Gamma-ray sources imaging and test-beam results with MACACO III Compton camera

Hadron therapy is a radiotherapy modality which offers a precise energy deposition to the tumors and a dose reduction to healthy tissue as compared to conventional methods. However, methods for real-time monitoring are required to ensure that the radiation dose is deposited on the target. The IRIS group of IFIC-Valencia developed a Compton camera prototype for this purpose, intending to image the Prompt Gammas emitted by the tissue during irradiation. The system detectors are composed of Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. After an initial characterization in the laboratory, in order to assess the system capabilities for future experiments in proton therapy centers, different tests were carried out in two facilities: PARTREC (Groningen, The Netherlands) and the CNA cyclotron (Sevilla, Spain). Characterization studies performed at PARTREC indicated that the detectors linearity was improved with respect to the previous version and an energy resolution of 5.2 % FWHM at 511 keV was achieved. Moreover, the imaging capabilities of the system were evaluated with a line source of 68Ge and a point-like source of 241Am-9Be. Images at 4.439 MeV were obtained from irradiation of a graphite target with an 18 MeV proton beam at CNA, to perform a study of the system potential to detect shifts at different intensities. In this sense, the system was able to distinguish 1 mm variations in the target position at different beam current intensities for measurement times of 1800 and 600 s.

Quasi-real-time range monitoring by in-beam PET: a case for 15O

A fast and reliable range monitoring method is required to take full advantage of the high linear energy transfer provided by therapeutic ion beams like carbon and oxygen while minimizing damage to healthy tissue due to range uncertainties. Quasi-real-time range monitoring using in-beam positron emission tomography (PET) with therapeutic beams of positron-emitters of carbon and oxygen is a promising approach. The number of implanted ions and the time required for an unambiguous range verification are decisive factors for choosing a candidate isotope. An experimental study was performed at the FRS fragment-separator of GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Germany, to investigate the evolution of positron annihilation activity profiles during the implantation of [Formula: see text]O and [Formula: see text]O ion beams in a PMMA phantom. The positron activity profile was imaged by a dual-panel version of a Siemens Biograph mCT PET scanner. Results from a similar experiment using ion beams of carbon positron-emitters [Formula: see text]C and [Formula: see text]C performed at the same experimental setup were used for comparison. Owing to their shorter half-lives, the number of implanted ions required for a precise positron annihilation activity peak determination is lower for [Formula: see text]C compared to [Formula: see text]C and likewise for [Formula: see text]O compared to [Formula: see text]O, but their lower production cross-sections make it difficult to produce them at therapeutically relevant intensities. With a similar production cross-section and a 10 times shorter half-life than [Formula: see text]C, [Formula: see text]O provides a faster conclusive positron annihilation activity peak position determination for a lower number of implanted ions compared to [Formula: see text]C. A figure of merit formulation was developed for the quantitative comparison of therapy-relevant positron-emitting beams in the context of quasi-real-time beam monitoring. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that among the positron emitters of carbon and oxygen, [Formula: see text]O is the most feasible candidate for quasi-real-time range monitoring by in-beam PET that can be produced at therapeutically relevant intensities. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the in-flight production and separation method can produce beams of therapeutic quality, in terms of purity, energy, and energy spread.

