Clinical commissioning of intensity modulated proton therapy systems: AAPM Task Group 185
Official commissioning report covering scanning, imaging, stopping-power calibration, and planning models.
Further reading.
The agencies, scientific institutions, and research papers behind the library. Each article links to the references relevant to its explanation.
Improved Wound Healing by Direct Cold Atmospheric Plasma Once or Twice a Week: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
Small venous-ulcer trial; complete-healing comparisons were inconclusive.
The #HOPE4LIVER Single-arm Pivotal Trial for Histotripsy of Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors: One-year Update of Clinical Outcomes (Ziemlewicz et al., 2025)
Primary one-year report: 47 patients, 52 tumors, primary and post hoc imaging interpretations.
Role of Ambient Gas Composition on Cold Physical Plasma-Elicited Cell Signaling in Keratinocytes
Primary controlled-gas experiment linking chemistry to cellular responses.
About Health Effects of Radiation
Direct and indirect DNA interactions and different outcomes of cellular injury.
Cleaning
Why soil removal, fluid contact, and ultrasonic cleaning matter before disinfection or sterilization.
Hydrogen Peroxide Gas Plasma
The mechanism, equipment conditions, material compatibility, and limitations of hydrogen-peroxide gas-plasma sterilization.
Sterilization
Sterility assurance, critical medical items, and established options for processing heat-sensitive instruments.
Sterilizing Practices
Instrument preparation, packaging, process monitoring, and quality control throughout sterilization.
First Cold Atmospheric Plasma Phase I Trial for Advanced Solid Tumors
A 2023 report on a 20-patient phase I study of intraoperative cold plasma alongside cancer surgery; limited evidence focused on safety.
Including robustness in multi-criteria optimization for intensity-modulated proton therapy
Original research exploring organ-sparing and robustness tradeoffs.
DIN SPEC 91315:2025-07: General requirements for plasma sources for the generation of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) for medical applications
Official current specification catalog; replaces the 2014 edition.
PARTIQoL: Phase III randomized clinical trial of proton therapy vs. IMRT for localized prostate cancer — conference abstract
Randomized prostate trial's reported 24-month bowel quality-of-life and disease-control outcomes; explicitly a conference report.
3D Printing of Medical Devices
How additive manufacturing is used for medical devices and how patient-matched designs are evaluated.
Argon Plasma Coagulation Applicators: FDA Clearance K183445
A 2019 FDA clearance document describing argon plasma applicators for surgical coagulation, cutting, and ablation.
Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Medical Devices
How AI-enabled medical devices are regulated and evaluated over their total product lifecycle.
Computed Tomography
CT equipment and examination principles, including the relationship between technique and exposure.
Fluoroscopy
Real-time x-ray imaging, clinical uses, exposure management, and potential tissue effects.
In Vitro Diagnostics
What in vitro diagnostic products measure and the context of their regulation and use.
Laser Products and Instruments
Laser characteristics, medical and other uses, and exposure-related eye and skin hazards.
MRI Benefits and Risks
Magnetic, radiofrequency, acoustic, and device-related safety considerations in MRI.
Magnets in Consumer Electronics and Implanted Medical Devices
How strong magnets in consumer electronics can affect pacemakers and other implanted medical devices.
Mammography
Official information on breast x-ray imaging and regulated mammography facilities.
Medical Device Overview
The US medical-device regulatory framework and the roles of classification, review, and evidence.
Medical X-ray Imaging
How medical x-ray examinations are justified, optimized, and controlled for image quality and radiation exposure.
Safety of Metals and Other Materials Used in Medical Devices
How material selection, corrosion, wear, and biological responses influence medical-device safety.
Summit DuoFix Hydroxyapatite Coating: FDA Clearance K193398
A 2020 FDA device document describing a titanium hip implant with a plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coating and nonclinical testing.
Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun
How sunscreen products are used and labeled in relation to ultraviolet exposure.
Ultrasound Imaging
Diagnostic ultrasound mechanisms, thermal and mechanical effects, and prudent use of exposure.
