High granularity tracker based on a Triple-GEM optically read by a CMOS-based camera

The detection of photons produced during the avalanche development in gas chambers has been the subject of detailed studies in the past. The great progresses achieved in last years in the performance of micro-pattern gas detectors on one side and of photo-sensors on the other provide the possibility of making high granularity and very sensitive particle trackers. In this paper, the results obtained with a triple-GEM structure read-out by a CMOS based sensor are described. The use of an He/CF$_4$ (60/40) gas mixture and a detailed optimization of the electric fields made possible to obtain and very high GEM light yield. About 80 photons per primary electron were detected by the sensor resulting in a very good capability of tracking both muons from cosmic rays and electrons from natural radioactivity

Bounded Cohomology Classes of Exact Forms

On negatively curved compact manifolds, it is possible to associate to every closed form a bounded cocycle - hence a bounded cohomology class - via integration over straight simplices. The kernel of this map is contained in the space of exact forms. We show that in degree 2 this kernel is trivial, in contrast with higher degree. In other words, exact non-zero $2$-forms define non-trivial bounded cohomology classes. This result is the higher dimensional version of a classical theorem by Barge and Ghys for surfaces. As a consequence, one gets that the second bounded cohomology of negatively curved manifolds contains an infinite dimensional space, whose classes are explicitly described by integration of forms. This also showcases that some recent results by Marasco (arXiv:2202.04419, arXiv:2209.00560) can be applied in higher dimension to obtain new non-trivial results on the vanishing of certain cup products and Massey products. Some other applications are discussed.Comment: 11 pages. Some minor changes made upon referee's suggestions. Final version to appear in PAM

A new method based on noise counting to monitor the frontend electronics of the LHCb muon detector

A new method has been developed to check the correct behaviour of the frontend electronics of the LHCb muon detector. This method is based on the measurement of the electronic noise rate at different thresholds of the frontend discriminator. The method was used to choose the optimal discriminator thresholds. A procedure based on this method was implemented in the detector control system and allowed the detection of a small percentage of frontend channels which had deteriorated. A Monte Carlo simulation has been performed to check the validity of the method

Intraoperative β-Detecting probe for radio-guided surgery in tumour resection

The development of the β− based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma and gliomas already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, a prototype of the intraoperative probe detecting β− decays and specific phantoms simulating tumour remnant patterns embedded in healthy tissue have been realized. The response of the probe in this simulated environment is tested with dedicated procedures. This document discusses the innovative aspects of the method, the status of the developed intraoperative β− detecting probe and the results of the preclinical tests

An Intraoperative β−\beta^- Detecting Probe For Radio-Guided Surgery in Tumour Resection

The development of the $\beta^-$ based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma, glioma, and neuroendocrine tumors already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, prototypes of the intraoperative probe required by the technique to detect $\beta^-$ radiation have been developed. This paper discusses the design details of the device and the tests performed in laboratory. In such tests particular care has to be taken to reproduce the surgical field conditions. The innovative technique to produce specific phantoms and the dedicated testing protocols is described in detail.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figure

Monitoring of hadrontherapy treatments by means of charged particle detection

The interaction of the incoming beam radiation with the patient body in hadrontherapy treatments produces secondary charged and neutral particles, whose detection can be used for monitoring purposes and to perform an on-line check of beam particle range. In the context of ion-therapy with active scanning, charged particles are potentially attractive since they can be easily tracked with a high efficiency, in presence of a relatively low background contamination. In order to verify the possibility of exploiting this approach for in-beam monitoring in ion-therapy, and to guide the design of specific detectors, both simulations and experimental tests are being performed with ion beams impinging on simple homogeneous tissue-like targets (PMMA). From these studies, a resolution of the order of few millimeters on the single track has been proven to be sufficient to exploit charged particle tracking for monitoring purposes, preserving the precision achievable on longitudinal shape. The results obtained so far show that the measurement of charged particles can be successfully implemented in a technology capable of monitoring both the dose profile and the position of the Bragg peak inside the target and finally lead to the design of a novel profile detector. Crucial aspects to be considered are the detector positioning, to be optimized in order to maximize the available statistics, and the capability of accounting for the multiple scattering interactions undergone by the charged fragments along their exit path from the patient body. The experimental results collected up to now are also valuable for the validation of Monte Carlo simulation software tools and their implementation in Treatment Planning Software packages

Towards a Radio-guided Surgery with β−\beta^{-} Decays: Uptake of a somatostatin analogue (DOTATOC) in Meningioma and High Grade Glioma

A novel radio guided surgery (RGS) technique for cerebral tumors using $\beta^{-}$ radiation is being developed. Checking the availability of a radio-tracer that can deliver a $\beta^{-}$ emitter to the tumor is a fundamental step in the deployment of such technique. This paper reports a study of the uptake of 90Y labeled (DOTATOC) in the meningioma and the high grade glioma (HGG) and a feasibility study of the RGS technique in these cases.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Measurement of charged particle yields from therapeutic beams in view of the design of an innovative hadrontherapy dose monitor

Particle Therapy (PT) is an emerging technique, which makes use of charged particles to efficiently cure different kinds of solid tumors. The high precision in the hadrons dose deposition requires an accurate monitoring to prevent the risk of under-dosage of the cancer region or of over-dosage of healthy tissues. Monitoring techniques are currently being developed and are based on the detection of particles produced by the beam interaction into the target, in particular: charged particles, result of target and/or projectile fragmentation, prompt photons coming from nucleus de-excitation and back-to-back γ s, produced in the positron annihilation from β + emitters created in the beam interaction with the target. It has been showed that the hadron beam dose release peak can be spatially correlated with the emission pattern of these secondary particles. Here we report about secondary particles production (charged fragments and prompt γ s) performed at different beam and energies that have a particular relevance for PT applications: 12C beam of 80 MeV/u at LNS, 12C beam 220 MeV/u at GSI, and 12C, 4He, 16O beams with energy in the 50–300 MeV/u range at HIT. Finally, a project for a multimodal dose-monitor device exploiting the prompt photons and charged particles emission will be presented