EFECT OF INTENSE MAGNETIC FIELD ON PROTON TRAJECTORIES OF INTERESTFOR RADIOTHERAPY

The potential development of hybrid proton beam radiotherapy equipment guided by magnetic resonance imaging, will allow the optimization of the visualization and accuracy of the imaging system in conjunction with a highly conformal dose distribution. However, careful studies on the influence of the external magnetic field on the radiation beam particles are necessary. Therefore, a methodology is proposed and described to quantitatively characterize, by means of analytical and numerical techniques, the effect of intense magnetic fields on the proton trajectory, propagating in vacuum and in material media typically present in radiotherapy situations. In both cases it has been observed that the influence of the magnetic field on the proton trajectories increases with its intensity. In the presence of air as a scattering medium, the generation of secondary particles starts to become relevant in high energy regimes. The results constitute a starting point for future studies on the dosimetric influence of changes in proton fluence due to the presence of magnetic field, in future proton beam therapies guided by MRI systems.