A Proton Dose Calculation Code for Treatment Planning Based on the Pencil Beam Algorithm

Abstract

This technical report describes a 3D dose calculation code which we have developed for proton therapy treatment planning. In order to achieve fast and accurate calculation in inhomogeneous matter like a human body, the code employs the pencil beam algorithm with the infinite-slab-layer approximation. The code handles the given configuration of proton beam, beam modifying devices, and voxel-based structure of a patient and calculates the 3D dose distribution in the patient. The code showed good performance for treatment planning in terms of speed and accuracy in comparison with detailed Monte Carlo calculations.