Dosimetry of very high energy electrons (VHEE) for radiotherapy applications: using radiochromic film measurements and Monte Carlo simulations

AbstractVery high energy electrons (VHEEs) represent a promising alternative for the treatment of deep-seated tumors over conventional radiotherapy (RT), owing to their favourable dosimetric characteristics. Given the high energy of the electrons, one of the concerns has been the production of photoneutrons. In this article we explore the consequence, in terms of neutron yield in a water phantom, of using a typical electron applicator in conjunction with a 2 GeV and 200 MeV VHEE beam. Additionally, we evaluate the resulting ambient neutron dose equivalent at various locations between the phantom and a concrete wall. Through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations it was found that an applicator acts to reduce the depth of the dose build-up region, giving rise to lower exit doses but higher entrance doses. Furthermore, neutrons are injected into the entrance region of the phantom. The highest dose equivalent found was approximately 1.7 mSv/Gy in the vicinity of the concrete wall. Nevertheless, we concluded that configurations of VHEEs studied in this article are similar to conventional proton therapy treatments in terms of their neutron yield and ambient dose equivalent. Therefore, a clinical implementation of VHEEs would likely not warrant additional radioprotection safeguards compared to conventional RT treatments.

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Back to the Future: Very High-Energy Electrons (VHEEs) and Their Potential Application in Radiation Therapy

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13194942 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 4942

Author(s):

Maria Grazia Ronga ◽

Marco Cavallone ◽

Annalisa Patriarca ◽

Amelia Maia Leite ◽

Pierre Loap ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Radiation Therapy ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

High Energy ◽

High Dose Rate ◽

Point Of View ◽

High Dose ◽

Dose Rates ◽

High Energy Electrons ◽

Very High Energy ◽

Very High

The development of innovative approaches that would reduce the sensitivity of healthy tissues to irradiation while maintaining the efficacy of the treatment on the tumor is of crucial importance for the progress of the efficacy of radiotherapy. Recent methodological developments and innovations, such as scanned beams, ultra-high dose rates, and very high-energy electrons, which may be simultaneously available on new accelerators, would allow for possible radiobiological advantages of very short pulses of ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) therapy for radiation therapy to be considered. In particular, very high-energy electron (VHEE) radiotherapy, in the energy range of 100 to 250 MeV, first proposed in the 2000s, would be particularly interesting both from a ballistic and biological point of view for the establishment of this new type of irradiation technique. In this review, we examine and summarize the current knowledge on VHEE radiotherapy and provide a synthesis of the studies that have been published on various experimental and simulation works. We will also consider the potential for VHEE therapy to be translated into clinical contexts.

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Toward an effective use of laser-driven very high energy electrons for radiotherapy: Feasibility assessment of multi-field and intensity modulation irradiation schemes

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-74256-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Luca Labate ◽

Daniele Palla ◽

Daniele Panetta ◽

Federico Avella ◽

Federica Baffigi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Energy ◽

High Dose Rate ◽

High Dose ◽

Feasibility Assessment ◽

High Energy Electrons ◽

Very High Energy ◽

Effective Use ◽

Dose Deposition ◽

Therapeutic Doses ◽

Very High

Abstract Radiotherapy with very high energy electrons has been investigated for a couple of decades as an effective approach to improve dose distribution compared to conventional photon-based radiotherapy, with the recent intriguing potential of high dose-rate irradiation. Its practical application to treatment has been hindered by the lack of hospital-scale accelerators. High-gradient laser-plasma accelerators (LPA) have been proposed as a possible platform, but no experiments so far have explored the feasibility of a clinical use of this concept. We show the results of an experimental study aimed at assessing dose deposition for deep seated tumours using advanced irradiation schemes with an existing LPA source. Measurements show control of localized dose deposition and modulation, suitable to target a volume at depths in the range from 5 to 10 cm with mm resolution. The dose delivered to the target was up to 1.6 Gy, delivered with few hundreds of shots, limited by secondary components of the LPA accelerator. Measurements suggest that therapeutic doses within localized volumes can already be obtained with existing LPA technology, calling for dedicated pre-clinical studies.

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Spectrum of the very high-energy electrons arising in β-decay of albedo neutrons

Planetary and Space Science ◽

10.1016/0032-0633(65)90020-6 ◽

1965 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 360

Keyword(s):

High Energy ◽

Β Decay ◽

High Energy Electrons ◽

Very High Energy ◽

Very High

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DIFFUSE HARD X-RAY EMISSION IN STARBURST GALAXIES AS SYNCHROTRON FROM VERY HIGH ENERGY ELECTRONS

The Astrophysical Journal ◽

10.1088/0004-637x/762/1/29 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 762 (1) ◽

pp. 29 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Brian C. Lacki ◽

Todd A. Thompson

Keyword(s):

High Energy ◽

Starburst Galaxies ◽

X Ray ◽

High Energy Electrons ◽

Very High Energy ◽

Very High

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Monte Carlo simulations of high energy electrons and holes in Si-n-MOSFET's

IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems ◽

10.1109/43.88923 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1276-1286 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

F. Venturi ◽

E. Sangiorgi ◽

R. Brunetti ◽

W. Quade ◽

C. Jacoboni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Monte Carlo Simulations ◽

High Energy ◽

High Energy Electrons

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CEPA: A LaBr3(Ce)/LaCl3(Ce) PHOSWICH ARRAY FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETECTION OF PROTONS AND GAMMA RADIATION EMITTED IN REACTIONS AT RELATIVISTIC ENERGIES

International Journal of Modern Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1142/s2010194514601434 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 1460143

Author(s):

J. SÁNCHEZ DEL RÍO ◽

M. J. G. BORGE ◽

E. NÁCHER ◽

A. PEREA ◽

G. RIBEIRO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Gamma Radiation ◽

Monte Carlo Simulations ◽

Simultaneous Detection ◽

High Energy ◽

Initial Energy ◽

Optical Pulses ◽

High Energies ◽

Very High ◽

Doppler Correction

A sophisticated design of 750 LaBr3(Ce):LaCl3(Ce) phoswich crystals (CEPA10) with a segmentation determined by the Doppler correction and an energy resolution of 5% at 1 MeV is presented. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed for high energy protons (50–500 MeV) and gamma radiation (0.5–30 MeV) to determine the length and shape of the crystals for optimum performance of the detector. In the case of protons, the two-layer detector can be used as a ΔELaBr3 − ETot telescope or, for very high energies, as a double energy loss detector (ΔELaBr3 + ΔELaCl3), in order to determine the initial energy. In addition, an experimental test with high energy protons (70–230 MeV) was performed at the cyclotron center in Krakow, Poland with a first prototype of 2 x 2 phoswich rectangular crystals (CEPA4) packed in an aluminum can (0.5 mm case). To simulate CEPA10 efficiencies and resolutions, optical pulses detected in CEPA4 by photomultiplier tubes with a DAQ system were used as energy input functions in Monte Carlo simulations.

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