Status of a Carbon-Ion Therapy Facility and Development for Advanced Treatment

Atsushi Kitagawa,Takashi Fujita,Akifumi Fukumura,Takuji Furukawa,Taku Inaniwa,Yoshiyuki Iwata,Tatsuaki Kanai,Mitsutaka Kanazawa,Nobuyuki Kanematsu,Yuki Kase,Masataka Komori,Koji Noda,Yumiko Ohno,Shinj 한국물리학회 2008 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.53 No.6

Over 3000 cancer patients have already been treated with 140- to 400-MeV/n carbon beams produced by the heavy ion medical accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) since 1994. These clinical results have clearly verified the advantages of carbon ions. Based on our experience at HIMAC, a hospital-specific facility optimized for carbon-ion therapy has been designed. The prototype developments of an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source, a radio frequency quadruple (RFQ) linac, an inter digital H (IH) linac, an acceleration system of synchrotron, a beam-delivery system and other key-technology parts have been successfully finished. Thus, in co-operation with NIRS, Gunma University has been constructing a carbon-therapy facility since April, 2006. If the present clinical results are to be improved, it is necessary to create a more accurate dose distribution on tumors without an undesired dose being deposited in normal tissue. Beam-scanning methods with respiration-gated irradiation are especially important to treat a cancer tumor located in the trunk of a patient. Over 3000 cancer patients have already been treated with 140- to 400-MeV/n carbon beams produced by the heavy ion medical accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) since 1994. These clinical results have clearly verified the advantages of carbon ions. Based on our experience at HIMAC, a hospital-specific facility optimized for carbon-ion therapy has been designed. The prototype developments of an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source, a radio frequency quadruple (RFQ) linac, an inter digital H (IH) linac, an acceleration system of synchrotron, a beam-delivery system and other key-technology parts have been successfully finished. Thus, in co-operation with NIRS, Gunma University has been constructing a carbon-therapy facility since April, 2006. If the present clinical results are to be improved, it is necessary to create a more accurate dose distribution on tumors without an undesired dose being deposited in normal tissue. Beam-scanning methods with respiration-gated irradiation are especially important to treat a cancer tumor located in the trunk of a patient.

Spinopelvic Alignment and Low Back Pain before and after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Kitagawa Atsushi,Yamamoto Junya,Toda Mitsunori,Hashimoto Yasushi 대한척추외과학회 2021 Asian Spine Journal Vol.15 No.1

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.Purpose: This study aims to examine changes in spinopelvic alignment, sagittal global balance, and low back pain (LBP) following the removal of knee flexion contracture by total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Overview of Literature: The limitation of the knee extension was correlated with the decrease in lumbar lordosis (LL). Currently, there are no studies evaluating the spinopelvic alignment and LBP before and after TKAs.Methods: Sagittal spinopelvic alignment was evaluated in 110 subjects using radiographs of the whole spine. Parameters measured in this study included sagittal vertical axis (SVA), LL, sacral slope (SS), pelvic tilt (PT), and pelvic incidence (PI). The distribution of sagittal plane modifier grade was evaluated according to the Scoliosis Research Society-Schwab classification of adult spinal deformity (ASD). Consequently, personal history related to LBP was obtained, and the association of pre- and postoperative LBP and spinopelvic alignment was investigated.Results: Preoperatively, 66% of all subjects showed LBP and mostly exhibited anteriorly shifted global imbalance associated with a decrease in LL and knee flexion contractures, and the subject who had severe flexion contracture of the knee joint showed more forwardly shifted global balance with backward PT and decrease in LL. After TKAs, the knee flexion contractures were eliminated in most cases, and one-third of subjects experienced decrease in LBP. However, SVA increased more and associated with slight decrease of PT and increase of SS. No significant differences were confirmed between pre- and postoperative values of LL and PI. In addition, there were no significant differences in postoperative values of spinopelvic parameters between subjects with and without relieved LBP.Conclusions: Although one-third of subjects experienced decrease of LBP after TKAs, the sagittal global imbalance was not restored through the removal of knee flexion contracture.

Cumulative Probability of Prostate Cancer Detection Using the International Prostate Symptom Score in a Prostate-specific Antigen-based Population Screening Program in Japan

Kitagawa, Yasuhide,Urata, Satoko,Narimoto, Kazutaka,Nakagawa, Tomomi,Izumi, Kouji,Kadono, Yoshifumi,Konaka, Hiroyuki,Mizokami, Atsushi,Namiki, Mikio Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.17

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is often used as an interview sheet for assessing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) at the time of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing during population-based screening for prostate cancer. However, the relationship between prostate cancer detection and LUTS status remains controversial. To elucidate this relationship, the cumulative probability of prostate cancer detection using IPSS in biopsy samples from patients categorized by serum PSA levels was investigated. The clinical characteristics of prostate cancer detected using IPSS during screening were also investigated. A total of 1,739 men aged 54-75 years with elevated serum PSA levels who completed the IPSS questionnaire during the initial population screening in Kanazawa City, Japan and underwent systematic transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy between 2000 and 2013 were enrolled in the present study. Of the 1,739 men, 544 (31.3%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer during the observation period. The probability of cancer detection at 3 years in the entire study population was 27.4% and 32.7% for men with $IPSS{\leq}7$ and those with $IPSS{\geq}8$, respectively; there was no statistically significant difference between groups. In men with serum PSA levels of 6.1 to 12.0ng/mL at initial screening, the probability of cancer detection was significantly higher in men with $IPSS{\leq}7$ than in those with $IPSS{\geq}8$. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between groups of patients stratified by IPSS. These findings indicate that the use of IPSS for LUTS status evaluation may be useful for prostate cancer detection in the limited range of serum PSA levels.