Ultraviolet Radiation
UVA, UVB, and UVC radiation and how ultraviolet exposure can affect biological tissue.
Proton versus photon radiotherapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer in the USA: a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 trial
Randomized US comparison with progression-free survival primary endpoint, toxicity outcomes, and important treatment crossover.
Absorbed Dose Determination in External Beam Radiotherapy, TRS-398
International code of practice linking external-beam dosimetry to absorbed-dose-to-water standards.
Relative Biological Effectiveness in Ion Beam Therapy, Technical Reports Series No. 461
Official technical discussion of RBE, its clinical approximations, and ion-beam reporting.
Design Aspects of Focal Beams From High-Intensity Arrays (Stephens et al., 2011)
Original simulations of therapeutic-array geometry, steering, useful focal energy, and off-target lobes.
Diagnostic Radiology Physics: A Handbook for Teachers and Students, Chapter 12: Physics of Ultrasound
Official physics reference for propagation, wavelength, attenuation, interfaces, and focusing.
Guidelines on Interventions to Enhance Healing of Foot Ulcers: 2023 Update
The 2023 guideline recommends against other gases, including cold atmospheric plasma, for diabetes-related foot-ulcer healing because supporting evidence is poor.
IWGDF Guidelines 2023: all guidelines
Official guideline collection and update timetable.
Cold Atmospheric Argon Plasma on Chronic Wounds: Randomized Trial
A 2010 randomized study of bacterial-load reduction using cold argon plasma alongside standard wound care.
Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Therapy vs Standard Therapy Placebo on Wound Healing in Patients With Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Patient-blinded trial; wound area and infection outcomes differ.
Medical gas plasma modifies Nrf2 signaling in diabetic wound healing
Primary diabetic-mouse and human-sample mechanistic investigation.
Measurement-based study on characterizing symmetric and asymmetric respiratory motion interplay effect on target dose distribution in proton pencil beam scanning
Measured effects of motion timing and trajectory during scanned proton delivery.
Analysis of tissue and arterial blood temperatures in the resting human forearm (Pennes, 1948)
Original measurements and heat-transfer analysis underlying the classic tissue-perfusion bioheat framework.
Non-thermal Plasma Activates Human Keratinocytes by Stimulation of Antioxidant and Phase II Pathways
Primary keratinocyte experiments investigate NRF2-linked adaptive responses.
Treatment of chronic wounds with cold plasma: a randomised, single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study
Mixed-wound sham trial with differing permitted antimicrobial care.
Experimental demonstration of noninvasive transskull adaptive focusing based on prior computed tomography scans (Aubry et al., 2003)
Original experimental validation of CT-based phase and amplitude correction for skull-distorted ultrasound.
Magnetic Resonance–Guided Focused Ultrasound for Patients With Painful Bone Metastases: Phase III Trial Results (Hurwitz et al., 2014)
Primary randomized placebo-controlled study of pain palliation in 147 participants.
Wound Healing and Antisepsis
Research on the physical and chemical interactions of cold atmospheric plasma with wounds and microorganisms.
Robust optimization of intensity modulated proton therapy
Original planning research incorporating range and setup uncertainty into IMPT optimization.
2-D Imaging and Slice Selection — David Cory
Original lecture notes on phase encoding, slice-selective RF excitation, and basic two-dimensional imaging acquisition.
Gradient and Spin Echoes — David Cory
Original lecture notes distinguishing gradient reversals and RF spin-echo refocusing.
Magnetization Gradients, k-space and Molecular Diffusion — David Cory
Original lecture notes connecting field gradients, position-dependent frequency and phase, gradient area, and k-space.
The Rotating Frame, RF Pulses and the Bloch Equations — David Cory
Original lecture notes explaining resonant RF excitation and the rotating-frame description.
A precise and fast temperature mapping using water proton chemical shift (Ishihara et al., 1995)
Original phantom and animal experiments on phase-based temperature mapping and motion-related errors.
