Development of a Compton Camera for online ion beam range verification via prompt gamma detection


Development of a Compton Camera for online ion beam range verification via prompt gamma detection

Aldawood, S.; Böhmer, M.; Bortfeldt, J.; Castelhano, I.; Dedes, G.; Lutter, R.; Gernhäuser, R.; Kolff, H. V. D.; Lang, C.; Maier, L.; Petzoldt, J.; Römer, K.; Pausch, G.; Fiedler, F.; Schaart, D. R.; Parodi, K.; Thirolf, P. G.; Auer, M.

Precise and preferably online ion beam range verification is a mandatory prerequisite to fully exploit the advantages of hadron therapy in cancer treatment. Our aim is to develop an imaging system based on a Compton camera designed to detect prompt gamma-rays induced by nuclear reactions between the ion beam and biological tissue. The Compton camera prototype consists of a stack of six customized double-sided Si-strip detectors (DSSSD, 50x50 mm2,128 strips/side) acting as scatterer, while the absorber is formed by a monolithic LaBr3:Ce scintillator crystal (50x50x30mm3) read out by a position-sensitive multi-anode photomultiplier (Hamamatsu H9500). This camera has the ability to not only detect the scattered photon, but it can also track the scattered Compton electron due to the way of designing and arranging the scatter detectors, and the multi-MeV energy of the incidentprompt gamma-rays[1].Thereflectively wrapped LaBr3:Ce detector was characterized with calibration sources, showing an excellent performance of this crystal. The time resolution was determined to be 273ps and the relative energy resolution at 662 keV was found to be 3.8%.The study of the DSSSD detectors together with the full Compton camera properties are inprogress both in the laboratory as well as at the online facilities.

References
[1] C. Lang et al., Journal of Instrumentation 9 (2014) P01008.
This work is supported by the DFG Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics)

Keywords: Compton Camera; range verification; particle therapy

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