Ultra-Fast Delivery and Imaging in Particle Therapy: Bridging Time, Dose Rate, and Biology
Description
Ultra-fast imaging and delivery are rapidly transforming particle therapy, opening new directions for both FLASH and non-FLASH high-dose-rate treatments. This symposium aims to update the community on the accelerating progress in ultra-fast beam delivery, advanced imaging, and translational biology, highlighting emerging opportunities and challenges on the path to clinical implementation. Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in achieving ultra-fast dose delivery through innovations such as hedgehog and pin-ridge filters, which enable Bragg-peak FLASH or high-dose-rate non-FLASH delivery with remarkable efficiency. Meanwhile, developments in rapid energy-layer switching, large-acceptance beamlines, and optimized spot-scanning sequences are transforming the feasibility of ultra-high-dose-rate therapy within existing clinical systems. These advances have fueled a global wave of research efforts and multi-institutional collaborations focused on physics, engineering, and clinical translation. Concurrently, imaging technologies are evolving to match the pace of these ultra-short delivery windows. Real-time volumetric and motion-tracking imaging, range verification, and ultra-fast quality assurance are now critical components for safe, precise dose delivery. Beyond the physics, growing biological and immunological evidence suggests that ultra-fast irradiation may modulate oxygen depletion, DNA repair dynamics, and immune activation / sparing in ways that differ fundamentally from conventional therapy—offering potential therapeutic advantages. This multidisciplinary session will unite experts across physics, imaging, engineering, and biology to discuss how these converging innovations can be integrated to realize the full potential of ultra-fast particle therapy in clinical practice.