Hao Gao

Monte Carlo (MC) methods are widely used for proton therapy dose calculation due to their high physical accuracy, but their stochastic nature results in statistical noise and long computation times, particularly for high-resolution dose calculations and itera...

This study aims to investigate the develop ultra-high-dose-rate (UHDR) proton FLASH spatially-fractionated-radiation-therapy (FLASH-SFRT) irradiations on a compact proton synchrocyclotron for preclinical experiments.

Carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) offers high LET and RBE for treating radioresistant tumors but suffers from biological dose inhomogeneity due to RBE uncertainties. Techniques like LET painting focus on optimizing LET but do not directly address biological effe...

In intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), spot positions are conventionally fixed on uniform grids, and optimization is limited to spot weights. This constraint can restrict achievable dose conformity and increase the number of spots required to meet clin...

FLASH radiation therapy, which utilizes FLASH effect with ultra-high-dose-rate (UHDR) radiation, has shown promising performance in achieving treatment goals with decreased risks on healthy organs of patients. However, a number of factors, including patient-s...

For proton spots to be deliverable, the intensity of each spot must either be zero or exceed a specific minimum monitor unit (MMU) threshold, which is a nonconvex problem. This study develops a quantum computing (QC)-based optimization framework to address th...

Beam angle optimization (BAO) is a critical component of radiation therapy (RT) treatment planning, particularly for proton therapy, where small variations in beam configuration can substantially affect plan quality. BAO is naturally formulated as a mixed-int...

Proton LATTICE (pLATTICE) therapy delivers spatially heterogeneous dose distributions with high‑dose peaks embedded within low‑dose valleys. Conventional pLATTICE planning typically uses multiple beam angles per peak, making peak localization vulnerable to pr...

Proton PBS treatment planning relies on iterative numerical optimization and is time-consuming. Deep learning enables rapid inference and therefore has the potential for fast prediction of beamlet intensities from anatomical imaging inputs (e.g., CT voxels an...

Conventional intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) planning commonly relies on fixed, uniformly distributed spot grids with optimization restricted to spot weights. Although adaptive spot placement has been explored to improve dose conformity, particularl...

Lattice radiotherapy (LATTICE) is a spatially fractionated technique that delivers high doses to discrete peak regions within the target while maintaining lower doses in surrounding valley regions, yielding a high peak-to-valley dose ratio (PVDR). Conventiona...

Lattice radiotherapy (LRT) is a spatially fractionated radiation technique that creates three-dimensional arrays of high-dose vertices within tumor volumes. Current LRT implementations face geometric constraints in small and medium-sized tumors, primarily due...

Lattice stereotactic body radiation therapy (Lattice SBRT) delivers spatially fractionated high-dose vertices embedded within a lower-dose tumor base, producing steep dose gradients potentially sensitive to interfractional anatomical change. This study evalua...

FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) has emerged as a promising technique that delivers radiation at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR), which significantly spares normal tissues while still effectively controlling tumors, referred to as the FLASH effect. In proton FLASH...

Personalized Ultra-Fractionated Stereotactic Adaptive Radiotherapy (PULSAR) delivers high-dose radiation pulses separated by intervals of several weeks, enabling tumor response–guided adaptation, reduced toxicity, and potential synergy with immunotherapy. How...

Minibeam radiation therapy (MBRT) is a spatially fractionated technique that produces millimeter-scale dose heterogeneity with promising normal tissue–sparing effects. Implemented using metallic collimators mounted on the accessory tray, MBRT can be delivered...

Proton minibeam radiation therapy (pMBRT) reduces normal tissue toxicity while preserving tumor control through spatial dose fractionation. However, multi-slit collimators (MSCs) substantially increase monitor unit requirements and delivery times, limiting cl...

Spatially fractionated proton therapy enables spatial dose modulation that may improve normal tissue tolerance; however, generating controlled peak–valley dose patterns while maintaining adequate target coverage remains challenging. In particular, achieving c...

Monitoring patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for radiation-induced toxicities is critical for providing clinical feedback undergoing radiotherapy (RT). While RT is a highly effective cancer treatment, there are still a minority of patients reporting severe sym...

Intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) provides superior dose conformity and sparing of healthy tissues compared with photon radiotherapy. Improving delivery efficiency is clinically important for reducing motion-induced uncertainties, enhancing plan robus...

On-board kV imaging systems on proton therapy machines predominantly rely on scintillator-based energy-integrating detectors (EIDs) for planar imaging and cone-beam CT (CBCT). However, EID-based CBCT is limited by suboptimal image quality and insufficient qua...

In this work, we experimentally commissioned proton spatially-fractionated-radiotherapy (pSFRT) clinical treatments on a compact proton synchrocyclotron. This involved an initial assessment of proton small-field dosimetry calculation accuracies with comprehen...

Proton minibeam radiation therapy (pMBRT) employs spatially fractionated dose distributions to improve the therapeutic index by reducing normal tissue toxicity. A key component of pMBRT is multi-slit collimator (MSC), which shapes the beam into narrow, spatia...