LET Dependence Research Articles

A high-resolution large-area detector for quality assurance in radiotherapy

Hadron therapy is an advanced radiation modality for treating cancer, which currently uses protons and carbon ions. Hadrons allow for a highly conformal dose distribution to the tumour, minimising the detrimental side-effects due to radiation received by healthy tissues. Treatment with hadrons requires sub-millimetre spatial resolution and high dosimetric accuracy. This paper discusses the design, fabrication and performance tests of a detector based on Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) coupled to a matrix of thin-film transistors (TFT), with an active area of 60 × 80 mm2 and 200 ppi resolution. The experimental results show that this novel detector is able to detect low-energy (40 kVp X-rays), high-energy (6 MeV) photons used in conventional radiation therapy and protons and carbon ions of clinical energies used in hadron therapy. The GEM-TFT is a compact, fully scalable, radiation-hard detector that measures secondary electrons produced by the GEMs with sub-millimetre spatial resolution and a linear response for proton currents from 18 pA to 0.7 nA. Correcting known detector defects may aid in future studies on dose uniformity, LET dependence, and different gas mixture evaluation, improving the accuracy of QA in radiotherapy.

Methodology for small animals targeted irradiations at conventional and ultra-high dose rates 65 MeV proton beam

As part of translational research projects, mice may be irradiated on radiobiology platforms such as the one at the ARRONAX cyclotron. Generally, these platforms do not feature an integrated imaging system. Moreover, in the context of ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy (FLASH-RT), treatment planning should consider potential changes in the beam characteristics and internal movements in the animal.A patient-like set-up and methodology has been implemented to ensure target coverage during conformal irradiations of the brain, lungs and intestines. In addition, respiratory cycle amplitudes were quantified by fluoroscopic acquisitions on a mouse, to ensure organ coverage and to assess the impact of respiration during FLASH-RT using the 4D digital phantom MOBY. Furthermore, beam incidence direction was studied from mice µCBCT and Monte Carlo simulations. Finally,in vivodosimetry with dose-rate independent radiochromic films (OC-1) and their LET dependency were investigated.The immobilization system ensures that the animal is held in a safe and suitable position. The geometrical evaluation of organ coverage, after the addition of the margins around the organs, was satisfactory. Moreover, no measured differences were found between CONV and FLASH beams enabling a single model of the beamline for all planning studies. Finally, the LET-dependency of the OC-1 film was determined and experimentally verified with phantoms, as well as the feasibility of using these filmsin vivoto validate the targeting.The methodology developed ensures accurate and reproducible preclinical irradiations in CONV and FLASH-RT without in-room image guidance in terms of positioning, dose calculation andin vivodosimetry.

LET Dependence of 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) Generation in Mammalian Cells under Air-Saturated and Hypoxic Conditions: A Possible Experimental Approach to the Mechanism of the Decreasing Oxygen Effect in the High-LET Region.

One of the most distinguished features in biological effects of heavy ions would be the decrease of oxygen effect in the high-LET region. This feature has been referred to as the radiobiological basis for the control of hypoxic fraction in cancer radiotherapy. However, mechanisms to explain this phenomenon have not been fully understood. One of the explanations was given by the oxygen in the track hypothesis, which proposes that oxygen is produced along ion tracks even in the hypoxic irradiation condition. In the present study, we designed an experimental approach to support this hypothesis by using 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as DNA damage requiring oxygen to produce. The LET dependence of 8-OHdG under hypoxic condition revealed that with increasing LET 8-OHdG yield seems to increase, despite that the yield of OH radical, which is also required for the production of 8-OHdG, decreases in the high-LET region. This result is consistent with the explanation that the local generation of oxygen along ion tracks contributes to the increase of 8-OHdG yield.

LET and Voltage Dependence of Single-Event Burnout and Single-Event Leakage Current in High-Voltage SiC Power Devices

LET and Voltage Dependence of Single-Event Burnout and Single-Event Leakage Current in High-Voltage SiC Power Devices

Proximity Estimation and Quantification of Ionizing Radiation-induced DNA Lesions in Aqueous Media using Fluorescence Spectroscopy.

