Optimization and performance study of a proton CT system for pre-clinical small animal imaging.

Optimization and performance study of a proton CT system for pre-clinical small animal imaging. Phys Med Biol. 2020 Apr 20;: Authors: Meyer S, Bortfeldt J, Lämmer P, Englbrecht F, Pinto M, Schnürle K, Wuerl M, Parodi K Abstract Proton computed tomography (pCT) promises to reduce or even eliminate range uncertainties inherent in the conversion of Hounsfield units into relative stopping power (RSP) for proton therapy treatment planning. This is of particular interest for proton irradiation studies in animal models due to the high precision required and uncertainties in tissue properties. We propose a dedicated single-particle tracking pCT system consisting of low material budget floating strips Micromegas detectors for tracking and a segmented time-projection-chamber with vertical Mylar absorbers, functioning as a range telescope. Based on Monte Carlo simulations of a realisticin silicobeam and detector implementation, a geometrical optimization of the system components was conducted to safeguard an ideal operation close to intrinsic performance limits at 75 MeV. Moreover, the overall imaging capabilities relevant for pre-clinical proton therapy treatment planning were evaluated for a mouse model. In order to minimize extrinsic uncertainties in the estimated proton trajectories, a spacing of the two tracking planes of at least 7 cm is required in both tracking detectors. Additionally, novel in-house developed and produced aluminum-ba...
Source: Physics in Medicine and Biology - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: Phys Med Biol Source Type: research