Radiation research. Supplement最新文献

The program at Donner Pavilion has applied nuclear medicine research to the diagnosis and radiosurgical treatment of life-threatening intracranial vascular disorders that affect approximately one million Americans. Stereotactic heavy-ion Bragg peak radiosurgery, using narrow beams of heavy ions (helium), demonstrates superior biological and physical characteristics in brain over X and gamma rays and protons, viz., improved dose distribution in the Bragg peak, sharp lateral and distal borders, and less multiple scattering and range straggling for the same residual range in CNS tissue. Examination of CNS tissue response and alteration of cerebral blood-flow dynamics related to heavy-ion Bragg peak radiosurgery is being undertaken using three-dimensional treatment planning and quantitative imaging utilizing cerebral angiography, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cine-CT, xenon X-ray CT, and positron emission tomography (PET). Also under examination are the physical properties of narrow heavy-ion beams for improving methods of dose delivery and dose distribution and for establishing clinical RBE/LET and dose-response relationships for human CNS tissues. Based on the evaluation and treatment with stereotactically directed narrow beams of heavy ions of over 130 patients, with cerebral angiography and CT scanning, and with MRI and radioisotope scanning of selected patients, plus extensive clinical and neuroradiological follow-up, it appears that heavy-ion radiosurgery obliterates intracranial arteriovenous malformations or protects against rebleeding with reduced morbidity and mortality.

The current and likely future status of low-LET charged-particle therapy of cancer is reviewed with regard to both physical and clinical aspects. We conclude that such therapy has reached the stage at which clinical implementation is practical and that a broader program is needed if the clinical advantages of improved dose distributions are to be determined.

Detailed Monte Carlo calculations are presented of proton and alpha-particle tracks in liquid water. The computations treat the interactions of the primary particle and all secondary electrons on a statistical, event-by-event basis to simulate the initial physical changes that accompany the passage of an ion through water. Our methods for obtaining the cross sections needed for such calculations are described. Inelastic scattering probabilities (inverse mean free paths) are derived from a complex dielectric response function constructed for liquid water, based on experimental and theoretical data. Examples of partial cross sections for ionization and excitation by protons are shown. The computation of electron transport and energy loss includes exchange, elastic scattering, and a scheme for the delocalization of energy shared collectively by a large number of electrons in the condensed medium. Several examples of calculated proton and alpha-particle tracks are presented and discussed. The meaning and significance of the concept of a track core are briefly addressed in the light of this work. The present paper treats only the initial, physical changes produced by radiation in water (in approximately 10(-15) s in local regions of a track). The work described here is used in calculations that we have reported in other publications on the later chemical development of charged-particle tracks.