Proton Computed Tomography (pCT) is a medical imaging technique based on the use of proton beams with energies above 200MeV to directly measure stopping power distributions inside the tissue volume. ...Prima (PRoton IMAging) is an Italian collaboration working on the development of a pCT scanner based on a tracker and a calorimeter to measure single protons trajectory and residual energy. The tracker is composed of four planes of silicon microstrip detectors to measure proton entry and exit positions and angles. Residual energy is measured by a calorimeter composed of YAG:Ce scintillating crystals. A first prototype of pCT scanner, with an active area of about 5×5cm2, has been constructed and characterized with 60MeV protons at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania (Italy) and with 180MeV protons at Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala (Sweden). A new pre-clinical prototype with an extended active area up to 20×5cm2, real time data acquisition and a data rate up to 1MHz is under development. A description of the two prototypes will be presented together with first results concerning tomographic image reconstruction.
This paper describes the development of a proton Computed Tomography (pCT) apparatus able to reconstruct a map of stopping power useful for accurate proton therapy treatment planning and patient ...positioning. This system is based on two main components: a silicon microstrip tracker and a YAG:Ce crystal calorimeter. Each proton trajectory is sampled by the tracker in four points: two upstream and two downstream the object under test; the particle residual energy is measured by the calorimeter. The apparatus is described in details together with a discussion on the characterization of the hardware under proton beams with energies up to 175MeV.
Proton radiography for clinical applications Talamonti, C.; Reggioli, V.; Bruzzi, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
01/2010, Letnik:
612, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Proton imaging is not yet applied as a clinical routine, although its advantages have been demonstrated. In the context of quality assurance in proton therapy, proton images can be used to verify the ...correct positioning of the patient and to control the range of protons. Proton computed tomography (pCT) is a 3D imaging method appropriate for planning and verification of proton radiation treatments, because it allows evaluating the distributions of proton stopping power within the tissues and can be directly utilized when the patient is in the actual treatment position. The aim of the PRoton IMAging experiment, supported by INFN, and the PRIN 2006 project, supported by MIUR, is to realize a proton computed radiography (pCR) prototype for reconstruction of proton images from a single projection in order to validate the technique with pre-clinical studies and, eventually, to conceive the configuration of a complete pCT system. A preliminary experiment performed at the 250
MeV proton synchrotron of Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) allowed acquisition of experimental data before the completion of PRIMA project's prototype. In this paper, the results of the LLUMC experiment are reported and the reconstruction of proton images of two phantoms is discussed.
In this paper the use of the Filtered Back Projection (FBP) Algorithm, in order to reconstruct tomographic images using the high energy (200–250
MeV) proton beams, is investigated. The algorithm has ...been studied in detail with a Monte Carlo approach and image quality has been analysed and compared with the total absorbed dose. A proton Computed Tomography (pCT) apparatus, developed by our group, has been fully simulated to exploit the power of the Geant4 Monte Carlo toolkit. From the simulation of the apparatus, a set of tomographic images of a test phantom has been reconstructed using the FBP at different absorbed dose values. The images have been evaluated in terms of homogeneity, noise, contrast, spatial and density resolution.
PRIMA: An apparatus for medical application Sipala, V.; Brianzi, M.; Bruzzi, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
12/2011, Letnik:
658, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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In this paper a proton Computed Radiography (pCR) apparatus for medical applications, realized by PRIMA (PRoton IMAging) Italian Collaboration, is described. The system is oriented to acquire ...tomography images and meets clinical demands for the use of protons in radiotherapy treatments. The approach proposed here is based on ‘single proton tracking’ method with Most Likely Path (MLP) reconstruction of the single particle. A pCR prototype, with a field of view of about 5×5
cm
2 and an acquisition time of the order of 10
s (10
kHz, 10
5 events), has been developed and tested with a 62
MeV proton beam at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS). The apparatus architecture will be described and first proton radiographies will be shown.
A proton imaging device: Design and status of realization Sipala, V.; Bruzzi, M.; Bucciolini, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
01/2010, Letnik:
612, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Proton radiation therapy is a precise form of cancer therapy, which requires verification of the patient position and the accurate knowledge of the dose delivered to the patient. At present in the ...proton treatment centre, patients are positioned with X-ray radiography and dose calculations rely on the patient's morphology and electron densities obtained by X-ray computed tomography U. Schneider, E. Pedroni, Med. Phys. 22 (1995) 353. A proton imaging device can improve the accuracy of proton radiation therapy treatment planning and the alignment of the patient with the proton beam. Our collaboration has developed a pCR prototype consisting of a silicon microstrip tracker and a calorimeter to detect the residual energy R. Shulte, et al., IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 51 (2004) 866–872. In this contribution we will show some results obtained testing the front-end board of the tracker and measurements performed at LNS (Laboratori Nazionali del Sud) and in LLUMC (Loma Linda University Medical Centre) using 60 and 200
MeV proton beams to test the calorimeter.
YAG(Ce) crystal characterization with proton beams Sipala, V.; Randazzo, N.; Aiello, S. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2011, Letnik:
654, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A YAG(Ce) crystal has been characterized with a proton beam up to 100
MeV. Tests were performed to investigate the possibility of using this detector as a proton calorimeter. A crystal size has been ...chosen that is able to stop up to 200
MeV. Energy resolution and light response have been measured at Laboratori Nazionali del Sud with a proton beam up to 60
MeV and a spatial homogeneity study of the crystal has been performed at Loma Linda University Medical Center with a 100
MeV proton beam. The YAG(Ce) crystal showed a good energy resolution equal to 3.7% at 60
MeV and measurements, performed in the 30–60
MeV proton energy range, were fitted by Birks' equation. Using a silicon tracker to determine the particle entry point in the crystal, a spatial homogeneity value of 1.7% in the light response has been measured.
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is one of the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) under construction at CERN. Its inner tracking system consist of the world largest Silicon Strip Tracker ...(SST). In total it implements 24,244 silicon sensors covering an area of
206
m
2
. To construct a large system of this size and ensure its functionality for the full lifetime of 10 years under LHC condition, the CMS collaboration developed an elaborate design and a detailed quality assurance program. This paper describes the strategy and shows first results on sensor qualification.
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