Development of photonic detector system for ultra-fast beam diagnostics in proton radiotherapy: the proof of concept

Abstract

A concept of a photonic detector system for proton beam and Bragg peak position measurements in proton radiation therapy is presented. An approach of using scintillator plates with ultra-fast timing characteristics to detect the temporal fine structure of the beam is described. A detector module is made of a 10 × 10 cm2 plastic scintillator plate with 1mm thickness. The light is collected on the corners of a plate by the optical fibers of pre-defined length, which introduce various known time delays. Using the Anger algorithm, the lateral position of the proton pencil beam traversing scintillator plate is reconstructed. We propose two applications of the system: thin single-plate beam position monitor and multi-plate stack quality control device to measure lateral beam position and relative position of the Bragg peak.