Abstract
The applicability extent of hadron therapy for tumor treatment is currently limited by the lack of reliable online monitoring techniques. An active topic of investigation is the research of monitoring systems based on the detection of secondary radiation produced during treatment. MACACO, a multi-layer Compton camera based on LaBr3 scintillator crystals and SiPMs, is being developed at IFIC-Valencia for this purpose. This work reports the results obtained from measurements of a 150 MeV proton beam impinging on a PMMA target. A neural network trained on Monte Carlo simulations is used for event selection, increasing the signal to background ratio before image reconstruction. Images of the measured prompt gamma distributions are reconstructed by means of a spectral reconstruction code, through which the 4.439 MeV spectral line is resolved. Images of the emission distribution at this energy are reconstructed, allowing calculation of the distal fall-off and identification of target displacements of 3 mm.
Highlights
The applicability extent of hadron therapy for tumor treatment is currently limited by the lack of reliable online monitoring techniques
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has already been used clinically to monitor the distributions of β + emitters generated during irradiation[3,4,5]
PET imaging devices must be adapted for in-beam imaging, requiring a dedicated design to integrate the scanner with the b eam[8]
Summary
The applicability extent of hadron therapy for tumor treatment is currently limited by the lack of reliable online monitoring techniques. The reduction of safety margins would allow a better delineation of the irradiated volume and a wider use of hadron therapy in tumors close to organs at risk. This can be achieved by monitoring online the particle range inside the patient. PET imaging presents some intrinsic drawbacks: displacement of β + emitters due to biological washout, delayed signal with respect to irradiation time due to the half-lives of the most abundant β + emitters and the high background of prompt emissions[6,7]. The emission distribution of PG at this energy presents a peak of intensity near the end of the beam range and can be correlated to the delivered dose
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