Analysis of person-hours required for proton beam therapy for pediatric tumors

Abstract Proton beam therapy (PBT) is effective for pediatric tumors, but patients may require sedation and other preparations, which extend the treatment time. Pediatric patients were classified into sedation and non-sedation cases. Adult patients were classified into three groups based on irradiation from two directions without or with respiratory synchronization and patch irradiation. Treatment person-hours were calculated as follows: (time from entering to leaving the treatment room) × (number of required personnel). A detailed analysis showed that the person-hours required for the treatment of pediatric patients are about 1.4–3.5 times greater than those required for adult patients. With the inclusion of additional time for the preparation of pediatric patients, PBT for pediatric cases is two to four times more labor-intensive than for typical adult cases.