Processing of prompt gamma-ray timing data for proton range measurements at a clinical beam delivery.

Processing of prompt gamma-ray timing data for proton range measurements at a clinical beam delivery. Phys Med Biol. 2019 Apr 09;: Authors: Werner T, Berthold J, Hueso-González F, Kögler T, Petzoldt J, Roemer KE, Richter C, Rinscheid A, Straessner A, Enghardt W, Pausch G Abstract In proton therapy, patients benefit from the precise deposition of the dose in the tumor volume due to the interaction of charged particles with matter. Currently, the determination of the beam range in the patient's body during the treatment is not a clinical standard. This lack causes broad safety margins, which limits the potential of proton therapy. To overcome this obstacle, different methods are under investigation aiming at the verification of the proton range in real time. One approach is the Prompt Gamma-ray Timing (PGT) method, where the range of the primary protons is derived from the time resolved emission profiles (PGT spectra) of promptly emitted gamma rays, which are produced along the particle track in the tissue. After verifying this novel technique in an experimental environment but far away from treatment conditions, the translation of PGT into clinical practice is intended. Therefore, new hardware was extensively tested and characterized in a clinical-like scenario using short irradiation times of 70ms and clinical beam currents of 2nA. Experiments were carried out in the treatment room of the University Proton Therapy Dresden. A pencil...
Source: Physics in Medicine and Biology - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: Phys Med Biol Source Type: research