Clustered DNA damage (cluster) or a multiply damaged site, which is a region with two or more lesions within one or two helical turns, has a high mutagenic potential and causes cell death. We quantified fluorophore-labeled lesions and estimated their proximity through fluorescence anisotropy measurements depending on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) among the fluorophores close to each other. pUC19 plasmid DNA (2,686 base pairs) dissolved in water or 0.2 M Tris-HCl buffer at a concentration of 10 μg/μL was irradiated by several ionizing radiations with varying linear energy transfers (LET, 0.2-1890 keV/μm). Electrophilic carbonyls (aldehydes and ketones) at abasic sites (APs) produced in DNA were labeled with Alexa Fluor 488 fluorescent dyes with an O-amino functional group. Regardless of the presence or absence of the buffer, AP yields (the number of APs/base pair/Gy) tended to decrease with increasing LET, and the ratio of the AP yield (in 0.2 M Tris-HCl/in water) was less than 0.1 in the LET range of 0.2-200 keV/μm. However, in a higher LET range, the ratios were greater than 0.1. At a low dose, fluorescence anisotropy decreased with increasing LET in 0.2 M Tris-HCl, whereas, in water, this LET dependence was almost insignificant. These findings suggest that 1. the damage distribution on a DNA molecule formed by indirect effects (e.g., by hydroxyl radicals) does not depend on radiation quality and 2. greater LET radiation is more likely to produce a cluster and/or to produce a cluster with shorter distances between lesions by direct effects. This FRET-based proximity estimation of DNA lesions will contribute not only to the identification of clusters and their complexity in a whole genome, but also to the study of their repair mechanism by single-molecular level fluorescence microscopy.

Diamond based integrated detection system for dosimetric and microdosimetric characterization of radiotherapy ion beams.

Ion beam therapy allows for a substantial sparing of normal tissues and higher biological efficacy. Synthetic single crystal diamond is a very good material to produce high-spatial-resolution and highly radiation hard detectors for both dosimetry and microdosimetry in ion beam therapy. The aim of this work is the design, fabrication and test of an integrated waterproof detector based on synthetic single crystal diamond able to simultaneously perform dosimetric and microdosimetric characterization of clinical ion beams. The active elements of the integrated diamond device, that is, dosimeter and microdosimeter, were both realized in a Schottky diode configuration featured by different area, thickness, and shape by means of photolithography technologies for the selective growth of intrinsic and boron-doped CVD diamond. The cross-section of the sensitive volume of the dosimetric element is 4mm2 and 1μm-thick, while the microdosimetric one has an active cross-sectional area of 100×100μm2 and a thickness of about 6.2μm. The dosimetric and microdosimetric performance of the developed device was assessed at different depths in a water phantom at the MedAustron ion beam therapy facility using a monoenergetic uniformly scanned carbon ion beam of 284.7MeV/u and proton beam of 148.7MeV. The particle flux in the region of the microdosimeter was 6·107 cm2 /s for both irradiation fields. At each depth, dose and dose distributions in lineal energy were measured simultaneously and the dose mean lineal energy values were then calculated. Monte Carlo simulations were also carried out by using the GATE-Geant4 code to evaluate the relative dose, dose averaged linear energy transfer (LETd ), and microdosimetric spectra at various depths in water for the radiation fields used, by considering the contribution from the secondary particles generated in the ion interaction processes as well. Dosimetric and microdosimetric quantities were measured by the developed prototype with relatively low noise (∼2keV/μm). A good agreement between the measured and simulated dose profiles was found, with discrepancies in the peak to plateau ratio of about 3% and 4% for proton and carbon ion beams respectively, showing a negligible LET dependence of the dosimetric element of the device. The microdosimetric spectra were validated with Monte Carlo simulations and a good agreement between the spectra shapes and positions was found. Dose mean lineal energy values were found to be in close agreement with those reported in the literature for clinical ion beams, showing a sharp increase along the Bragg curve, being also consistent with the calculated LETd for all depths within the experimental error of 10%. The experimental indicate that the proposed device can allow enhanced dosimetry in particle therapy centers, where the absorbed dose measurement is implemented by the microdosimetric characterization of the radiation field, thus providing complementary results. In addition, the proposed device allows for the reduction of the experimental uncertainties associated with detector positioning and could facilitate the partial overcoming of some drawbacks related to the low sensitivity of diamond microdosimeters to low LET radiation.

