Luminescence imaging of water irradiated by protons under FLASH radiation therapy conditions

Abstract

Objective. FLASH radiation therapy with ultrahigh dose rates (UHDR) has the potential to reduce damage to normal tissue while maintaining anti-tumor efficacy. However, rapid and precise dose distribution measurements remain difficult for FLASH radiation therapy with proton beams. To solve this problem, we performed luminescence imaging of water following irradiation by a UHDR proton beam captured using a charge-coupled device camera. Approach. We used 60 MeV proton beams with dose rates of 0.03–837 Gy s−1 from a cyclotron. Therapeutic 139.3 MeV proton beams with dose rates of 0.45–4320 Gy s−1 delivered by a synchrotron-based proton therapy system were also tested. The luminescent light intensity induced by the UHDR beams was compared with that produced by conventional beams to compare the dose rate dependency of the light intensity and its profile. Main results. Luminescence images of water were clearly visualized under UHDR conditions, with significantly shorter exposure times than those with conventional beams. The light intensity was linearly proportional to the delivered dose, which is similar to that of conventional beams. No significant dose-rate dependency was observed for 0.03–837 Gy s−1. The light-intensity profiles of the UHDR beams agreed with those of conventional beams. The results did not differ between accelerators (synchrotron or cyclotron) and beam energies. Significance. Luminescence imaging of water is achievable with UHDR proton beams as well as with conventional beams. The proposed method should be suitable for rapid and easy quality assurance investigations for proton FLASH therapy, because it facilitates real-time, filmless measurements of dose distributions, and is useful for rapid feedback.