Normalizing and calibrating therapeutic radiation delivery systems

A method of treating a patient with proton radiation, comprising:

• (a) utilizing a first beam delivery system to emit a proton radiation beam having a standard beam configuration;
• (b) detecting the radiation dose supplied by the beam of standard configuration;
• (c) utilizing said first beam delivery system to emit a proton radiation beam having a beam configuration tailored for a specific treatment plan;
• (d) detecting the radiation supplied by the beam configured for the specific treatment plan and producing a signal corresponding to the detected radiation;
• (e) comparing the signal detected in step (d) with calibrated dose detection data to develop at least one treatment plan calibration factor;
• (f) treating said patient with a proton radiation beam that has been calibrated with said treatment plan calibration factor and that is configured for the specific treatment plan;
• (g) subsequent to steps (a)-(f), utilizing a second beam delivery system to emit another proton radiation beam having said standard beam configuration;
• (h) detecting the radiation dose supplied by the subsequent proton radiation beam having the standard beam configuration;
• (i) comparing the dose detected in step (h) with the dose detected in step (b) to develop at least one normalizing factor;
• (j) utilizing said second beam delivery system to emit a normalized proton radiation beam tailored for said specific treatment plan by utilizing said normalizing factor;
• and
• (k) treating said patient with the normalized proton radiation beam configured for said specific treatment plan.