Novel Data Acquisition System for Silicon Tracking Detectors

We have developed a novel data acquisition system for measuring tracking parameters of a silicon detector in a particle beam. The system is based on a commercial Analog-to-Digital VME module and a PC Linux based Data Acquisition System. This DAQ is realized with C++ code using object-oriented techniques. Track parameters for the beam particles were reconstructed using off-line analysis code and automatic detector position alignment algorithm. The new DAQ was used to test novel Czochralski type silicon detectors. The important silicon detector parameters, including signal size distributions and signal to noise distributions, were successfully extracted from the detector under study. The efficiency of the detector was measured to be 95 %, the resolution about 10 micrometers, and the signal to noise ratio about 10.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 6 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures. PSN TUGP00

Test beam results of a large area strip detector made on high resistivity Czochralski silicon

We have tested the detection performance of a strip detector processed on silicon wafer grown by magnetic Czochralski (MCZ) method. This is the first time a full size Czochralski detector has been tested in a beam, although the advantages of CZ silicon have been known before. Prior to test beam measurements, the electrical characteristics of the Czochralski silicon detectors were found to be appropriate for particle detection. Using the Helsinki silicon beam telescope at CERN H2 test beam, the performance of the Czochralski silicon detector was shown to be comparable with the existing silicon strip detectors

Results of proton irradiations of large area strip detectors made on high-resistivity Czochralski silicon

We have processed full-size strip detectors on Czochralski grown silicon wafers with resistivity of about 1.2 kΩ cm. Wafers grown with Czochralski method intrinsically contain high concentrations of oxygen, and thus have potential for high radiation tolerance. Detectors and test diodes were irradiated with 10 MeV protons. The 1-MeV neutron equivalent irradiation doses were 1.6×1014 and 8.5×1013 cm−2 for detectors, and up to 5.0×1014 cm−3 for test diodes. After irradiations, depletion voltages and leakage currents were measured. Czochralski silicon devices proved to be significantly more radiation hard than the reference devices made on traditional detector materials.<br/

Integrating clinical features and genetic lesions in the risk assessment of patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm with variable clinical course. To predict the clinical outcome, we previously developed a CMML-specific prognostic scoring system (CPSS) based on clinical parameters and cytogenetics. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that accounting for gene mutations would further improve risk stratification of CMML patients. We therefore sequenced 38 genes to explore the role of somatic mutations in disease phenotype and clinical outcome. Overall, 199 of 214 (93%) CMML patients carried at least 1 somatic mutation. Stepwise linear regression models showed that these mutations accounted for 15% to 24% of variability of clinical phenotype. Based on multivariable Cox regression analyses, cytogenetic abnormalities and mutations in RUNX1, NRAS, SETBP1, and ASXL1 were independently associated with overall survival (OS). Using these parameters, we defined a genetic score that identified 4 categories with significantly different OS and cumulative incidence of leukemic evolution. In multivariable analyses, genetic score, red blood cell transfusion dependency, white blood cell count, and marrow blasts retained independent prognostic value. These parameters were included into a clinical/molecular CPSS (CPSS-Mol) model that identified 4 risk groups with markedly different median OS (from >144 to 18 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 2.69) and cumulative incidence of leukemic evolution (from 0% to 48% at 4 years, HR = 3.84) (P < .001). The CPSS-Mol fully retained its ability to risk stratify in an independent validation cohort of 260 CMML patients. In conclusion, integrating conventional parameters and gene mutations significantly improves risk stratification of CMML patients, providing a robust basis for clinical decision-making and a reliable tool for clinical trials