Real-time MR thermometry for monitoring HIFU ablations of the liver (Holbrook et al., 2010)
Original moving-phantom and healthy-volunteer validation of real-time liver thermometry.
Respiration based steering for high intensity focused ultrasound liver ablation (Holbrook et al., 2014)
Original phantom and porcine-liver study of respiratory tracking and ultrasound beam steering.
The intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio in NMR imaging — Edelstein and colleagues (1986)
Primary research abstract on intrinsic SNR, sample noise, coil dependence, and the contrast-detail-time tradeoff. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
SENSE: sensitivity encoding for fast MRI — Pruessmann and colleagues (1999)
Primary research abstract introducing receiver-coil sensitivity as spatial encoding complementary to gradients for accelerated MRI. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
Sparse MRI: The application of compressed sensing for rapid MR imaging — Lustig, Donoho, and Pauly (2007)
Primary research abstract describing transform sparsity, incoherent undersampling, and nonlinear data-consistent reconstruction. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
Hybrid referenceless and multibaseline subtraction MR thermometry for monitoring thermal therapies in moving organs (Grissom et al., 2010)
Original method combining background-phase estimation strategies for temperature mapping during motion.
Electrocardiogram
What an electrocardiogram records, how electrodes are used, and the scope of the measurement.
Electroencephalogram
How scalp electrodes record brain electrical activity and what happens during an EEG examination.
Electromyography
How muscle and nerve electrical measurements are obtained using surface or needle electrodes.
Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Diabetic Foot Ulcers
A 2020 randomized trial testing helium cold plasma as an adjunct in diabetic foot ulcers, including wound-size and bacterial-load outcomes.
Defibrillators
How defibrillator technologies detect and treat certain dangerous heart rhythms.
How the Heart Works
The heart as a coordinated pump with mechanical and electrical functions.
Pacemakers
How pacemakers use electrical pulses and sensing to help coordinate heart rhythms.
Updating Pulse Oximeters
How red and near-infrared optical signals estimate oxygen saturation, and how motion, circulation, and skin pigmentation affect accuracy.
Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance as a research and public-health challenge.
Artificial Intelligence
Applications and limitations of computational learning methods in biomedical imaging and engineering.
Biomaterial Technologies
Medical materials, their interactions with biological systems, and examples of biomedical engineering research.
Computational Modeling
How computational models simulate biological systems and medical devices, and why validation matters.
Computed Tomography
How rotating x-ray measurements are reconstructed into cross-sectional images and why technique matters.
Digital Health
Connected measurements and digital technologies that support health research and care.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
How magnetic fields and radiofrequency signals produce tissue contrast, with uses and safety considerations.
Medical Device Technologies
The engineering of medical devices, from physical design to measurements and clinical applications.
Medical X-rays
How x-rays interact with tissue to produce medical images, including contrast and exposure considerations.
Nuclear Medicine
How radiotracers and detectors reveal biological function through PET, SPECT, and related methods.
Optical Imaging
How absorption, scattering, fluorescence, and optical detection support imaging from cells to tissues.
Rapid Diagnostics
Methods that turn biological samples into timely diagnostic signals and the technologies behind them.
Robotic and Bionic Medical Devices
Robotic and bionic technologies, prosthetic control, and research connecting devices to the body.
Sensors
The transducers, measurement methods, and practical constraints behind biomedical sensors.
Ultrasound
How transducers create acoustic images and how ultrasound can also deliver energy for treatment.
Cochlear Implants
How cochlear implants translate sound into electrical stimulation and differ from hearing aids.
Hearing Aids
Hearing-aid components, amplification, signal processing, fitting, and the limits of amplification.
How Do We Hear?
How the outer, middle, and inner ear turn pressure waves into neural signals.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
How sound intensity and exposure duration contribute to noise-induced hearing damage.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
How continuous glucose monitors measure interstitial glucose and the practical limits of those readings.
Hemodialysis
How blood is filtered across a membrane during hemodialysis and how the treatment system functions.
Treatment for Kidney Stones
Medical treatment options for kidney stones, including shock-wave lithotripsy.
