Ultra-fast prompt gamma detection in single proton counting regime for range monitoring in particle therapy
S. Marcatili, J. Collot, S. Curtoni, D. Dauvergne, J-Y. Hostachy, C. Koumeir, J. M. Létang, J. Livingstone, V. Métivier, L. Gallin-Martel, M-L. Gallin-Martel, J… 展开作者
S. Marcatili, J. Collot, S. Curtoni, D. Dauvergne, J-Y. Hostachy, C. Koumeir, J. M. Létang, J. Livingstone, V. Métivier, L. Gallin-Martel, M-L. Gallin-Martel, J. F. Muraz, N. Servagent, É. Testa, M. Yamouni
In order to fully exploit the ballistic potential of particle therapy, we propose an online range monitoring concept based on high-resolution Time-Of-Flight (TOF)-resolved Prompt Gamma (PG) detection in a single proton counting regime. In a proof of principle experiment, different types of monolithic scintillating gamma detectors are read in time coincidence with a diamond-based beam hodoscope, in order to build TOF spectra of PG generated in a heterogeneous target presenting an air cavity of variable thickness. Since the measurement was carried out at low beam currents ($<$ 1 proton/bunch) it was possible to reach excellent coincidence time resolutions, of the order of 100 ps ($σ$). Our goal is to detect possible deviations of the proton range with respect to treatment planning within a few intense irradiation spots at the beginning of the session and then carry on the treatment at standard beam currents. The measurements were limited to 10 mm proton range shift. A Monte Carlo simulation study reproducing the experiment has shown that a 3 mm shift can be detected at 2$σ$ by a single detector of $\sim 1.4 \times 10^{-3}$ absolute detection efficiency within a single irradiation spot ($\sim$10$^{8}$ protons) and an optimised experimental set-up.
Charged particle therapy (CPT) is an advanced modality of radiation therapy which has grown rapidly worldwide, driven by recent developments in technology and methods of delivery. To ensure safe and high quality treatments, various instruments are used for a range of different measurements such as for quality assurance, monitoring and dosimetry purposes. With the emergence of new and enhanced delivery techniques, systems with improved capabilities are needed to exceed existing performance limitations of conventional tools. The Medipix3 is a hybrid pixel detector able to count individual proton…
Chronic disease is a long-lasting condition that can be controlled but not cured. Owing to the portability and continuous action, wearable devices are regarded as promising ways for management and rehabilitation of patients with chronic diseases. Although the monitoring functions of mobile health care are in full swing, the research direction along wearable therapy devices has not been paid with enough attention. The aim of this review paper is to summarize recent developments in the field of wearable devices, with particular focus on specific interpretations of therapy for chronic diseases in…
Charged Particle Therapy is a technique for cancer treatment that exploits hadron beams, mostly protons and carbons. A critical issue is the monitoring of the dose released by the beam to the tumor and to the surrounding tissues. We present the design of a new tracking device for monitoring on-line the dose in ion therapy through the detection of secondary charged particles produced by the beam interactions in the patient tissues. In fact, the charged particle emission shape can be correlated with the spatial dose release and the Bragg peak position. The detector uses the information provided …
We present the current status of our project of developing a photon counting detector for medical imaging. An example motivation lays in producing a monitoring and dosimetry device for boron neutron capture therapy, currently not commercially available. Our approach combines in-house developed detectors based on cadmium telluride or thick silicon with readout chip technology developed for particle physics experiments at CERN. Here we describe the manufacturing process of our sensors as well as the processing steps for the assembly of first prototypes. The prototypes use currently the PSI46digV…
ABSTRACT: Temperature monitoring is extremely im-portant during thermotherapy. Fiber-optic temperature sensors are preferred because of their flexibility and im-munity to electromagnetic interference. Although many types of fiber-optic sensors have been developed, it re-mains challenging for clinically adopting them. Here, we report a silica fiber-based radiometric thermometer using a low-cost extended InGaAs detector to detect black body radiation between 1.7um to 2.4 um. For the first time, this silica fiber-based thermometer is capable of measuring temperature down to 35°C, making it suitab…
A prototype of proton counter was developed by the University and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics of Torino to be used as online fluence beam monitor in particle therapy. The single particle identification approach aims at increasing the sensitivity and readout speed with respect to the state-of-the-art gas ionization chambers. The sensitive area is 2,7 x 2,7 cm^2 to cover the clinical beam cross section characterized by a full width at half maximum of about 1 cm at the isocenter. The sensor is a thin Low Gain Avalanche Diode segmented in 146 strips with 180 micrometer pitch and wit…
