Monte Carlo simulation of a new proton therapy technique using bio-nanoparticles and high energy proton beams

Background: Currently, many researchers focus their work on the effects of bionanoparticles inside the tumor during proton therapy. Indeed, these bio-nanoparticles enhance the absorbed dose especially if they have been settled at the Bragg peak zone. The main goal of this study is to give a new technique that improves and facilitates the clinical protocol during proton therapy for brain tumors by adding nanoparticles to the tumor and using a rotary accelerator with high energy (200 MeV). Materials and Methods: With the use of the Monte Carlo Geant4 code, we simulated a proton therapy of a tumor located in the center of a human head containing bionanoparticles. The proton beam energy was chosen large enough to avoid having Bragg's peak at head level. Results: The results revealed that there was an optimization in the deposited energy at the tumor, at the same time the deposited energy at healthy tissue was less compared to ordinary proton therapy. It also showed that the platinum is the most effective bio-nanoparticles used in this work. Conclusion: The addition of bio-nanoparticles to tumors and the use of a high-energy (200 MeV) rotary accelerator improve and facilitate proton therapy. This new technique allows the direction angle of the proton beam to be changed regardless of the position of the tumor, making it effective against moving tumors and preserving healthy tissue. In addition, the dose deposited in the tumor can be increased just by pivoting the head of the accelerator around the organ.