Carbon-Ion Therapy Patient-Specific QA: Preliminary Results Derived Using 3D Polymer Gel Dosimetry in Anthropomorphic Inhomogeneous Geometry

<h3>Purpose/Objective(s)</h3> Improved conformity in carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT) with respect to photon RT comes at the cost of a potential reduced delivery robustness due to patient setup uncertainties, approximations in dose calculations and carbon-ion range uncertainties. This work presents preliminary results of a study aiming to address these challenges using 3D polymer gel dosimetry in anthropomorphic and inhomogeneous geometry. <h3>Materials/Methods</h3> All irradiations were performed at a synchrotron facility, in one of the treatment rooms equipped with a horizontal fixed beam line and pencil beam scanning (PBS) modality. For basic dosimetric characterization, carbon pristine Bragg peaks (BP) (ranges 30, 70, 90 mm in water) and a spread-out BP (SOBP) (range 115 mm and modulation 40 mm) were delivered on a cylindrical PMMA container filled with VIPAR polymer gel. An anthropomorphic phantom equipped with a cylindrical polymer gel insert was used for the irradiation of a pseudo-clinical CIRT plan, following all the steps of the standard clinical workflow, from simulation CT to irradiation. Two contralateral beams were optimized with a TPS (v.8b) to deliver 15 Gy (RBE) on a target located approximately at the center of the brain, in proximity of critical OARs such as brainstem and optical pathways. The phantom was then MRI scanned post-irradiation to retrieve the irradiated brain volume in 3D. The measured irradiated volume was compared against corresponding TPS derived data. <h3>Results</h3> Carbon-ion range was spatially verified with an accuracy of < 1 mm. For both the pristine BP and the SOBP irradiations. A significant deviation of the polymer gels' response on high-LET has been observed, as expected from previous studies with proton irradiations. For the pseudo-clinical treatment plan, a qualitative comparison between doses measured in polymer gels, against the corresponding TPS calculations, revealed a satisfying geometric accuracy of dose delivery in 3D, thus showing a high 3D geometrical accuracy of dose delivery in a typical standard clinical workflow. <h3>Conclusion</h3> In this work, we showed that patient-specific 3D polymer gel dosimetry is applicable to CIRT, as a valid tool to evaluate dosimetric and spatial plan accuracy in the clinical environment. As expected, the LET dependence of polymer gel's response, especially in the high-LET region, poses severe limitations for accurate dose measurements. Nevertheless, the proposed methodology is a promising efficient and safe clinical way for verifying such a complex RT technique.

Effects of radical scavengers on nanocomposite Fricke gel for heavy ion beam irradiation

NC-FG (nanocomposite Fricke gel) dosimeter is a 3D dosimeter for heavy ion beam without LET dependence. In this study, we evaluate the effects of silver perchlorate, a radical scavenger, on NC-FG. We find that radiological properties of NC-FG are changed by small amounts of silver perchlorate. Especially, dose response at high LET enhanced.

OC-0283 LET dependence of proton RBE in early normal tissue damage in vivo

OC-0283 LET dependence of proton RBE in early normal tissue damage in vivo

MOSFET dose measurements for proton SOBP beam.

The aim of this work was to develop a computational scheme for the correction of the LET dependence on the MOSFET response in water phantom dose measurements for a spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) proton beam. The LET dependence of MOSFET was attributed to the stopping power ratio of SiO2 to H2O and to the fractional hole yield in the SiO2 layer. Using literature values for the stopping powers of the continuous slowing down approximation and measured fractional hole yields vs. electric field and LET, formulas were derived for the computation of a dose-weighted correction factor of a SOBP beam. Dose-weighted correction factors were computed for a clinical 190-MeV proton SOBP beam in a high-density polyethylene phantom. By applying correction factors to the SOBP beam, which consisted of weighted monoenergetic Bragg peaks, the MOSFET outputs were predicted and agreed well with the measured MOSFET responses. By applying LET dependent correction factors to MOSFET data, quality assurance of dose verification based on MOSFET measurements becomes possible for proton therapy.