Brain Stimulation Therapies
Established and investigational brain-stimulation approaches, including electrical and magnetic methods.
ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR: Significance of Calculated Quantities
Official definitions of stopping power, continuous-slowing-down range, projected range, and scattering-related detour factor.
Fundamental Physical Constants
Reference values and information about the fundamental constants used in physical calculations.
Metrological Traceability
The documented calibration chain that connects a measurement to recognized reference standards.
NIST Guide to the SI: Derived Units and Physical Quantities
Table 4 distinguishes heat capacity in J/K from specific heat capacity in J/(kg K).
PSTAR: Stopping Power and Range Tables for Protons
Primary reference database for proton stopping powers and ranges in different materials.
The International System of Units
The SI system and the units used to express physical measurements consistently.
Tissue Engineering
Measurement tools and standards for cells, biomaterials, scaffolds, and tissue-engineered constructs.
Uncertainty of Measurement Results
How measurement uncertainty describes the limits and interpretation of a measured result.
Brachytherapy
How sealed radiation sources are placed near a treatment target, temporarily or permanently.
Clinical Trials: What Are the Phases?
How clinical research evaluates treatment questions, participant safety, and evidence before broader use.
Cryosurgery to Treat Cancer
How freezing destroys abnormal tissue and why delivery and monitoring are important.
Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer
Electromagnetic fields across the spectrum, their physical distinctions, and evidence about cancer risk.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
External beam delivery, planning, photon and proton methods, treatment fractions, and image guidance.
Hyperthermia to Treat Cancer
How controlled tissue heating is investigated or used alongside other cancer treatments.
Lasers in Cancer Treatment
How controlled laser light cuts, coagulates, or destroys tissue in selected cancer procedures.
Photodynamic Therapy to Treat Cancer
How a photosensitizing drug, appropriate light, and oxygen interact in photodynamic treatment.
Radiation
The difference between ionizing and nonionizing radiation and established radiation-related health considerations.
Radiation Therapy to Treat Cancer
Types of radiation treatment, their purposes, mechanisms, and effects on healthy tissue.
Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiation Therapy Enters the Molecular Age
How target-seeking radioactive medicines connect molecular imaging with systemic radiation treatment.
How the Eyes Work
The optical and sensory roles of eye structures in producing vision.
Learn About Clinical Trials
An official explanation of trial phases, controls, randomization, and blinding when evaluating new treatments.
Retinal Detachment
Retinal anatomy and treatment context relevant to optical imaging and selected laser procedures.
CODATA value: proton gyromagnetic ratio in MHz/T
2022 CODATA value of the proton gyromagnetic ratio expressed as frequency per field; used for independently calculated nominal resonance frequencies.
A Randomized Trial of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor (Elias et al., 2016)
Primary sham-controlled thalamotomy trial, with symptom and adverse-event outcomes.
Range uncertainties in proton therapy and the role of Monte Carlo simulations
Technical analysis of the distinct sources and treatment implications of proton-range uncertainty.
Nuclear Induction — Felix Bloch (1946)
Original paper abstract describing nuclear polarization, transverse excitation, precession, and electrical induction. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
Relaxation Effects in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Absorption — Bloembergen, Purcell, and Pound (1948)
Original paper abstract linking nuclear relaxation to fluctuating molecular magnetic interactions and energy exchange. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
Spin Echoes — Erwin L. Hahn (1950)
Original paper abstract describing rephasing and echoes in pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance. Abstract verified; full paper not used.
Effects of tissue mechanical properties on susceptibility to histotripsy-induced tissue damage (Vlaisavljevich et al., 2014)
Original excised-tissue and porcine-liver experiments examining mechanical susceptibility and vessel preservation.
About Plasmas and Fusion
The charged particles and field responses that distinguish physical plasma from a neutral gas.
The #HOPE4LIVER Single-Arm Pivotal Trial for Histotripsy of Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors (Mendiratta-Lala et al., 2024)
Primary technical-success and thirty-day complication analysis in 44 participants.
