Development of an easy-to-handle range measurement tool using a plastic scintillator for proton beam therapy

Phys Med Biol. 2006 Nov 21;51(22):5927-36. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/51/22/014. Epub 2006 Oct 26.

Abstract

Proton beam therapy can concentrate the dose on a tumour. In order to offer high-precision proton beam therapy to the patient, it is important to confirm the range every day. At the National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCC), the range measurement tool consists of a water phantom and an ionization chamber. These large and heavy tools take a long time to set up. Therefore, we developed a simple and easy-to-handle range measurement tool for proton beam therapy. This tool consists of a plastic scintillator block and a CCD camera. We recorded visible scintillation light generated by proton irradiation on the scintillator, and could measure the range from the shape of light distribution by using a computer with automatic analysis software installed. We carried out proton irradiation experiments with this tool to examine its performance as a tool of daily range measurements. The precision of the range measurement is within 0.3 mm (sd). The tool can measure possible short-term range variation with 1 s sampling time during the time interval of a typical treatment in a few minutes. We conclude that this tool can measure the range with sufficient resolution in a short time, and is useful for range control in a clinical setting.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Plastics / radiation effects*
  • Proton Therapy*
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Radiotherapy, Conformal / instrumentation*
  • Radiotherapy, Conformal / methods
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Scintillation Counting / instrumentation*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*

Substances

  • Plastics