Thermoluminescence studies of polycrystalline CaSiO3 pellets for photons and particle therapy beams

In this work, pellets of CaSiO3 have been produced for investigation as gamma radiation, proton, and carbon ions detector. They were then irradiated to gamma radiation using 137Cs and 60Co sources. Furthermore, pellets of CaSiO3 were exposed to 160 MeV proton and 290 MeV/n carbon ion beam from an upper synchrotron. Thermoluminescence (TL) responses of these pellets presented the same prominent peak at about 170 °C, and two possible high-temperature peaks at 270 and 320 °C when irradiated to gamma, proton, and carbon ion beam. Dose-response curve, minimum detectable dose (MDD), energy dependence, and dependence on the dose rate when irradiated with gamma radiation were evaluated in this material. Linear dose-response curves for proton and carbon ion irradiation have been compared to that of the gamma dose-response. In this way, the dose read out in Harshaw TL reader presented a good agreement with doses found using ion chamber in the case of proton beams and slightly less in the case of carbon beam due to the LET dependency. Furthermore, relative efficiencies of CaSiO3 for beam irradiation of proton and carbon ion display no dependence in the analyzed particle doses range.

Characterization of Heavy Ion Induced SET Features in 22-nm FD-SOI Testing Circuits

With device scaling-down, circuits appear more susceptible to transient faults especially for the bulk silicon process. Thus, FD-SOI technology has been widely popular in serious radiation environment due to its high radiation-tolerance inherence created by an additional BOX layer. In this work, seven different inverter chains with two kinds of core voltages, four kinds of channel areas and a stack inverter chain are designed to investigate the SET in advanced 22 nm FD-SOI CMOS technology. A NAND chain is also designed and used for comparison with inverter chains. The sensitivities of diverse SET targets are characterized with different core voltages and heavy-ion tilts. Results showed that the inverter size and the driving current can dominate the occurrence and width distribution of transient pulses. Besides, heavy-ion strike angle, LET, and charge sharing can also affect the pulse width. Though a high LET can deposit adequate energy, the widest pulses are measured in low-LET 84 Kr ion irradiation, rather than in high-LET ions' irradiation, which are attributed to the pulse quenching effect and being investigated by Hspice simulation. The LET dependency and low voltage induced SET widening are all observed in irradiation tests and verified by circuit-level pulse injection. All of the SET sensitive targets are distinguished. The results are highly effective for the designers to suppress and correct the SET-oriented errors to achieve a radiation robust system.

The Pathway from Radiation to Fibrosis: LET Dependence

It is well-known that Radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) is a late event occurring months to years after the initial radiation exposure. Fibrotic lesions have been shown to manifest in many tissues including the skin, heart, lung, liver and kidney. Fibrosis occurs due to abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that result in loss of normal tissue and organ function. The cell type involved in RIF is myofibroblasts, which do not undergo apoptosis after healing but instead continue to accumulate, producing excessive amounts of ECM proteins, thereby damaging the tissues and organs. Reactive oxygen species, generated in response to radiation, is one signal that helps maintain the myofibroblast phenotype. In this review, we discuss molecular mechanisms leading to this late radiation event, known biomarkers for prediction, preclinical animal models of radiation-induced toxicity and current clinical trials designed for mitigation and treatment of radiation-induced fibrosis. We also discuss other physical properties such as linear energy transfer (LET) than the ones used in the clinics today which may have the potential to change our understanding on this inevitable pathway from radiation treatment to organ fibrosis.

Meta-analysis of Cognitive Performance by Novel Object Recognition after Proton and Heavy Ion Exposures.

Experimental studies of cognitive detriments in mice and rats after proton and heavy ion exposures have been performed by several laboratories to investigate possible risks to astronauts exposed to cosmic rays in space travel and patients treated for brain cancers with proton and carbon beams in Hadron therapy. However, distinct radiation types and doses, cognitive tests and rodent models have been used by different laboratories, while few studies have considered detailed dose-response characterizations, including estimates of relative biological effectiveness (RBE). Here we report on the first quantitative meta-analysis of the dose response for proton and heavy ion rodent studies of the widely used novel object recognition (NOR) test, which estimates detriments in recognition or object memory. Our study reveals that linear or linear-quadratic dose-response models of relative risk (RR) do not provide accurate descriptions. However, good descriptions for doses up to 1 Gy are provided by exponentially increasing fluence or dose-response models observed with an LET dependence similar to a classical radiation quality response, which peaks near 100-120 keV/µm and declines at higher LET values. Exponential models provide accurate predictions of experimental results for NOR in mice after mixed-beam exposures of protons and 56Fe, and protons, 16O and 28Si. RBE estimates are limited by available X-ray or gamma-ray experiments to serve as a reference radiation. RBE estimates based on use of data from combined gamma-ray and high-energy protons of low-LET experiments suggest modest RBEs, with values <8 for most heavy ions, while higher values <20 are based on limited gamma-ray data. In addition, we consider a log-normal model for the variation of subject responses at defined dose levels. The log-normal model predicts a heavy ion dose threshold of approximately 0.01 Gy for NOR-related cognitive detriments.

