Work

Survey of Respiratory Motion Management Practices in Particle Therapy Facilities in Japan

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Respiratory motion management is essential in particle therapy because dose distributions are highly sensitive to motion. This study aimed to clarify the current implementation and technical trends of respiratory motion management in particle therapy in Japan. A questionnaire was distributed to all particle therapy facilities in Japan. Responses were received from 16 of the 26 institutions surveyed (61.5%). The survey investigated treatment sites requiring respiratory motion management, CT datasets used for treatment planning, irradiation techniques, respiratory monitoring devices, gating phase determination methods, dose evaluation approaches, and patient positioning techniques. The liver and pancreas were the treatment sites most frequently managed with respiratory motion mitigation, with 81.3% (13/16) of facilities implementing motion management for both sites. The most commonly used CT dataset for treatment planning was end-expiration phase CT (56.3%, 9/16). End-expiration respiratory-gated irradiation was the most commonly used irradiation method (87.5%, 14/16), while free-breathing and breath-hold irradiation were used less frequently. Laser-based respiratory monitoring systems were the most widely used devices for respiratory waveform acquisition (80.0%, 12/15). Determination of the irradiation phase based on tumor motion magnitude was the most commonly adopted approach (66.7%, 10/15), whereas some facilities used the same irradiation phase for all patients (20.0%, 3/15). Only a limited number of institutions explicitly evaluated dose variations associated with the interplay effect induced by respiratory motion. These findings provide an overview of current respiratory motion management practices in particle therapy facilities in Japan and may contribute to future technological development and standardization of respiratory motion management in particle therapy.

Source: International Journal of Particle Therapy

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpt.2026.101972

Authors: Yuya Miyasaka, Yuki Tominaga, Yushi Wakisaka, Mayu Nakata, Isamu Maeshima

Institutions: Yamagata University, Tokushima University, The University of Osaka, Niigata University of Health and Welfare

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Radiotherapy Techniques

Subfield: Radiation

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,700