New methods of real-time control imaging for ion therapy

to be published in the proceedings of the NIRS-ETOILE joint symposium on carbon ion therapy, Lyon, 16-17 mars 2009We present the ongoing studies aiming at providing a real-time control of the dose distribution during ion therapy. These studies are undertaken in the frame of the National and Rhône-Alpes Regional Research Programs for Hadontherapy. We aim at implementing combined modalities for real-time quality control of the deposited dose for future therapy centers. Several modalities are under development within this research program. Improvements on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) can be obtained by means of Time of Flight, using fast scintillators or resistive plate chambers, with dedicated readout and electronics. The in-bream prompt gamma imaging looks very promising in view of recent preliminary results, provided Time of Flight is used to discriminate gamma from neutrons and scattered particles. A collimated detection setup or a Compton camera is envisaged. Prompt emission of light charged particles like protons is also discussed

Assessment of Geant4 Prompt-Gamma Emission Yields in the Context of Proton Therapy Monitoring

International audienceMonte Carlo tools have been long used to assist the research and development of solutions for proton therapy monitoring. The present work focuses on the prompt-gamma emission yields by comparing experimental data with the outcomes of the current version of Geant4 using all applicable proton inelastic models. For the case in study and using the binary cascade model, it was found that Geant4 overestimates the prompt-gamma emission yields by 40.2 ± 0.3%, even though it predicts the prompt-gamma profile length of the experimental profile accurately. In addition, the default implementations of all proton inelastic models show an overestimation in the number of prompt gammas emitted. Finally, a set of built-in options and physically sound Geant4 source code changes have been tested in order to try to improve the discrepancy observed. A satisfactory agreement was found when using the QMD model with a wave packet width equal to 1.3 fm 2

Statistical effects of dose deposition in track-structure modelling of radiobiology efficiency

Ion-induced cell killing has been reported to depend on the irradiation dose but also on the projectile parameters. In this paper we focus on two approaches developed and extensively used to predict cell survival in response to ion irradiation: the Local Effect Model and the Katz Model. These models are based on a track-structure description summarized in the concept of radial dose. This latter is sensitive to ion characteristics parameters and gives to both models the ability to predict some important radiobiological features for ion irradiations. Radial dose is however an average quantity, which does not include stochastic effects. These radiation-intrinsic effects are investigated by means of a Monte-Carlo simulation of dose deposition. We show that both models are not fully consistent with the nanometric and microscopic dose deposition statistics.Comment: 32 pages ; 8 figure

A Low Noise and High Dynamic Charge Sensitive Amplifier-Shaper associated with Silicon Strip Detector for Compton Camera in hadrontherapy

submitted to conference record of IEEE NSS-MIC, Anaheim USA, 29 october-3 november 2012International audienceA 8 channel Front End Electronics (FEE) circuit has been designed and fabricated in 0.35 μm CMOS process from Austria Micro System to be coupled with the Silicon Strip Detector (SSD) of the Compton Camera for quality control of hadrontherapy. Each channel includes a Charge Sensitive Amplifier (CSA) followed by two parallel CR-RC shapers. Slow and fast shapers, with 1 μs and 15 ns shaping time, are used to measure the energy and to time stamp all events respectively. The two sides of the SSD are read thanks to a configurable system for holes and electrons. The CSA presents an open loop gain of 67 dB and 90 degrees phase margin assuring a high stability. The circuit has been successfully tested. The test results are in good agreement with analytic and simulation calculations. Here, we describe the principles and present measured performances of the prototype. A high linearity over the range of 3E3 to 3E6 electrons is reached with a conversion gain of 3.6 mV/fC. The circuit achieves an ENC (Equivalent Noise Charge) of 412 electrons rms. 75% of the total noise is generated by the small value of the feedback resistor chosen to avoid pile up phenomenon due to the 1E5 hits/s occupancy rate. A cross-talk of 2 % was measured, 99% of which is due to the power supply disturbances. The power supply dissipation is 21 mW/channel for 3.3 V supply voltage. The area of this design is 2871×1881 μm2 including pads

Electron gas polarization effect induced by heavy H-like ions of moderate velocities channeled in a silicon crystal

We report on the observation of a strong perturbation of the electron gas induced by 20 MeV/u U$^{91+}$ ions and 13 MeV/u Pb$^{81+}$ ions channeled in silicon crystals. This collective response (wake effect) in-duces a shift of the continuum energy level by more than 100 eV, which is observed by means of Radiative Electron Capture into the K and L-shells of the projectiles. We also observe an increase of the REC probability by 20-50% relative to the probability in a non-perturbed electron gas. The energy shift is in agreement with calculations using the linear response theory, whereas the local electron density enhancement is much smaller than predicted by the same model. This shows that, for the small values of the adiabaticity parameter achieved in our experiments, the density fluctuations are not strongly localized at the vicinity of the heavy ions

Monitoring the Bragg peak location of 73 MeV/u carbon ions by means of prompt γ\gamma-ray measurements

By means of a time-of-flight technique, we measured the longitudinal profile of prompt $\gamma$-rays emitted by 73 MeV/u $^{13}$C ions irradiating a PMMA target. This technique allowed us to minimize the shielding against neutrons and scattered $\gamma$-rays, and to correlate prompt gamma emission to the ion path. This correlation, together with a high counting rate, paves the way toward real-time monitoring of the longitudinal dose profile during ion therapy treatments. Moreover, the time correlation between the prompt gamma detection and the transverse position of the incident ions measured by a beam monitor can provide real-time 3D control of the irradiation.Comment: to be published in Applied Physics Letter

Interaction vertex imaging (IVI) for carbon ion therapy monitoring: a feasibility study

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Nutritional Composition and Bioactivity of Salicornia europaea L. Plants Grown in Monoculture or Intercropped with Tomato Plants in Salt-Affected Soils

The increasing salinization of agricultural soils urges us to find alternative and sustainable farming systems in order to allow the exploitation of areas that are otherwise becoming less suitable for conventional crops. Thanks to their adaptation to extreme saline conditions, halophytes are promising plants for resilient farming systems, such as intercropping with glycophytes, to ameliorate their productivity in saline soils. This research aimed to evaluate whether the nutritional profile and the content of some health-promoting compounds of the edible portion of Salicornia europaea were influenced by its cultivation in consociation with tomato plants. Moreover, the antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties of S. europaea were studied to characterize its bioactivity. The farming system did not influence the concentration of nutrients and bioactive compounds, except for flavonoids. The antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of Salicornia extract suggested the importance of this halophyte for animal and human health

Real time monitoring of the Bragg-peak position in ion therapy by means of single photon detection

For real-time monitoring of the longitudinal position of the Bragg-peak during an ion therapy treatment, a novel non-invasive technique has been recently proposed that exploits the detection of prompt -rays issued from nuclear fragmentation. Two series of experiments have been performed at the GANIL and GSI facilities with 95 MeV/u and 305 MeV/u 12C6+ ion beams stopped in PMMA and water phantoms. In both experiments a clear correlation was obtained between the carbon ion range and the prompt photon profile. Additionally, an extensive study has been performed to investigate whether a prompt neutron component may be correlated with the carbon ion range. No such correlation was found. The present paper demonstrates that a collimated set-up can be used to detect single photons by means of time-of-flight measurements, at those high energies typical for ion therapy. Moreover, the applicability of the technique both at cyclotron and synchrotron facilities is shown. It is concluded that the detected photon count rates provide sufficiently high statistics to allow real-time control of the longitudinal position of the Bragg-peak under clinical conditions