beam Therapy.
  • Grimm J, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Grimm S, LaCouture T, Asbell S, Kramer N, Pahlajani N, Chen Y, Xu Q, Xue J.  Phantom Validation and Clinical Application of Monte Carlo for Small Field SBRT.
  • Gautam A, Srivastava S, Fanelli L, Das IJ, Cheng CW. Impact of Quality of Tri-Axial Cable On Radiation Dose Measurement in Proton Beam.
  • Zhao L, Newton J, Adamovics J, Oldham M, Cheng CW, Das IJ.  3D Dosimetry for Small Irregular Proton Fields Using a New PRESAGE® Dosimeter.
  • Cheng CW, Srivastava S, Buchsbaum J, Zhao L, Wolanski M, Simmons J, Johnstone PAS, Das IJ.  Dosimetric Comparison Between Protons and Photons in the Field Junction in Craniospinal Irradiation (CSI).
  • Srivastava S, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Kumar A,. Johnstone PAS. Effect of Rectal Balloon Fillings On Doses to Prostate, PTV and Rectum: An IMRT Planning Study.
  • Gao Z, Cheng CW, Wu G, Li M. The Utilization of a Head-And-Neck IMRT QA Benchmark to Identify the Cause of Individual Imrt Qa Failure.
  • Arjomandy B, Tailor R, Zhao L, Devic S.  An Assessment of EBT2 Gafchromic Film as a Potential Means for Depth Dose Measurement of Radiotherapy Beams.
  • Allgower C, Zhao L. Demonstration of PET/CT Used to Detect Neutron-Induced Activation of Solid Phantoms After Irradiation by Proton Therapy Beams.
  • Cao M, Lasley F, Fakiris A, Desrosiers C, Das IJ, Evaluation of Rotational Errors in Treatment Setup of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) of Lung Cancer, Med Phys 38(6), 3616,  2011.
  • Zhang H, Beyer D, Das IJ, Dosimetric Comparison Between Model 9011 and 6711 Sources in Prostate Implants, Med Phys 38(6), 3661, 2011.

Indiana Society of Radiologic Technologists Annual Conference
Sept. 22-24, 2011
Indianapolis, IN

  • Hines M. Sandefur A, Stockhover D. Using Proton Therapy to Treat Craniospinal Irradiation Patients.

AAPM Ohio River Valley Chapter meeting
October 7 - 8, 2011
Louisville, KY

  • Reed R, Conley TL, Gaither E, Simoneaux RV. Adjusting Scanning Magnet Patterns to Reduce Neutron Production in Proton Radiotherapy at the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center.
  • Zhao L. 3D small field dosimetry for proton therapy using Presage.
  • Cheng CW. A quality management program (QMP) for cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI) with proton therapy (PT): a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) approach.
  • Das IJ.   Impact of ICRU-83 in IMRT.

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) 
October 31 - November 4, 2010
San Diego, California

  • Cheng CW, Allgower C, Hawkins B, McHugh L, Derenchuk V, Das IJ. Isocentricity Of Gantry Rotation Beam Lines And Its Effect On Dose Delivery In Proton Therapy.
  • Moskvin VP, Cheng CW,  Nichihporov D, Das IJ. A comparison of neutron activities produced in brass and tungsten: a Monte Carlo study.
  • Srivastava SP, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Kumar A, Johnstone PAS. Optimum Margin For Target Expansion In Head And Neck IMRT With Daily IGRT.
  • Das IJ, Yang E, Bednar B, Ewing M, Hutchins K, Cao M, Johnstone PAS, Andrews JZ. Factors affecting contra-lateral breast dose in radiation treatment of breast cancer.
  • Shapiro R, Zook J, Bartlett G, Hoene T, Das IJ, Ko S. Dose-Volume Comparison of 3D-Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D-CRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for Salvage or Adjuvant Treatment of the Prostatic Bed.
  • Andrews JZ, Srivastva S, Das IJ. Dose perturbations with metallic breast expanders in postmastectomy patients.

