Abstract

In this work, we present matRad, an open-source three-dimensional treatment planning toolkit for intensity-modulated photon, proton, and carbon-ion therapy. matRad was developed in MATLAB using a modular architecture in which individual components represent the principal steps of the radiation treatment planning workflow, including ray tracing, dose calculation, fluence optimization, multileaf collimator sequencing, and treatment-plan visualization. The system incorporates established algorithms for photon and particle-beam dose calculation and operates at spatial resolutions representative of clinical treatment planning.

The performance of matRad was evaluated using the AAPM TG-119 C-shaped phantom and a prostate cancer treatment-planning case. For the TG-119 phantom, photon IMRT plans achieved the specified planning objectives, while additional proton and carbon-ion plans demonstrated the multi-modality capabilities of the framework. At voxel resolutions of approximately 3 × 3 × 3 mm³ and photon bixel dimensions of 5 × 5 mm², realistic treatment-planning scenarios required approximately 60–100 s for photon dose calculation and fluence optimization and approximately 60–400 s for charged-particle calculations, with memory requirements ranging from 0.2 to 2.2 GB.

The results demonstrate that a transparent and computationally efficient treatment planning environment can reproduce clinically relevant planning scenarios while remaining sufficiently flexible for algorithm development and comparative studies across multiple radiation modalities. By providing source code, example patient datasets, beam-model data, optimization tools, and visualization capabilities within a single framework, matRad establishes an accessible platform for research and education in radiation treatment planning. The software was developed for scientific and educational applications rather than clinical use.

Keywords: radiation therapy; treatment planning; intensity-modulated radiation therapy; proton therapy; carbon-ion therapy; optimization; open-source software; matRad.

Note: Thesis submitted for the M.Sc. in Medical Physics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the M.Sc. in Clinical Medical Physics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.