Beam range estimation by measuring bremsstrahlung

We describe a new method for estimating the beam range in heavy-ion radiation therapy by measuring the ion beam bremsstrahlung. We experimentally confirm that the secondary electron bremsstrahlung process provides the dominant bremsstrahlung contribution. A Monte Carlo simulation shows that the numb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics in medicine & biology 2012-05, Vol.57 (10), p.2843-2856
Main Authors: Yamaguchi, Mitsutaka, Torikai, Kota, Kawachi, Naoki, Shimada, Hirofumi, Satoh, Takahiro, Nagao, Yuto, Fujimaki, Shu, Kokubun, Motohide, Watanabe, Shin, Takahashi, Tadayuki, Arakawa, Kazuo, Kamiya, Tomihiro, Nakano, Takashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
beam monitoring
bremsstrahlung
Gamma Rays - therapeutic use
heavy-ion therapy
Monte Carlo Method
Photons - therapeutic use
Radiometry - methods
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Summary:We describe a new method for estimating the beam range in heavy-ion radiation therapy by measuring the ion beam bremsstrahlung. We experimentally confirm that the secondary electron bremsstrahlung process provides the dominant bremsstrahlung contribution. A Monte Carlo simulation shows that the number of background photons from annihilation gamma rays is about 1% of the bremsstrahlung strength in the low-energy region used in our estimation (63-68 keV). Agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical prediction for the characteristic shape of the bremsstrahlung spectrum validates the effectiveness of our new method in estimating the ion beam range.
ISSN:0031-9155
1361-6560
DOI:10.1088/0031-9155/57/10/2843