UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

OPTIma: simplifying calorimetry for proton computed tomography in high proton flux environments

Winter, Alasdair; Vorselaars, Bart; Esposito, Michela; Badiee, Amir; Price, Tony; Allport, Philip Patrick; Allinson, Nigel; (2024) OPTIma: simplifying calorimetry for proton computed tomography in high proton flux environments. Physics in Medicine & Biology , 69 (5) , Article 055034. 10.1088/1361-6560/ad2883. Green open access

[thumbnail of Winter_2024_Phys._Med._Biol._69_055034.pdf]
Preview
Text
Winter_2024_Phys._Med._Biol._69_055034.pdf

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Proton computed tomography (pCT) offers a potential route to reducing range uncertainties for proton therapy treatment planning, however the current trend towards high current spot scanning treatment systems leads to high proton fluxes which are challenging for existing systems. Here we demonstrate a novel approach to energy reconstruction, referred to as "de-averaging", which allows individual proton energies to be recovered using only a measurement of their integrated energy without the need for spatial information from the calorimeter. APPROACH: The method is evaluated in the context of the OPTIma (Optimising Proton Therapy through Imaging) system which uses a simple, relatively inexpensive, scintillator based calorimeter that reports only the integrated energy deposited by all protons within a cyclotron period, alongside a silicon strip based tracking system capable of reconstructing individual protons in a high flux environment. GEANT4 simulations have been performed to examine the performance of such a system at a modern commercial cyclotron facility using a σ ≈ 10mm beam for currents in the range 10-50 pA at the nozzle. MAIN RESULTS: Apart from in low-density lung tissue, a discrepancy of less than 1% on the Relative Stopping Power is found for all other considered tissues when embedded within a 150 mm spherical Perspex phantom in the 10-30 pA current range, and for some tissues even up to 50 pA. SIGNIFICANCE: By removing the need for the calorimeter system to provide spatial information, it is hoped that the de-averaging approach can facilitate clinically relevant, cost effective and less complex calorimeter systems for performing high current pCTs.

Type: Article
Title: OPTIma: simplifying calorimetry for proton computed tomography in high proton flux environments
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad2883
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/ad2883
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Authors 2024. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI
Keywords: Calorimetery, Hadron Therapy, Medical Imaging
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10188009
Downloads since deposit
4Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item