HollandPTC R&D
HollandPTC infrastructure for fundamental research up to clinical implementation in proton therapy R&D
The HollandPTC R&D facilities for proton research are part of an independent outpatient center for proton therapy, scientific research and education, founded by Erasmus MC, LUMC and TU Delft. HollandPTC hosts an R&D proton beamline, facilities for performing preclinical studies, clinical treatment facilities, and medical imaging equipment. We aim to become a world-leading research facility for the fundamental investigation, translation, clinical implementation and evaluation of novel approaches in proton therapy.
Infrastructure and User Services
R&D beamline and labs
HollandPTC has a dedicated stationary, horizontal proton R&D beamline for preclinical cell and small animal irradiation studies. The facility also includes fully equipped ML-I laboratories and post- irradiation biological analyses, providing an integrated environment for radiobiology research
Clinical treatment rooms
HollandPTC has two treatment gantries equipped with 360o pencil beam scanning technology and mounted with KV/cone-beam CT imaging, as well asa dedicated ocular treatment station with a fixed horizontal beamline and a single-scattering nozzle.These facilities are available for research outside clinical treatment hours. Each gantry room is equipped with an in-room sliding Siemens SOMATOM Definition AS CT scanner and a robotic treatment couch. The ocular station is fitted with orthogonal X-ray imaging equipment, utilizing digital flat-panel detectors, for position verification. A robotic treatment chair allows patient positioning and immobilization.
Clinical imaging equipment
Clinical-grade imaging equipment a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Edge 128-slice single-source TwinBeam dual-energy CT scanner, a Siemens Biograph Horizon PET-CT scanner with TrueV axial gantry-extension, and a Philips Ingenia MR-RT 3T MRI scanner. All imaging equipment is equipped with flat, hard-top couches and external lasers. Radiotherapy immobilization moulds and indexing devices can be used.
Research Database
The research database consists of prospectively-collected patient information of health, treatment and follow-up, including patient-reported outcome measures and medical imaging data of all consenting patients treated at HollandPTC. Anonymized or coded datasets can be made available following the appropriate ethical and governance approvals.
Distributed R&D facilities
Within the R&D consortium research facilities, infrastructure and/or expertise on (bio)physics, human-centric design and technology (TU Delft), biology and (bio)medical (LUMC, Erasmus MC) and bioinformatics, computational modelling, and computational infrastructure (e.g. BlueDelft supercomputer, TU Delft) are available.
Examples/description of the type of research
The HollandPTC consortium research program has established 5 research focus areas:
Clinical trials: This includes evaluating current and new clinical indications and testing (new) treatment strategies, including hypofractionation, adaptive proton therapy, and combination therapies.
FLASH Proton Therapy: This involves increasing knowledge, advancing technological advancements, and conducting clinical trials in the field of ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) proton therapy, with specific attention to the Flash effect.
Health economics: This involves assessing the health economic benefits of proton therapy, with the goal of determining the value and cost-effectiveness and increasing overall value by identifying opportunities and strategies to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
High-precision proton therapy: This involves increasing the value of proton therapy through the development and implementation of new technology and methodologies, including advanced imaging before and during radiation, online treatment plan modification and motion management, the use of artificial intelligence, and automated and probabilistic techniques for generating treatment plans.
Interaction with Combined Therapies: This includes research on the interaction of proton therapy with combined treatments, such as immunotherapy, hyperthermia, and targeted drugs, with the goal of understanding these interactions and identifying opportunities and strategies to maximize effectiveness and efficiency in clinical practice.
Besides the focus areas, HollandPTC consortium supports unique research collaborations and research ideas outside the field of proton therapy, by providing access to the research facilities.
How to access the infrastructure?
You can get more information and requests via contacting the HollandPTC Research Office. Researchers that want to use the infrastructure will get physical access by following the access policy.