PET imaging is a non-invasive technique for particle range verification in proton therapy. It is based on measuring the beta+ annihilations caused by nuclear interactions of the protons in the patient. In this work we present measurements for proton range verification in phantoms, performed at the CNAO particle therapy treatment center in Pavia, Italy, with our 10 x 10 cm^2 planar PET prototype DoPET. PMMA phantoms were irradiated with mono-energetic proton beams and clinical treatment plans, and PET data were acquired during and shortly after proton irradiation. We created 1-D profiles of the…
We report the design and test results of a beam monitor developed for online monitoring in hadron therapy. The beam monitor uses eight silicon pixel sensors, \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$}, as the anode array. \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is a charge sensor designed in a CMOS 0.35 $μ$m technology. Each \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} sensor has $72\times72$ pixels and the pixel size is $83\times83$ $μ$m$^2$. In our design, the beam passes through the beam monitor without hitting the electrodes, making the beam monitor especially suitable for monitoring heavy ion beams. This design also reduces radiation …
Diabetes mellitus is a complex group of syndromes that have in common a disturbance in the body's use of glucose, resulting in an elevated blood sugar. Once detected, sugar diabetes can be controlled by an appropriate regimen that should include diet therapy, a weight reduction program for those persons who are overweight, a program of exercise and insulin injections or oral drugs to lower blood glucose. Blood glucose monitoring by the patient and the physician is an important aspect in the control of the devastating complications (heart disease, blindness, kidney failure or amputations) due t…
Measurements performed with the purpose of characterizing the charged secondary radiation for dose release monitoring in particle therapy are reported. Charged secondary yields, energy spectra and emission profiles produced in poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) target by 4He and 12C beams of different therapeutic energies were measured at 60 and 90 degree with respect to the primary beam direction. The secondary yields of protons produced along the primary beam path in PMMA target were obtained. The energy spectra of charged secondaries were obtained from time-of-flight information, whereas the e…
We study the spatial distributions of $β^+$-activity produced by therapeutic beams of $^3$He and $^{12}$C ions in various tissue-like materials. The calculations were performed within a Monte Carlo model for Heavy-Ion Therapy (MCHIT) based on the GEANT4 toolkit. The contributions from $^{10,11}$C, $^{13}$N, $^{14,15}$O, $^{17,18}$F and $^{30}$P positron-emitting nuclei were calculated and compared with experimental data obtained during and after irradiation. Positron emitting nuclei are created by $^{12}$C beam in fragmentation reactions of projectile and target nuclei. This leads to a $β^+$-a…
Charged particle beams are used in Particle Therapy (PT) to treat oncological patients due to their selective dose deposition in tissues and to their high biological effect in killing cancer cells with respect to photons and electrons used in conventional radiotherapy. Nowadays, protons and carbon ions are used in PT clinical routine but, recently, the interest on the potential application of helium and oxygen beams is growing due to their reduced multiple scattering inside the body and increased linear energy transfer, relative biological effectiveness and oxygen enhancement ratio. The precis…
Stopping power monitoring during proton therapy by means of prompt gamma timing: first experimental results with a homogeneous phantom
Universität zu Lübeck（吕贝克大学）；INFN sezione di Torino（都灵意大利国家核物理研究所）；State University of Santa Cruz（圣克鲁斯州立大学）；Fondazione CNAO（CNAO基金会）；Università degli Studi di Torino（都灵大学）
In proton therapy both the energy, which determines the range, and the distal slope, which reflects the rate at which the protons decelerate, are of import if we are to ensure accurate dose deposition and maximum tissue sparing. This publication describes a Geant4 model and presents a two-dimensional polynomial relationship between energy, the energy spread and the distal slope for beams with Gaussian energy spectra for proton therapy. This simple polynomial relationship will be useful for non-invasive or minimally invasive near real-time monitoring of the energy and energy spread of a proton …
Background: Treatment verification with PET imaging in charged particle therapy is conventionally done by comparing measurements of spatial distributions with Monte Carlo (MC) predictions. However, decay curves can provide additional independent information about the treatment and the irradiated tissue. Most studies performed so far focus on long time intervals. Here we investigate the reliability of MC predictions of space and time (decay rate) profiles shortly after irradiation, and we show how the decay rates can give an indication about the elements of which the phantom is made up. Methods…