IEEE Nuclear Science Syposium
KnoxvilleTN,
October 30-November 6, 2010

  • Moskvin V, Salvat F, Stewart D. K, DesRosiers C. PENELOPE Monte Carlo engine for treatment planning in radiation therapy with Very High Energy Electrons (VHEE) of 150-250 MeV. (invited submission).
  • Stewart D.K, DesRosiers C, Moskvin V. Design Aspects for Very High Energy Electron (150-250 MeV) Acceleration for Radiation Therapy Use: Beam Shaping, Electromagnetic Scanning.

Sino-American Network for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (SANTRO)
Oct. 14-16, 2010
Hanzhou, Zhejiang, China

  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Cheng C-W, Das IJ. The Effects of Tumor Motion for Scattering and Uniform Scanning Proton Beam

IC3D3: International Conference on 3D Radiation Dosimetry
August 22 - 26, 2010
Hilton Head island, South Carolina

  • Zhao L, Indra J Das, Zhao Q, Thomas S, Adamovic J, Oldham M. Determination of the dose depth distribution of proton beam using PRESAGETM dosimeter

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) 
July 18 – 22, 2010
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Srivastava S, Das IJ, Andrews J, Kumar A, Cheng CW, Johnstone PAS. Dose Perturbation Due to Metallic Breast Tissue Expander in Electron Treatment of Breast Cancer.
  • Srivastava S, Das IJ, Gautam A, Cheng CW. Impact of quality of triaxial cable on radiation dose measurement.
  • Cao M, Hanns L, Lengerich N, Anderson C, King K, Das IJ. Assessment of patient setup corrections in external beam radiotherapy using on-line kilo-voltage imaging.
  • Slessinger E, Pepin E, Zhao Q, Zhao L, Das IJ, Dose Correction in Lung for HDR Breast Brachytherapy.
  • Das IJ, Fanelli L, Gautam A, Zhao L, Wolanski M, Cheng CW. Factors impacting surface dose in proton beam.
  • Das IJ, Srivastva S, Cao M, Li M, Cheng CW. Understanding volume in dose volume histogram.
  • Zhao L, Cheng CW, Moskvin V, Wolanski M, James J, Gossman M, Dikeman K, Srivastava S, Das IJ, Dose Uncertainty Due to High-Z Materials in Clinical Proton Beam Therapy.
  • Zhao L, Cheng CW, Wolanski M, James J, Dikeman K, Allgower C, Fitzek M, Mills M, Das IJ. Feasibility Study of MVCT Imaging Guided Adaptive Proton Therapy for Head and Neck Cancers.
  • Verma P, Wu H, Langer M, Das IJ, Development of Statistical/Mathematical Predictive Model For Lung Tumor Motion.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Pack D, Cheng CW, Das IJ. The Effect of Scanning Pattern and Dose Rate On Output Factor for Uniform Scanning Proton Beam.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Das IJ, Cheng CW. Analysis of Influential Factors of Dose Delivery to a Moving Tumor in Proton Radiotherapy Using Uniform Scanning Beam.
  • Wu H, Cao M, Zhao Q, Das IJ. Impacting Parameter Analysis for IMRT Quality.
  • Hsi W, Schreuder A, Zheng Y, Ding X, Zhao Q, Das IJ. Scattering Factor of Energy-Stacking Layer On Outputs of Modulated Protons Using Uniform Scanning Technique.
  • Moskvin V, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Zhao L, Wolanski M, Andrews J, Johnstone PAS. Dose Perturbation by a Steel Magnetic Injection Port in a Breast Tissue Expander in Proton Radiotherapy: A Monte Carlo Study.
  • Moskvin V, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Zhao L. Secondary Neutron Production by a Scanning Proton Beam.
  • Cheng CW, Zhao L, Wolanski M, Allgower C, Zhao Q, James J, Dikeman K, Mills M, Li M, Frye D, Lu X, Srivastava S, Das IJ, Johnstone PAS. Implications for Proton Therapy Treatment Planning of Tissue Characterization Curves From Different CT Scanners.
  • Stewart DK, Moskvin V, DesRosiers C. Investigation of Various Phantom Materials for Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) Beams 150-250 MeV: A Monte Carlo Study.

Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG) 
May 17 - 22, 2010
Gunma, Japan

  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Cheng CW, Das IJ. Optimizing proton treatment plans with respiratory motion for Uniform Scanning Proton Beam.
  • Das IJ, Fanelli L, Gautam AS, Zhao L, Wolanski M, Allgower C, Cheng CW, Johnstone PAS. Surface dose in proton beam therapy.
  • Zhao L, Das IJ, Cheng CW, Srivastva S, Wolanski M, Allgower C, Gossman M, James J, Mills M, Dickman K, Johnstone PAS. Dose perturbation from metallic ports in proton therapy: kVCT and MVCT based treatment planning and experimental evaluation.
  • Das IJ, Bartlett G, Andrews J, Ko SC, Cheng CW, Johnstone PAS, Understanding surface dose in proton therapy and its impact on hypo-fractionated treatments.
  • Ko SC, Hoene T, Johnstone PAS, Thornton A, Das IJ, Cheng CW. Dosimetric comparison between conventional para-aortic parallel opposed photon treatment and proton treatment for early stage seminoma patients.
  • Cheng CW, Zhao L, Wolanski M, James J, Dickman K, Mills M, Das IJ. A method to reduce range uncertainty in proton planning involving high-Z heterogeneities using modified Hounsfield unit-electron density curve.

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
November 29 – December 3, 2009
Chicago, Illinois

  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Papiez L. Six Dimensional Patient Setup Using Couch, Gantry and Collimator.
  • Conley T. Patient Dose from Radiographic Exposures with an Image Guidance System at Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute.

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) 
Annual Meeting November 1 – 5, 2009
Chicago, Illinois

  • Cheng CW, Das IJ, Johnstone PAS. Isocenter Shift in Image-Guided Proton Therapy (IGPT) of Prostate Irradiation.
  • Moskvin V, Henderson M A, Barriger B, Cao M, DesRosiers C, Johnstone PAS, Das IJ. Inhomogeneity Correction using Monte Carlo Simulation for Leksell Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery.
  • Brabham JG, Shahnazi K, Allgower C, Fitzek MM, Cardenes HR, Fakiris AJ, Ewing ME, Das IJ Dosimetric Comparison of Proton and Photon Treatments for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy of Small Chest Wall Lesions.
  • Cao M, Das IJ, Hutchins KM, Fakiris AJ, Cardenes H, Desrosiers CM, Johnstone PAS, Cheng CW. Proton dose uncertainty with positioning error.
  • Zhao L, Das IJ, Kuros-Zolnierczuk J, Johnstone PAS. Is There a Need for Daily Image Guidance in Proton Therapy of Prostate Cancer?

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), Penn-Ohio/Ohio River Valley Joint Fall Symposium
October 29 – 30, 2009
Columbus, Ohio

  • Zhao L, Das IJ, Kuros-Zolnierczuk J, Johnstone PAS. Dosimetric evaluation of inter-fractional setup uncertainty on prostate treatment in proton therapy.

11th Neutron and Ion dosimetry Symposium (NEUDOS-11)
October 12-16, 2009
iThemba Labs, Capetown, South Africa

  • Nichiporov D, Klyachko A, Solberg K, Zhao Q. Performance Characteristics and Long-term Calibration Stability of a Beam Monitor for a Proton Scanning Gantry.

Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG)
September 29 – October 3, 2009
Heidelberg, Germany

