Characterization of angular detection dependence of prompt gamma-rays with respect to the Bragg peak in a water phantom using proton beam irradiations

Proton beam radiation treatment was first proposed by Robert Wilson in 1946. The advantage of proton beam radiation is that the lethal dose of radiation is delivered by a sharp increase toward the end of the beam range. This sharp increase, known as the Bragg peak, allows for the possibility of reducing the exposure of healthy tissue to radiation when comparing to x-ray radiation treatment. As the proton beam interacts with the molecules in the body, gamma rays are emitted. The origin of the gamma rays gives the location of the proton beam in the body, therefore, gamma ray imaging allows physicians to better take advantage of the benefits of proton beam radiation. These gamma rays are detected using a Compton Camera (CC) while the SOE algorithm is used to reconstruct images of these gamma rays as they are emitted from the patient. This imaging occurs while the radiation dose is delivered, which would allow the physician to make adjustments in real time in the treatment room, provided the image reconstruction is computed fast enough. This project focuses on speeding up the image reconstruction software with the use of parallel computing techniques involving MPI. Additionally, we demonstrate the use of the VTune performance analyzer to identify bottlenecks in a parallel code. KEYWORDS: Proton Beam Therapy; Image Reconstruction; SOE Algorithm; Parallel Computing; High Performance Computing; Medical Imaging; Prompt Gamma Imaging; Radiotherapy

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Material efficiency studies for a Compton camera designed to measure characteristic prompt gamma rays emitted during proton beam radiotherapy

Physics in Medicine and Biology ◽

10.1088/0031-9155/56/10/010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 56 (10) ◽

pp. 3047-3059 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Daniel Robertson ◽

Jerimy C Polf ◽

Steve W Peterson ◽

Michael T Gillin ◽

Sam Beddar

Keyword(s):

Proton Beam ◽

Gamma Rays ◽

Prompt Gamma ◽

Compton Camera ◽

Proton Beam Radiotherapy ◽

Material Efficiency

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“Warm liquid” detector for measuring dose profiles from ionizing radiation

Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Materialy Elektronnoi Tekhniki = Materials of Electronics Engineering ◽

10.17073/1609-3577-2019-3-228-236 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 228-236

Author(s):

V. V. Siksin

Keyword(s):

Proton Beam ◽

Proton Therapy ◽

Dose Distribution ◽

Bragg Peak ◽

Beam Width ◽

Great Accuracy ◽

Therapy Session ◽

High Dose ◽

Water Phantom ◽

Accuracy Measure

The use of “warm liquid” tetramethylsilane (TMS) in ionization chambers for measuring dose profiles in water phantoms to prepare the accelerator for a proton therapy session is relevant. One of the promising areas of radiation therapy is proton therapy. To increase the conformality of proton therapy, it is important to know exactly the dose distributions from the energy release of the proton beam in the water phantom before conducting a proton therapy session. A television-type detector (TTD), which measures the profiles of the Bragg peak by the depth of the beam in the water phantom, helps to increase the accuracy of the dose distribution knowledge. To accurately determine the profile of the Bragg peak by the beam width in the water phantom, an additional method is proposed that will allow TTD to quickly determine the profile by the width of the Bragg peak in on-line mode. This prefix to the TTD will improve the quality of summing up the therapeutic beam-thanks to accurate knowledge of the profile by width, and therefore the formed high-dose distribution field will correspond to the irradiated volume in the patient and will increase the conformality of irradiation. The additional prefix to the TTD is designed on an organosilicon “warm liquid” and represents a high-precision ionization chamber with coordinate sensitivity along the width of the water phantom. The fully developed technology for obtaining “warm liquid” TMS allows creating both microdosimeters for proton therapy and detectors for measuring “dose profiles” in water phantoms during accelerator calibration. The considered prefix to the TTD detector - the calibrator meter of the dose field (KIDP) - can also be used independently of the TTD and with great accuracy measure the dose profiles of the Bragg peak in the water phantom, both in depth and width. KIDP can also be used to measure the outputs of secondary “instantaneous” neutrons and gamma quanta emitted from the water phantom orthogonally to the direction of the proton beam.

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Characterization of prompt gamma rays for in-vivo range verification in hadron therapy: A Geant4 simulation study

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/1154/1/012030 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1154 ◽

pp. 012030

Author(s):

M Zarifi ◽

S Guatelli ◽

Y Qi ◽

D Bolst ◽

D Prokopovich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gamma Rays ◽

Simulation Study ◽

Prompt Gamma ◽

Geant4 Simulation ◽

Hadron Therapy ◽

Range Verification

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A New Method to Reconstruct in 3D the Emission Position of the Prompt Gamma Rays following Proton Beam Irradiation

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-55349-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Costanza M. V. Panaino ◽

Ranald I. Mackay ◽

Karen J. Kirkby ◽

Michael J. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Proton Beam ◽

Gamma Rays ◽

Proton Beam Therapy ◽

Peak Position ◽

Prompt Gamma ◽

Proton Beam Irradiation ◽

Spot Scanning ◽

Symmetrical Configuration ◽

A New Technique ◽

Range Verification

AbstractA new technique for range verification in proton beam therapy has been developed. It is based on the detection of the prompt γ rays that are emitted naturally during the delivery of the treatment. A spectrometer comprising 16 LaBr3(Ce) detectors in a symmetrical configuration is employed to record the prompt γ rays emitted along the proton path. An algorithm has been developed that takes as inputs the LaBr3(Ce) detector signals and reconstructs the maximum γ-ray intensity peak position, in full 3 dimensions. For a spectrometer radius of 8 cm, which could accommodate a paediatric head and neck case, the prompt γ-ray origin can be determined from the width of the detected peak with a σ of 4.17 mm for a 180 MeV proton beam impinging a water phantom. For spectrometer radii of 15 and 25 cm to accommodate larger volumes this value increases to 5.65 and 6.36 mm. For a 8 cm radius, with a 5 and 10 mm undershoot, the σ is 4.31 and 5.47 mm. These uncertainties are comparable to the range uncertainties incorporated in treatment planning. This work represents the first step towards a new accurate, real-time, 3D range verification device for spot-scanning proton beam therapy.

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