GATE 10 Monte Carlo particle transport simulation -- Part II: architecture and innovations

TL;DR

GATE 10 introduces a modular, Python-integrated architecture for Monte Carlo particle transport simulation in medical physics, enhancing flexibility, accuracy, and user interaction capabilities.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel modular architecture coupling C++ and Python, enabling precise physics modeling, advanced physics integration, and a new user interface for GATE 10.

Findings

Supports time-aware primary particle generation

Handles complex physics settings with a simple interface

Facilitates multithreaded execution and external tool integration

Abstract

Over the past years, we have developed GATE version 10, a major re-implementation of the long-standing Geant4-based Monte Carlo application for particle and radiation transport simulation in medical physics. This release introduces many new features and significant improvements, most notably a Python-based user interface replacing the legacy static input files. The new functionality of GATE version 10 is described in the part 1 companion paper. The development brought significant challenges. In this paper, we present the solutions that we have developed to overcome these challenges. In particular, we present a modular design that robustly manages the core components of a simulation: particle sources, geometry, physics processes, and data acquisition. The architecture consists of parts written in C++ and Python, which needed to be coupled. We explain how this framework allows for the precise, time-aware generation of primary particles, a critical requirement for accurately modeling positron emission tomography (PET), radionuclide therapies, and prompt-gamma timing systems. We present how GATE 10 handles complex Geant4 physics settings while exposing a simple interface to the user. Furthermore, we describe the technical solutions that facilitate the seamless integration of advanced physics models and variance reduction techniques. The architecture supports sophisticated scoring of physical quantities (such as Linear Energy Transfer and Relative Biological Effectiveness) and is designed for multithreaded execution. The new user interface allows researchers to script complex simulation workflows and directly couple external tools, such as artificial intelligence models for source generation or detector response. By detailing these architectural innovations, we demonstrate how GATE 10 provides a more powerful and flexible tool for research and innovation in medical physics.