Dose, LET and Strain Dependence of Radiation-Induced 53BP1 Foci in 15 Mouse Strains Ex Vivo Introducing Novel DNA Damage Metrics.

We present a comprehensive comparative analysis on the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage ex vivo in 15 strains of mice, including 5 inbred reference strains and 10 collaborative-cross strains, of both sexes, totaling 5 million skin fibroblast cells imaged by three-dimensional highthroughput conventional microscopy. Non-immortalized primary skin fibroblasts derived from 76 mice were subjected to increasing doses of both low- and high-LET radiation (X rays; 350 MeV/n 40Ar; 600 MeV/n 56Fe), which are relevant to carcinogenesis and human space exploration. Automated image quantification of 53BP1 radiation-induced foci (RIF) formation and repair during the first 4-48 h postirradiation was performed as a function of dose and LET. Since multiple DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are induced in a dose- and LET-dependent manner, our data suggest that when DSBs are formed within the same discrete nuclear region, referred to as the "repair domain", novel mathematical formalisms used to report RIF allowed us to conclude that multiple DSBs can be present in single RIF. Specifically, we observed that the number of RIF per Gy was lower for higher X-ray doses or higher LET particles (i.e., 600 MeV/n 56Fe), suggesting there are more DSBs per RIF when the local absorbed dose increases in the nucleus. The data also clearly show that with more DSBs per RIF, it becomes more difficult for cells to fully resolve RIF. All 15 strains showed the same dose and LET dependence, but strain differences were preserved under various experimental conditions, indicating that the number and sizes of repair domains are modulated by the genetic background of each strain.

CALIBRATION OF GAFCHROMIC EBT3 FILM FOR DOSIMETRY OF SCANNING PROTON PENCIL BEAM (PBS).

Gafchromic EBT3 films are applied in proton radiotherapy for 2D dose mapping because they demonstrate spatial resolution well below 1 mm. However, the film response must be corrected in order to reach the accuracy of dose measurements required for the clinical use. The in-house developed AnalyseGafchromic software allows to analyze and correct the measured response using triple channel dose calibration, statistical scan-to-scan fluctuations as well as experimentally determined dose and LET dependence. Finally, the optimized protocol for evaluation of response of Gafchromic EBT3 films was applied to determine 30 × 40 cm2 dose profiles of the scanning therapy unit at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice, CCB in Krakow, Poland.

Oxygen Enhancement Ratio in Radiation-Induced Initial DSBs by an Optimized Flow Cytometry-based Gamma-H2AX Analysis in A549 Human Cancer Cells.

High-linear energy transfer (LET) heavy ions cause higher therapeutic effects than low-LET radiation due to lower dependency on oxygen concentration in tumor cell killing. The lethality after irradiation largely depends on DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), however the detailed LET dependency for DSB induction under oxic and hypoxic conditions has not been reported. Therefore, we evaluated the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) of heavy ion-induced DSB induction using a highly-optimized flow cytometry-based method of γ-H2AX detection. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells were exposed to X-ray, carbon-ion and iron-ion radiations under oxic or hypoxic condition. As a DSB marker, the γ-H2AX signal was measured 1 h postirradiation and analyzed by flow cytometry. DSB slope values were calculated as DSB induction per Gy. Our method was able to detect high-LET radiation-induced DSBs even from clustered DNA damage sites. We also showed a decrease in OER value in an LET-dependent manner regardless of radiation type. In summary, we demonstrated a simple, quick and highly-optimized flow cytometry-based method of DSB analysis that detects DSBs induced by heavy-ion radiation for hypoxic and nonhypoxic cancer cells. Our study may provide a useful biological basis for heavy-ion radiotherapy.

