The cochlea is the organ in the middle ear
that is responsible for bringing sound into the ear through
the nerves. Injury to the cochlea can have the potential
long term effect of hearing loss.
One benefit of proton therapy is the ability to shape the radiation so that less
dose is delivered to the cochlea. Notice the image on the left...there is no
radiation effects surrounding the cochlea.
In Figure 2, the goal of radiation
therapy is to deliver radiation to the specific areas,
such as the spine while preserving the surrounding normal
healthy tissue.
The image shows
the dose distribution affecting the spine (the intended
target) and encompassing the heart...an area that could
lead to scarring and dysfunction in children.
In Figure
3, one can see that proton
therapy provides much less radiation to the
heart, while providing targeted therapy to the spine.
Clinical studies are underway to determine
if this results in less long term cardiac and pulmonary
complications of radiation in children.
