Precise measurement of prompt photon emission for carbon ion therapy

TL;DR

This study measures the spectrum and rate of prompt photon emission from carbon ion interactions with a PMMA target, providing data that could improve dose monitoring in carbon ion therapy.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of prompt photon emission rates from 80 MeV/u carbon ions interacting with a PMMA target, aiding in therapy dose verification.

Findings

Photon emission rate for E > 2 MeV at 90 degrees is (2.92 ± 0.19)×10^{-2} sr^{-1}

Data supports development of photon-based dose monitoring techniques in carbon therapy

Measurement enhances understanding of nuclear interactions during carbon ion therapy

Abstract

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 photons with energy E > 2 MeV and emitted at 90 degree is found to be $dN_{\gamma}/(dN_C d\Omega)=(2.92\pm 0.19)\times 10^{-2}$sr$^{-1}$.