Proton Therapy Glossary T-X

  • Tissue Compensators
    Patient specific devices which aid in adjusting the distal edge of the target volume; These devices are milled in accordance with parameters derived from an individual patient's treatment plan.

  • Treatment Port or Field
    The field or place on the body at which the radiation beam is aimed.

  • Treatment Table
    The table that the patient lies on during treatment. In proton radiation treatment, final patient alignment is performed by adjusting the motorized table with respect to the proton nozzle. This ensures that the treatment position matches the position the patient was in when the planning CT scans were taken.

  • Tumor
    An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are either benign or malignant.

  • Wilson, Robert R
    (1914 – 2000) was an American physicist who, probably more than any other, is identified with proton radiation therapy. Wilson was a student of Ernest O. Lawrence; In 1946, following his service to the atomic-bomb project during World War II, Wilson wrote a paper, in which, he proposed proton beam usage for medical treatments, citing the therapeutic potential of the Bragg peak and the localization of the proton beam that would be fulfilled in later applications of the modality. Wilson is considered by many to be the “father of proton therapy”.

  • X-rays
    High-energy, ionizing, electromagnetic radiation that can be used at low doses to diagnose disease or at high doses to treat cancer.


Proton Therapy Glossary A-K
Proton Therapy Glossary L-S