Response of synthetic diamond detectors in proton, carbon, and oxygen ion beams.

In this work, the LET-dependence of the response of synthetic diamond detectors is investigated in different particle beams. Measurements were performed in three nonmodulated particle beams (proton, carbon, and oxygen). The response of five synthetic diamond detectors was compared to the response of a Markus or an Advanced Markus ionization chamber. The synthetic diamond detectors were used with their axis parallel to the beam axis and without any bias voltage. A high bias voltage was applied to the ionization chambers, to minimize ion recombination, for which no correction is applied (+300 V and +400 V were applied to the Markus and Advanced Markus ionization chambers respectively). The ratio between the normalized response of the synthetic diamond detectors and the normalized response of the ionization chamber shows an under-response of the synthetic diamond detectors in carbon and oxygen ion beams. No under-response of the synthetic diamond detectors is observed in protons. For each beam, combining results obtained for the five synthetic diamond detectors and considering the uncertainties, a linear fit of the ratio between the normalized response of the synthetic diamond detectors and the normalized response of the ionization chamber is determined. The response of the synthetic diamond detectors can be described as a function of LET as (-6.22E-4 ± 3.17E-3) • LET + (0.99 ± 0.01) in proton beam, (-2.51E-4 ± 1.18E-4) • LET + (1.01 ± 0.01) in carbon ion beam and (-2.77E-4 ± 0.56E-4) • LET + (1.03 ± 0.01) in oxygen ion beam. Combining results obtained in carbon and oxygen ion beams, a LET dependence of about 0.026% (±0.013%) per keV/μm is estimated. Due to the high LET value, a LET dependence of the response of the synthetic diamond detector was observed in the case of carbon and oxygen beams. The effect was found to be negligible in proton beams, due to the low LET value. The under-response of the synthetic diamond detector may result from the recombination of electron/hole in the thin synthetic diamond layer, due to the high LET-values. More investigations are required to confirm this assumption.

Deconvolution study on the glow curve structure of LiF:Mg,Ti and LiF:Mg,Cu,P thermoluminescent detectors exposed to 1H, 4He and 12C ion beams

Lithium fluoride represents the most frequently used base material for thermoluminescent detectors. The glow curve of these detectors is composed of a series of peaks which intensities strongly depend on the given dose, the type and energy of the impinging radiation, the concentration of dopants in the crystal and the lithium isotopic concentration.In this work, 6LiF:Mg,Ti, 7LiF:Mg,Ti, 6LiF:Mg,Cu,P and 7LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors were exposed to calibrated hydrogen, helium and carbon ion beams in order to investigate the change of the structure of the different peaks composing the glow curves of these materials and their relative luminescence efficiency. In order to resolve the different peak contributions, computer assisted deconvolution of the glow curve was performed and the used sets of parameters (activation energy E and temperature at peak maximum Tmax) are presented.In the case of LiF:Mg,Ti detectors, the low temperature peaks and the main peak are characterized by a general efficiency decrease with the increase of the LET of the incident particle. No remarkable differences were found between detectors enriched with 6Li or 7Li. On the other hand, differences in the structure of the high temperature peaks between the two lithium isotopic compositions were found and discussed. Regarding LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors, each peak shows a general monotonously decreasing relative efficiency with the increase of LET. In this case, a similar LET dependence was found between 6Li and 7Li based detectors. Furthermore, unusual efficiencies greater than 1 for the low temperature peaks of LiF:Mg,Cu,P exposed to low LET particle were observed.

Three-Dimensional Dosimetry of Carbon Ion Beams by Gel Dosimeters

A three-dimensional dosimetry method is strongly required in the dose distribution measurement of a patient QA of a heavy ion therapy. Nanocomposite Fricke gel dosimeters are the most possible candidate for this purpose. Experimental dose distribution measurements were carried out using a scanning irradiation port of Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center. The result showed no significant LET dependence and indicated a possibility for a precise dosimetry of a heavy ion therapy. It also indicated the importance of three-dimensional dosimetry in the commissioning process of the treatment accelerator.