Eur. Phys. J. D (2014) 68: 306
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-40843-x

Regular Article

Overview of recent advances in treatment planning for ion beam radiotherapy^*

¹ Biophysics DepartmentGSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany
² University Heidelberg, Seminarstrasse 2, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
³ Technical University Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
⁴ Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Ruth-Moufang-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

^a e-mail: M.Kraemer@gsi.de

Received: 31 December 2013
Received in final form: 28 May 2014
Published online: 21 October 2014

Abstract

To achieve practical calculations of dose delivery in ion beam radiotherapy, the physical models of beam propagation need to be properly implemented and supplemented by models describing the complex mechanisms of radiation damage in the biological tissues. TRiP98 is the first and most advanced treatment planning system for particles, in which physical and biological models have been incorporated to develop a clinically applicable tool for dose optimization and delivery. We report our recent advances in TRiP98 code development, in particular towards hypoxia-driven and multi-modal dose optimization. We also discuss the present needs and possible extensions of our models for which input from nanoscale physics is required.