Method for monitoring the irradiation control unit of an ion-beam therapy system

A method of checking the irradiation control unit of a heavy ion beam therapy system, the heavy ion beam therapy system comprising

• at least one ion source (1),
• an accelerator device (2, 5) for accelerating the ions from the ion source (1) in the form of a treatment beam (11),
• a beam guidance system (6, 8) in order to feed the treatment beam (11) from the accelerator device (2, 5) to at least one irradiation station for treating a patient, the beam guidance system (6, 8) comprising at least one beam guidance line (6), and
• a raster scanning device arranged in the beam guidance system (6, 8) and having vertical deflection means (13) and horizontal deflection means (14) for the vertical and horizontal deflection of the treatment beam (11) at right angles to its beam direction, so that the treatment beam (11) is deflected by the raster scanning device onto an isocenter (10) of the irradiation station and scans a specific area surrounding the isocenter (10), and data sets and permanently stored data of a control computer, parameters of measuring sensors, desired current values of scanner magnets, and and [sic] desired currents of scanner magnet currents being compared with actual magnet current values, characterized in that the permanent storage of permanently stored data is checked and calibration tests of measuring sensors are carried out, and in that the data sets and programs to be loaded into front end processors from the central control computer are read back after being loaded and are compared with the output data, all the data paths through which the data pass as they are loaded being checked when the data are read back, and specific programs writing the programs and data sets in server computers of a monitoring system into front end memories and reading said data back and comparing them automatically with programs and data in the dedicated memory before each irradiation and, only after it has been ensured by checking that all the programs and data sets which have to be loaded into front end computers of a monitoring system and executed from there correspond exactly to those on data memories of the monitoring system, safe operation being assumed.