Dosimetric and temporal beam characterization of individual pulses in FLASH radiotherapy using Timepix3 pixelated detector placed out-of-field.

Autor: Oancea C; ADVACAM, U Pergamenky 12, 170 00 Prague 7, Czech Republic. Electronic address: cristina.oancea@advacam.cz., Sykorova K; ADVACAM, U Pergamenky 12, 170 00 Prague 7, Czech Republic., Jakubek J; ADVACAM, U Pergamenky 12, 170 00 Prague 7, Czech Republic., Pivec J; ADVACAM, U Pergamenky 12, 170 00 Prague 7, Czech Republic., Riemer F; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Platanenallee 6, 15738 Zeuthen, Germany., Worm S; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Platanenallee 6, 15738 Zeuthen, Germany., Bourgouin A; Dosimetry for Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Radiology, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig 38116, Germany; Metrology Research Center, National Research Council of Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, ON, K1A0R6, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Physica medica : PM : an international journal devoted to the applications of physics to medicine and biology : official journal of the Italian Association of Biomedical Physics (AIFB) [Phys Med] 2024 Dec 11; Vol. 129, pp. 104872. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Dec 11.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2024.104872
Abstrakt: Background: FLASH radiotherapy necessitates the development of advanced Quality Assurance methods and detectors for accurate monitoring of the radiation field. This study introduces enhanced time-resolution detection systems and methods used to measure the delivered number of pulses, investigate temporal structure of individual pulses and dose-per-pulse (DPP) based on secondary radiation particles produced in the experimental room.
Methods: A 20 MeV electron beam generated from a linear accelerator (LINAC) was delivered to a water phantom. Ultra-high dose-per-pulse electron beams were used with a dose-per-pulse ranging from ̴ 1 Gy to over 7 Gy. The pulse lengths ranged from 1.18 µs to 2.88 µs at a pulse rate frequency of 5 Hz. A semiconductor pixel detector Timepix3 was used to track single secondary particles. Measurements were performed in the air, while the detector was positioned out-of-field at a lateral distance of 200 cm parallel with the LINAC exit window. The dose deposited was measured along with the pulse length and the nanostructure of the pulse.
Results: The time of arrival (ToA) of single particles was measured with a resolution of 1.56 ns, while the deposited energy was measured with a resolution of several keV based on the Time over Threshold (ToT) value. The pulse count measured by the Timepix3 detector corresponded with the delivered values, which were measured using an in-flange integrating current transformer (ICT). A linear response (R 2  = 0.999) was established between the delivered beam current and the measured dose at the detector position (orders of nGy). The difference between the average measured and delivered pulse length was ∼0.003(30) μs.
Conclusion: This simple non-invasive method exhibits no limitations on the delivered DPP within the range used during this investigation.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Cristina Oancea, Katerina Sykorova, Jan Jakubek, and Jiri Pivec are employees of ADVACAM and they are involved in the manufacture of the TPX3 detectors. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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