Precision of the PET activity range during irradiation with10C,11C, and12C beams

Objective. Beams of stable ions have been a well-established tool for radiotherapy for many decades. In the case of ion beam therapy with stable¹²C ions, the positron emitters^10,11C are produced via projectile and target fragmentation, and their decays enable visualization of the beam via positron emission tomography (PET). However, the PET activity peak matches the Bragg peak only roughly and PET counting statistics is low. These issues can be mitigated by using a short-lived positron emitter as a therapeutic beam.Approach.An experiment studying the precision of the measurement of ranges of positron-emitting carbon isotopes by means of PET has been performed at the FRS fragment-separator facility of GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Germany. The PET scanner used in the experiment is a dual-panel version of a Siemens Biograph mCT PET scanner.Main results.High-quality in-beam PET images and activity distributions have been measured from the in-flight produced positron emitting isotopes¹¹C and¹⁰C implanted into homogeneous PMMA phantoms. Taking advantage of the high statistics obtained in this experiment, we investigated the time evolution of the uncertainty of the range determined by means of PET during the course of irradiation, and show that the uncertainty improves with the inverse square root of the number of PET counts. The uncertainty is thus fully determined by the PET counting statistics. During the delivery of 1.6 × 10⁷ions in 4 spills for a total duration of 19.2 s, the PET activity range uncertainty for¹⁰C,¹¹C and¹²C is 0.04 mm, 0.7 mm and 1.3 mm, respectively. The gain in precision related to the PET counting statistics is thus much larger when going from¹¹C to¹⁰C than when going from¹²C to¹¹C. The much better precision for¹⁰C is due to its much shorter half-life, which, contrary to the case of¹¹C, also enables to include the in-spill data in the image formation.Significance. Our results can be used to estimate the contribution from PET counting statistics to the precision of range determination in a particular carbon therapy situation, taking into account the irradiation scenario, the required dose and the PET scanner characteristics.

Production yields of 𝛽+ emitters for range verification in proton therapy

In-vivo Positron Emission Tomography (PET) range verification relies on the comparison of the measured and estimated activity distributions from β+ emitters induced by the proton beam on the most abundant elements in the human body, right after (looking at the long-lived β+ emitters 11C, 13N and 15O) or during (looking at the short-lived β+ emitters 29P, 12N, 38mK and 10C) the irradiation. The accuracy of the estimated activity distributions is basically that of the underlying cross section data. In this context, the aim of this work is to improve the knowledge of the production yields of β+ emitters of interest in proton therapy. In order to measure the long-lived β+ isotopes, a new method has been developed combining the multi-foil technique with the measurement of the induced activity with a clinical PET scanner. This technique has been tested successfully below 18 MeV at CNA (Spain) and will be used at a clinical beam to obtain data up to 230 MeV. However, such method does not allow measuring the production short-lived isotopes (lower half-life). For this, the proposed method combines a series of targets sandwiched between aluminum foils (acting as both degraders and converters) placed between two LaBr3 detectors that will measure the pairs of 511 keV γ-rays. The first tests will take place at the AGOR facility at KVI-CART, in Groningen.

Beam-on imaging of short-lived positron emitters during proton therapy

In vivo dose delivery verification in proton therapy can be performed by positron emission tomography (PET) of the positron-emitting nuclei produced by the proton beam in the patient. A PET scanner installed in the treatment position of a proton therapy facility that takes data with the beam on will see very short-lived nuclides as well as longer-lived nuclides. The most important short-lived nuclide for proton therapy is ¹²N (Dendooven et al 2015 Phys. Med. Biol. 60 8923-47), which has a half-life of 11 ms. The results of a proof-of-principle experiment of beam-on PET imaging of short-lived ¹²N nuclei are presented. The Philips Digital Photon Counting Module TEK PET system was used, which is based on LYSO scintillators mounted on digital SiPM photosensors. A 90 MeV proton beam from the cyclotron at KVI-CART was used to investigate the energy and time spectra of PET coincidences during beam-on. Events coinciding with proton bunches, such as prompt gamma rays, were removed from the data via an anti-coincidence filter with the cyclotron RF. The resulting energy spectrum allowed good identification of the 511 keV PET counts during beam-on. A method was developed to subtract the long-lived background from the ¹²N image by introducing a beam-off period into the cyclotron beam time structure. We measured 2D images and 1D profiles of the ¹²N distribution. A range shift of 5 mm was measured as 6  ±  3 mm using the ¹²N profile. A larger, more efficient, PET system with a higher data throughput capability will allow beam-on ¹²N PET imaging of single spots in the distal layer of an irradiation with an increased signal-to-background ratio and thus better accuracy. A simulation shows that a large dual panel scanner, which images a single spot directly after it is delivered, can measure a 5 mm range shift with millimeter accuracy: 5.5  ±  1.1 mm for 1  ×  10⁸ protons and 5.2  ±  0.5 mm for 5  ×  10⁸ protons. This makes fast and accurate feedback on the dose delivery during treatment possible.