Additive Effects of Copper and Alkali Metal Halides into Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells

Atsushi Suzuki,Kaede Kitagawa,Takeo Oku,Masanobu Okita,Sakiko Fukunishi,Tomoharu Tachikawa 대한금속·재료학회 2022 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.18 No.2

Fabrication and characterization of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells incorporated with formamidinium iodide, copper halides, alkali metal halides and decaphenylcyclopentasilane were performed. Addition of CuCl and KI at 2% into the perovskite layer off ered compact morphologies and crystal orientation in the perovskite layer, improving short circuit current densities, series resistance and open-circuit voltages related to conversion efficiencies. The stabilities of conversion efficiencies were improved for the perovskite layer incorporated with 2% CuCl and 2% NaI. The stabilities depended on the state of the surface morphologies and crystal orientation while suppressing decomposition reaction in the perovskite layer. The photovoltaic mechanisms were associated with promotion of carrier generation and diffusion in the crystalline layer. The electronic correlation was based on the charge transfer between 5p orbital of I ion and 3d orbital of Cu ion near valence band, promoting the carrier generation and diffusion related to the short circuit current densities.

Assessment of the Relationship between Pelvic Tilt and the Sacro-Femoral-Pubic Angle in Middle- Aged and Elderly Asian Individuals

Takanori Kitagawa,Yoichi Iizuka,Hiroki Kobayashi,Tokue Mieda,Daisuke Tsunoda,Atsushi Yamamoto,Tsuyoshi Tajika,Haku Iizuka,Kenji Takagishi 대한척추외과학회 2017 Asian Spine Journal Vol.11 No.6

Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between pelvic tilt (PT) and the sacro-femoral-pubic (SFP) angle, which is easier to identify than PT, in middle-aged and elderly Asian subjects from the general population. Overview of Literature: Measuring PT is important in the diagnosis and treatment of adult spinal deformity. However, identifying femoral heads, which are necessary to determine PT, using sagittal radiographs is often difficult. Methods: Standing coronal and sagittal pelvic radiographs of individuals aged more than 50 years were taken during a local medical examination. The subjects were divided into female, male, and total groups at the time of evaluation. Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between PT and the SFP angle, which were obtained from the X-rays. Results: The present study included 291 subjects. There were no statistically significant differences between the left and right SFP angles, and there was gender difference regarding the SFP angle. However, a gender difference was observed regarding PT. The correlation between PT and the SFP angle was substantiated in each group. Pearson’s correlation coefficients between PT and the SFP angle in the total, female, and male groups were 0.696, 0.853, and 0.619, respectively. In the linear regression analysis, PT was calculated as follows: PT=60.1−0.77×(SFP angle) in the total group, PT=62.8−0.80×(SFP angle) in the female group, and PT=51.5−0.64×(SFP angle) in the male group. Conclusions: A significant correlation between PT and the SFP angle was observed in middle-aged and elderly Asian subjects from the general population.

Systematic Investigation on Momentum Distributions of Projectile-like Fragments at E/A = 290 MeV

Sadao Momota,Mitsutaka Kanazawa,Atsushi Kitagawa,Shinji Sato 한국물리학회 2011 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.59 No.23

A systematic investigation on the longitudinal and transverse momentum (P_L and P_T distributions of projectile-like fragments (PLFs) produced at intermediate energies has been performed experimentally. The momentum distributions of PLFs in a broad range of mass and charge, produced from 290 MeV/u Ar- and Kr-beams with various targets (C, Al, Nb, Tb and Au), were observed. The analysis of P_L distributions with an asymmetric Gaussian function provides the deceleration effect and the width of the distributions with good precision. A definite systematics is found in both the deceleration effect and the width. The broader width obtained at the low-momentum side indicates the contribution of multi-step processes at this energy. The target and energy dependencies of the induced momentum width are also shown. The analysis of P_T distributions with an off-centered Gaussian function provides not only the width, but also the orbital-deflection effect. In principle, the width is independent on the target, and is consistently reproduced based on the previously proposed formulation. In contrast, the deflection effect shows a strong target dependence. In the case of one-nucleon removed fragments, the main part of the deflection effect can be understood by the Coulomb repulsion. The systematics of the momentum distributions, shown in the present studies, is important for evaluating the production cross sections of PLFs. Especially, the P_T distribution is crucial to deduce production cross sections from the production rates of PLFs, which are observed at the forward angle within the limited angular acceptance.