Site-specific range uncertainties caused by dose calculation algorithms for proton therapy
Original assessment of anatomy-dependent differences between dose-calculation methods.
Oxygen atoms are critical in rendering THP-1 leukaemia cells susceptible to cold physical plasma-induced apoptosis
Primary cell-culture experiment; not clinical cancer evidence.
Challenges in the standardization of in vitro cytotoxicity assays for comparative risk assessment of cold atmospheric pressure plasma devices
Primary device and geometry comparison; cellular assay outcomes are condition-dependent.
Cytotoxic and mutagenic potential of solutions exposed to cold atmospheric plasma
Primary in-vitro work on solution-dependent biological effects.
Synergistic Effect of H2O2 and NO2 in Cell Death Induced by Cold Atmospheric He Plasma
Primary cell-model study of reactive-species interaction.
Cold atmospheric plasma accelerates wound closure and reduces pathogenic bacterial load in diabetic foot ulcers: a randomized controlled trial
Open-label diabetic-foot trial with three-week outcomes.
Chemical fingerprints of cold physical plasmas – an experimental and computational study using cysteine as tracer compound
Primary chemical-tracer experiments and simulations distinguish plasma sources.
Direct Cold Atmospheric Plasma for Venous Leg Ulcers: Randomized Trial
A small 2024 randomized study comparing cold-plasma treatment schedules with standard care for venous leg ulcers.
RAD229 MRI Signals: course notes — Brian Hargreaves (2017)
Instructor-created MRI physics notes covering image formation, signals, contrast, and reconstruction; used for the simplified spin-echo contrast model.
Cold Atmospheric Plasma for Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Randomized Trial
A 2020 randomized trial of cold atmospheric plasma alongside standard care for diabetic foot ulcers; encouraging findings require cautious interpretation.
Cold Plasma Therapy in Chronic Wounds: POWER Preliminary Results
Preliminary randomized POWER study results for cold plasma and chronic wounds; interpretation requires the study limitations.
Proton beam therapy for oropharyngeal cancer (TORPEdO): a phase 3, randomised controlled trial
Randomized UK study with 12-month nutritional and physical quality-of-life co-primary endpoints.
Edison System De Novo DEN220087: FDA Review Decision Summary
2023 nonthermal liver-tumor destruction indication, clinical evidence, and required labeling limitations.
Edison System K241902: 510(k) Decision and Summary
October 30, 2024 clearance retaining the liver-tumor destruction indication.
ExAblate 2000 PMA P040003: Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data
Original 2004 assessment of thermal ablation, MR feedback, beam-path constraints, and symptomatic fibroids.
ExAblate PMA P110039: Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data
2012 pain-palliation indication, anatomical access, temperature monitoring, and device-specific risks.
Exablate Neuro PMA supplement P150038/S037, approval July 3, 2025
Indication-specific authorization concerning Parkinson motor complications and pallidothalamic tractotomy.
Exablate Neuro original PMA P150038, approval July 11, 2016
Original device approval and essential-tremor indication; links to later supplements.
Probability of cavitation for single ultrasound pulses applied to tissues and tissue-mimicking materials (Maxwell et al., 2013)
Original measurements relating cavitation probability to acoustic pressure in several materials.
Imaging Notes, Part IV — Douglas C. Noll
Author-created notes on slice selection and signal-to-noise scaling with voxel volume and acquisition duration; SNR equation inspected on PDF page 9.
Notes on 1D and 2D Fourier Transforms — Douglas C. Noll
Author-created notes on Fourier transforms, sampling, convolution, and finite frequency windows.
Notes on MRI, Part II — Douglas C. Noll
Author-created notes deriving receive-coil induction, complex demodulation, position-dependent phase, and the spatial signal integral.
Notes on MRI, Part III — Douglas C. Noll
Author-created notes deriving frequency encoding, k-space sampling, field of view, and finite-resolution effects.
Notes on NMR Physics — Douglas C. Noll
Author-created teaching notes on equilibrium polarization, RF detection, Bloch equations, and longitudinal and transverse relaxation.