Physical and biological range uncertainties limit the clinical potential of Proton Beam Therapy (PBT). In this proceedings, we report on two research projects, which we are conducting in parallel and which both tackle the problem of range uncertainties. One aims at developing software tools and the other at developing detector instrumentation. Regarding the first, we report on our development and pre-clinical application of a GPU-accelerated Monte Carlo (MC) simulation toolkit Fred. Concerning the letter, we report on our investigations of plastic scintillator based PET detectors for particle …
Proton and carbon ion therapy is an emerging technique used for the treatment of solid cancers. The monitoring of the dose delivered during such treatments is still a matter of research. A possible technique exploits the information provided by single photon emission from nuclear decays induced by the irradiation. This paper reports the measurements of the spectrum and rate of such photons produced from the interaction of a 80 MeV/u fully stripped carbon ion beam at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of INFN, Catania, with a Poly-methyl methacrylate target. The differential production rate for p…
Motion management is a critical component of image guidance radiotherapy for lung cancer. We previously proposed a scheme using kV scattered x-ray photons for marker-less real-time image guidance in lung cancer radiotherapy. This study reports our recently progress using the photon counting detection technique to demonstrate potential feasibility of this method and using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and ray-tracing calculations to characterize the performance. In our scheme, a thin slice of x-ray beam was directed to the target and we measured the outgoing scattered photons using a photon coun…
INTRODUCTION: The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) serve as the accepted standard to monitor treatment efficacy in lung cancer. However, the time intervals between consecutive computerized tomography scans might be too long to allow early identification of treatment failure. This study examines the use of breath sampling to monitor responses to anticancer treatments in patients with advanced lung cancer. METHODS: A total of 143 breath samples were collected from 39 patients with advanced lung cancer. The exhaled breath signature, determined by gas chromatography/mass spect…
Prompt Gamma Timing in Carbon Therapy: First Experimental Results with the TIARA Detector
Université Grenoble Alpes（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；Grenoble INP（格勒诺布尔国立理工学院）；LPSC-IN2P3 UMR 5821（格勒诺布尔粒子物理与核物理实验室）；Aix-Marseille Univ（艾克斯-马赛大学）；CPPM（马赛粒子物理中心）；Centre Antoine Lacassagne (CAL)（安托万·拉卡萨涅中心）；Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO)（国家肿瘤重离子治疗中心）
Theranostics, the combination of diagnosis and therapy, has long held promise as a means to achieving personalised precision cancer treatments. However, despite its potential, theranostics has yet to realise significant clinical translation, largely due the complexity and overriding toxicity concerns of existing theranostic nanoparticle strategies. Here, we present an alternative nanoparticle-free theranostic approach based on simultaneous Raman spectroscopy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in an integrated clinical platform for cancer theranostics. We detail the compatibility of Raman spectrosc…
An on-line beam position monitoring and regular beam stability tests are of utmost importance for the Quality Assurance (QA) of the patient treatment at any particle therapy facility. The Gantry$\hspace{0.5 mm}2$ at the Paul Scherrer Institute uses a strip ionization chamber for the on-line beam position verification. The design of the strip chamber placed in the beam in front of the patient allows for a small beam penumbra in order to achieve a high-quality lateral beam delivery. The position error of 1 mm in a lateral plane (plane perpendicular to the beam direction) can result in a dose inh…
Heavy-ion therapy, particularly using scanned (active) beam delivery, provides a precise and highly conformal dose distribution, with maximum dose deposition for each pencil beam at its endpoint (Bragg peak), and low entrance and exit dose. To take full advantage of this precision, robust range verification methods are required; these methods ensure that the Bragg peak is positioned correctly in the patient and the dose is delivered as prescribed. Relative range verification allows intra-fraction monitoring of Bragg peak spacing to ensure full coverage with each fraction, as well as inter-frac…
Tumor monitoring and detection of lymph node metastasis using quantitative ultrasound and immune cytokine profiling in dogs undergoing radiation therapy: a pilot study