  • Das IJ, Moskvin V, Zhao Q, Cheng CW, Johnstone PAS. Optimum Beam Energy and Treatment Room Setup For A Clinical Proton Beam Therapy.
  • Das IJ, Fanelli L, Wolanski M, Sommers M, Cheng CW, Gautam AS, DesRosiers D, Ko SC, Johnstone PAS. Low-Z Inhomogeneity Correction in Proton Beam Therapy.
  • Wolanski M, Cheng CW, Gautam AS, Das IJ. Dosimetric Characteristics of the OneDose MOSFET Detector for In-Vivo Dosimetry in Proton Therapy.
  • Allgower C. Techniques for Using Patient Positioning System Digital X-ray Images for Alignment QA in Proton Treatment Rooms.
  • Trofimov A, Mauceri S, Nguyen P, Lu H.-M., Engelsman M, Efstathiou J, Merrick S, Cheng CW, Wong J, Zietman A. Interfractional variations in the set-up of pelvic bony anatomy and soft tissue, and their implication in proton therapy of the prostate.
  • Fitzek M, Shahnazi K, Simmons J, Thornton A. Proton treatment of prostate cancer in the presence of unilateral hip replacement.
  • Nazaryan V, Britten R, Keppel C, Klein SB, Nichiporov D, Wolanski M, Nie X, George J. Initial proton RBE measurements within the distal fall-off of a SOBP and the relevance to radiotherapy.
  • Shahnazi K, Allgower C, Anferov V, Wolanski M, Thornton A, Fitzek M, Chang A. Intensity Modulated Spread Out Bragg Peak in a Uniform Scanning Proton Nozzle Using Novel Applications of Forward Planning.
  • Thornton A, Fitzek M, Chang A, Simmons J, Aisen A. Endorectal Coil MRI Utilization for Prostate Proton Irradiation.
  • Jesseph R, Shahnazi K, Fitzek M, Thornton A, Jesseph J. Demonstration of a Simple Proton Arc with MAGIC Gel.
  • McDonald M, Kuros-Zolnierczuk J, Zhao Q, Das IJ, JohnstonePAS. Aperture Variability in Proton Beam Therapy for Prostate Cancer.
  • Andrews J, Cheng CW, Kagawa K, Das IJ, Johnstone PAS. Dosimetric Advantages of Protons for Partial Breast Irradiation.
  • Chang A., Fitzek M., Shahnazi K, Thornton A. Patch Field Technique in Proton Beam Radiation Therapy for Selective Tissue Avoidance.

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) 
Annual Meeting July 26 – 30, 2009
Anaheim, California

  • Das IJ, Nichiporov D, Moskvin V, Shahnazi K, Fanelli L, Fitzek M, Johnstone PAS, Dose perturbation and range shift with high-Z medium in proton beam. Med Phys 36 (6) 2597, 2009.
  • Hecksel D, Anferov V, Shahnazi K, Fitzek M, The Effect of Proton Therapy Beam Scanning Pattern Size On Secondary Neutron Dose Equivalent Med Phys. 36(6), 2628, 2009.
  • Kuros-Zolnierczuk J, Das IJ, Shahnazi K, Tasson AM, Allgower CE, Impact of CT Number and Electron Density in Proton Dose Distribution. Med Phys 36 (6) 2627, 2009.
  • Nichiporov DF, Solberg K, Klyachko A, Das IJ., Zhao Q, Investigation of humidity effects on beam monitor performance in a proton clinical gantry. Med Phys 36 (6) 2607, 2009.
  • Pack D, Shahnazi K, Allen B, Fitzek M, Tasson A, Reed A. Transmission of a Passive Double-Scattered Proton Beam Through Brass. Med Phys. 36(6), 2628, 2009.
  • Shahnazi, K, Chang A, AnferovV, Hecksel D , Thornton A, Moyers M , Fitzek M. Treatment of Retinoblastoma Using Different Proton Delivery Methods: Scattering, Rectangular Scanning, and Circular Scanning. Med Phys. 36(6), 2629, 2009.
  • Tasson A, Fitzek M, Shahnazi K, Simmons J, Simoneaux V, Speights D, Sullivan-Dickey M, Thornton A, Wallace D. A Comparison of Cysto-Conray II to Readi-Cat 2 Contrast Material for Use in Rectal Balloons During Proton Therapy. Med Phys. 36(6), 2627, 2009.
  • Wolanski M, Pack D, Jesseph R. Output Factor Measurements and Aperture Size Dependence of Dose Distributions for Scanned Proton Beams at MPRI. Med Phys. 36(6), 2592, 2009.
  • Zhao L, Das IJ. Proton beam dosimetry using Gafchromic EBT film. Med Phys 36 (6) 2586, 2009.
  • Zhao L, Simon W, Das IJ. Dosimetry QA of Scanned Proton Beam with an Ion Chamber Array. Med Phys 36 (6) 2605, 2009.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Wolanski M, Hecksel D, Pack D, Das IJ, MU Calculation for Uniform Scanning Proton Beam”. Med Phys 36 (6) 2795, 2009.
  • Zhao Q, Wu H, Zhao L, Das IJ. A Simple Method for Quality Assurance of Proton Compensators. Med Phys 36 (6) 2574, 2009.
  • Gossman M, Zhao L, Cao M, Lopez J, Das IJ. Dose Delivery Effects in Electron Beams From Surgical Breast Clips Med Phys 36(6) 2584, 2009.

