Proton beam therapy allows clinicians to treat tumours close to critical regions in the body or in areas where radiation damage to the surrounding healthy tissue can be especially harmful. It has found major use in the treatment of paediatric brain tumours, spinal, prostate and ocular tumours, among many others.

New research has shown ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) radiation can produce the same level of tumour damage while reducing damage to healthy tissue. This provides a major benefit to proton beam therapy, allowing for a treatment that provides the minimal damage to healthy tissue. Clinical implementation requires improved treatment planning software to account for this, however.

This project seeks to use advanced computational methods to simulate FLASH proton beam therapy on an individual radiation particle basis, such that it can be integrated into clinical treatment planning software.