Proton therapy has become an increasingly more common method of radiation therapy, with the dose sparing to distal tissue making it an appealing option, particularly for treatment of brain tumors. This study sought to develop a head phantom for the Radiological Physics Center (RPC), the first to be used for credentialing of institutions wishing to participate in clinical trials involving brain tumor treatment of proton therapy. It was hypothesized that a head phantom could be created for the evaluation of proton therapy treatment procedures (treatment simulation, planning, and delivery) to assure agreement between the measured dose and calculated dose within ±5%/3mm with a reproducibility of ±3%. The relative stopping power (RSP) and Hounsfield Units (HU) were measured for potential phantom materials and a human skull was cast in tissue-equivalent Alderson material (RLSP 1.00, HU 16) with anatomical airways and a cylindrical hole for imaging and dosimetry inserts drilled into the phantom material. Two treatment plans, proton passive scattering and proton spot scanning, were created. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and film were loaded into the phantom dosimetry insert. Each treatment plan was delivered three separate times. Each treatment plan passed our 5%/3mm criteria, with a reproducibility of ±3%. The hypothesis was accepted and the phantom was found to be suitable for remote audits of proton therapy treatment facilities.
","abstract_html":"<p>Proton therapy has become an increasingly more common method of radiation therapy, with the dose sparing to distal tissue making it an appealing option, particularly for treatment of brain tumors. This study sought to develop a head phantom for the Radiological Physics Center (RPC), the first to be used for credentialing of institutions wishing to participate in clinical trials involving brain tumor treatment of proton therapy. It was hypothesized that a head phantom could be created for the evaluation of proton therapy treatment procedures (treatment simulation, planning, and delivery) to assure agreement between the measured dose and calculated dose within ±5%/3mm with a reproducibility of ±3%. The relative stopping power (RSP) and Hounsfield Units (HU) were measured for potential phantom materials and a human skull was cast in tissue-equivalent Alderson material (RLSP 1.00, HU 16) with anatomical airways and a cylindrical hole for imaging and dosimetry inserts drilled into the phantom material. Two treatment plans, proton passive scattering and proton spot scanning, were created. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and film were loaded into the phantom dosimetry insert. Each treatment plan was delivered three separate times. Each treatment plan passed our 5%/3mm criteria, with a reproducibility of ±3%. The hypothesis was accepted and the phantom was found to be suitable for remote audits of proton therapy treatment facilities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Summers, Paige A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Masters of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis (MS)","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Geoffrey Ibbott, Ph.D.","David Followill, Ph.D.","Narayan Sahoo, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:49:23Z","subjects":["proton","head","phantom","meningioma","RPC","RTOG","radiation","therapy","tumor","dosimetry","Biological and Chemical Physics","Oncology","Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment","Other Medicine and Health Sciences","Other Physics","Therapeutics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/177","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Geoffrey Ibbott, Ph.D.","David Followill, Ph.D.","Narayan Sahoo, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Summers, Paige A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-08-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Masters of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["proton","head","phantom","meningioma","RPC","RTOG","radiation","therapy","tumor","dosimetry","Biological and Chemical Physics","Oncology","Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment","Other Medicine and Health Sciences","Other Physics","Therapeutics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/177"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Proton therapy has become an increasingly more common method of radiation therapy, with the dose sparing to distal tissue making it an appealing option, particularly for treatment of brain tumors. This study sought to develop a head phantom for the Radiological Physics Center (RPC), the first to be used for credentialing of institutions wishing to participate in clinical trials involving brain tumor treatment of proton therapy. It was hypothesized that a head phantom could be created for the evaluation of proton therapy treatment procedures (treatment simulation, planning, and delivery) to assure agreement between the measured dose and calculated dose within ±5%/3mm with a reproducibility of ±3%. The relative stopping power (RSP) and Hounsfield Units (HU) were measured for potential phantom materials and a human skull was cast in tissue-equivalent Alderson material (RLSP 1.00, HU 16) with anatomical airways and a cylindrical hole for imaging and dosimetry inserts drilled into the phantom material. Two treatment plans, proton passive scattering and proton spot scanning, were created. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and film were loaded into the phantom dosimetry insert. Each treatment plan was delivered three separate times. Each treatment plan passed our 5%/3mm criteria, with a reproducibility of ±3%. The hypothesis was accepted and the phantom was found to be suitable for remote audits of proton therapy treatment facilities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Development and Implementation of An Anthropomorphic Head Phantom For The Assessment of Proton Therapy Treatment Procedures"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Geoffrey Ibbott, Ph.D.","David Followill, Ph.D.","Narayan Sahoo, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Summers, Paige A"],"dc:date.available":["2011-08-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Proton therapy has become an increasingly more common method of radiation therapy, with the dose sparing to distal tissue making it an appealing option, particularly for treatment of brain tumors. This study sought to develop a head phantom for the Radiological Physics Center (RPC), the first to be used for credentialing of institutions wishing to participate in clinical trials involving brain tumor treatment of proton therapy. It was hypothesized that a head phantom could be created for the evaluation of proton therapy treatment procedures (treatment simulation, planning, and delivery) to assure agreement between the measured dose and calculated dose within ±5%/3mm with a reproducibility of ±3%. The relative stopping power (RSP) and Hounsfield Units (HU) were measured for potential phantom materials and a human skull was cast in tissue-equivalent Alderson material (RLSP 1.00, HU 16) with anatomical airways and a cylindrical hole for imaging and dosimetry inserts drilled into the phantom material. Two treatment plans, proton passive scattering and proton spot scanning, were created. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and film were loaded into the phantom dosimetry insert. Each treatment plan was delivered three separate times. Each treatment plan passed our 5%/3mm criteria, with a reproducibility of ±3%. The hypothesis was accepted and the phantom was found to be suitable for remote audits of proton therapy treatment facilities.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/177"],"dc:subject":["proton","head","phantom","meningioma","RPC","RTOG","radiation","therapy","tumor","dosimetry","Biological and Chemical Physics","Oncology","Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment","Other Medicine and Health Sciences","Other Physics","Therapeutics"],"dc:title":["The Development and Implementation of An Anthropomorphic Head Phantom For The Assessment of Proton Therapy Treatment Procedures"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (MS)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Masters of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:49:23Z"}