Background : Proton flash therapy is an emergency research topic in radiation therapy since the Varian announced the promising results from the first in human clinical trial of Flash therapy recently. However, it still needs a lot of researches on this topic, not only to understand the mechanism of the radiobiological effects but also to develop an appropriate dose monitoring system. Purpose : In this study we setup an experimental station for small animal proton Flash irradiation in a clinical machine. The dose monitoring system is able to provide real-time irradiation dose and irradiation ti…
The use of engineered nanoscale magnetic materials in healthcare and biomedical technologies is rapidly growing. Two examples which have recently attracted significant attention are magnetic particle imaging (MPI) for biological monitoring, and magnetic field hyperthermia (MFH) for cancer therapy. Here for the first time, the capability of a Lissajous scanning MPI device to act as a standalone platform to support the application of MFH cancer treatment is presented. The platform is shown to offer functionalities for nanoparticle localization, focused hyperthermia therapy application, and non-i…
An innovative dose rate independent 2D Ce-doped YAG scintillating dosimetry system for time resolved beam monitoring in ultra-high dose rate electron FLASH radiation therapy
Intrafraction motion can play a pivotal role in the success of abdominal and thoracic radiation therapy. Hybrid magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy systems have the potential to control for intrafraction motion. Recently, we introduced an MRI sequence capable of acquiring real-time cine imaging in two orthogonal planes (SOPI). We extend SOPI here to permit dynamic updating of slice positions in one plane while keeping the other plane position fixed. In this implementation, cine images from the static plane are used for motion monitoring and as image navigators to sort stepped images in the …
Background and purpose: In-beam Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is one of the modalities that can be used for in-vivo non-invasive treatment monitoring in proton therapy. PET distributions obtained during various treatment sessions can be compared in order to identify regions that have anatomical changes. The purpose of this work is to test and compare different analysis methods in the context of inter-fractional PET image comparison for proton treatment verification. Methods: For our study we used the FLUKA Monte Carlo code and artificially generated CT scans to simulate in-beam PET distri…
Range uncertainties in proton therapy hamper treatment precision. Prompt gamma-rays were suggested 16 years ago for real-time range verification, and have already shown promising results in clinical studies with collimated cameras. Simultaneously, alternative imaging concepts without collimation are investigated to reduce the footprint and price of current prototypes. In this manuscript, a compact range verification method is presented. It monitors prompt gamma-rays with a single scintillation detector positioned coaxially to the beam and behind the patient. Thanks to the solid angle effect, p…
Fast procedures for the beam quality assessment and for the monitoring of beam energy modulations during the irradiation are among the most urgent improvements in particle therapy. Indeed, the online measurement of the particle beam energy could allow assessing the range of penetration during treatments, encouraging the development of new dose delivery techniques for moving targets. Towards this end, the proof of concept of a new device, able to measure in a few seconds the energy of clinical proton beams (from 60 to 230 MeV) from the Time of Flight (ToF) of protons, is presented. The prototyp…
Direct monitoring of singlet oxygen (1O2) luminescence is a particularly challenging infrared photodetection problem. 1O2, an excited state of the oxygen molecule, is a crucial intermediate in many biological processes. We employ a low noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detector to record 1O2 luminescence at 1270 nm wavelength from a model photosensitizer (Rose Bengal) in solution. Narrow band spectral filtering and chemical quenching is used to verify the 1O2 signal, and lifetime evolution with the addition of protein is studied. Furthermore, we demonstrate the detection of 1O2 lumi…
Recently, shoot-through proton FLASH has been proposed where the highest energy is extracted from the cyclotron to maximize the dose rate (DR). Even though our proton pencil beam scanning system can deliver 250 MeV (the highest energy), it is not typical to use 250 MeV protons for routine clinical treatments and as such 250 MeV may not have been characterized in the commissioning. In this study, we aim to characterize 250 MeV protons from Varian ProBeam system for FLASH RT as well as assess the ability of clinical monitoring ionization chamber (MIC) for FLASH-readiness. We measured data needed…
Prompt Gamma Timing for range verification with carbon ion irradiation: first experimental measurements and comparison with Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations
