Remote sensing of high energy particle currents (HEC): towards HEC radiography

Abstract

Abstract High-energy charged particle current (HEC) originating in or passing through an object creates mirror currents in a system of electrodes surrounding it. The electrodes are not in an electrically conductive contact with the object; they can be placed at a distance from its surface. We employ this effect to probe the object by measuring HEC-radiographic signal for a megavoltage x-ray scanning beam and for a broad static beam. Unlike in standard radiography, where an external bank of detectors measures the emerging radiation from the object, the principle of the proposed HEC radiography relies on remotely sensing the current distribution inside the object. Thus, HEC radiography is capable of probing objects that absorb all or most of the primary incident beam and where transmitted radiation cannot be used for image formation or reconstruction. Potential applications of this technology include non-destructive imaging of radio-opaque objects and in-vivo monitoring of charged particle ranges or dose distribution during cancer radiotherapy.