American Radium Society
Annual Meeting  April 25 – 29, 2009
Vancouver, British Columbia

  • Zhao L. Dosimetric evaluation of fractionation effects on respiratory reduced dose delivery errors in a uniform scanning proton beam delivery system with Gafchromic EBT film, 2009. Proceedings of the 91st American Radium Society, April 25th-29th, Vancouver, Canada

American Society for Therapeutic RAdiology and Oncology (ASTRO)
Annual Meeting, September 21 – 25, 2008
Boston, Massachusetts

  • Zhao L, Sandison GA, Farr JB, Zamenhof R, Fitzek M. Measurement of initial respiration phase effect on simulated lung cancer treatment: A comparison between a proton beam passive scattering delivery system and a uniform scanning delivery system.
  • Wolanski M, Allgower C, Coutinho C, Farr JB, Fitzek M, Jesseph R, Mascia A, Thornton A; Anferov V, Nichiporov D. Comparison of Commissioning Results for Passive Scattering and Scanning Proton Beam Systems at MPRI.
  • Zhao L, Sandison GA, Farr JB, Li XA. Should a Gaussian probability density function be used to approximate respiration induced dosimetric effects for proton radiotherapy Med Phys 35 2952-2953, 2008.

 

European Society for Therapeutic Radiology Oncology (ESTRO)
Annual Meeting  September 14 – 17, 2008
Göteborg, Sweden

  • Zhao L, Sandison GA, Farr JB. Patient specific respiratory motion probability density function convolved dose distribution for proton therapy of lung cancer. 27th European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), Göteborg (Sweden). Radiother Oncol 88 S112, 2008

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
Annual Meeting  July 27 – 31, 2008
Houston, Texas

  • Tasson A. A Comparison of Proton Modulation with Tumor Location and Energy.

BioMedical Engineering and Informatics (BMEI)
May 27 – 30, 2008
Sanya, Hainan, China

  • Zhao L, Sandison GA, Farr JB, His WC, Wu H, Fitzek M. The moving target induced dosimetric effect versus beam direction in proton radiotherapy of moving lung tumors.
  • Wu H, Zhao Q, Zhao L. Knowledge Discovery from Tumor Respiratory Motion Data. BioMedical Engineering and Informatics 2, 297-301, 2008

Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG)
May 19 – 24, 2008
Jacksonville, Florida

  • Mascia A, Wolanski M, Jesseph R, Nichiporov D. Patient Quality Assurance and Dosimetry at MPRI for an Active Uniform Scanning Proton Beam.
  • O’Ryan-Blair A, Thornton A, Schreuder N, His W, Fitzek M. Proton Treatment Planning of Patients with Implanted Metallic Hardware.
  • Fitzek M, Chang A, Roach K, O’Ryan-Blair A, Thornton A. Craniopharyngioma: Early response Evaluation of Patients Treated with Protons at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute in Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Allgower C, Zamenhof R. Squeezing more sequential slices from a single-slice CT scanner.
  • Zhao L, Sandison GA, Farr JB, Zamenhof R, Fitzek M. Measurement of intrafractional motion effect on simulated lung tumor in two different beam delivery systems: passive scattering vs. uniform scanning.

Published Manuscripts in Peer Reviewed Journals

(Individuals noted in bold are/were MPRI staff members at the time of publication. Publications are listed in most recent order.)

Moskvin V, Cheng CW, Das IJ. Pitfalls of tungsten multileaf collimator in proton beam therapy. Med. Phys. 38: 6395-6406, 2011.