Short-lived positron emitters in beam-on PET imaging during proton therapy

The only method for in vivo dose delivery verification in proton beam radiotherapy in clinical use today is positron emission tomography (PET) of the positron emitters produced in the patient during irradiation. PET imaging while the beam is on (so called beam-on PET) is an attractive option, providing the largest number of counts, the least biological washout and the fastest feedback. In this implementation, all nuclides, independent of their half-life, will contribute. As a first step towards assessing the relevance of short-lived nuclides (half-life shorter than that of (10)C, T1/2  =  19 s) for in vivo dose delivery verification using beam-on PET, we measured their production in the stopping of 55 MeV protons in water, carbon, phosphorus and calcium The most copiously produced short-lived nuclides and their production rates relative to the relevant long-lived nuclides are: (12)N (T1/2  =  11 ms) on carbon (9% of (11)C), (29)P (T1/2  =  4.1 s) on phosphorus (20% of (30)P) and (38m)K (T1/2  =  0.92 s) on calcium (113% of (38g)K). No short-lived nuclides are produced on oxygen. The number of decays integrated from the start of an irradiation as a function of time during the irradiation of PMMA and 4 tissue materials has been determined. For (carbon-rich) adipose tissue, (12)N dominates up to 70 s. On bone tissue, (12)N dominates over (15)O during the first 8-15 s (depending on carbon-to-oxygen ratio). The short-lived nuclides created on phosphorus and calcium provide 2.5 times more beam-on PET counts than the long-lived ones produced on these elements during a 70 s irradiation. From the estimated number of (12)N PET counts, we conclude that, for any tissue, (12)N PET imaging potentially provides equal to superior proton range information compared to prompt gamma imaging with an optimized knife-edge slit camera. The practical implementation of (12)N PET imaging is discussed.

Using standard calibrated geometries to characterize a coaxial high purity germanium gamma detector for Monte Carlo simulations

A detector model optimization procedure based on matching Monte Carlo simulations with measurements for two experimentally calibrated sample geometries which are frequently used in radioactivity measurement laboratories results in relative agreement within 5% between simulated and measured efficiencies for a high purity germanium detector. The optimization procedure indicated that the increase in dead layer thickness is largely responsible for a detector efficiency decrease in time. The optimized detector model allows Monte Carlo efficiency calibration for all other samples of which the geometry and bulk composition is known. The presented method is a competitive and economic alternative to more elaborate detector scanning methods and results in a comparable accuracy.

Precise determination of the unperturbed 8B neutrino spectrum

A measurement of the final state distribution of the (8)B β decay, obtained by implanting a (8)B beam in a double-sided silicon strip detector, is reported here. The present spectrum is consistent with a recent independent precise measurement performed by our collaboration at the IGISOL facility, Jyväskylä [O. S. Kirsebom et al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 065802 (2011)]. It shows discrepancies with previously measured spectra, leading to differences in the derived neutrino spectrum. Thanks to a low detection threshold, the neutrino spectrum is for the first time directly extracted from the measured final state distribution, thus avoiding the uncertainties related to the extrapolation of R-matrix fits. Combined with the IGISOL data, this leads to an improvement of the overall errors and the extension of the neutrino spectrum at high energy. The new unperturbed neutrino spectrum represents a benchmark for future measurements of the solar neutrino flux as a function of energy.

Proton-induced nuclear reactions in neptunium-237 targets. Production of plutonium tracers in the energy range 15-40 MeV

The increasing interest in using 236Pu and 237Pu as plutonium tracers has stimulated the search for nuclear reactions for the effective production of these radionuclides. The nuclear reactions 237Np(p,2n)236Pu, 237Np(p,pn)236mNp →β- 236Pu and 237Np(p,n)237Pu were investigated in the proton-energy range 15-40 MeV using the K-130 cyclotron of the University of Jyväskylä and the MGC-20 cyclotron of Åbo Akademi University. The cross sections for these reactions were experimentally derived. Thick-target yields based on the cross sections were calculated. The results are discussed and compared with data previously obtained from other reactions leading to the same end products.

Production of 235Np, 236Pu and 237Pu via nuclear reactions on 235,236,238U and 237Np targets

A summary of methods for cyclotron production of 235Np (396.1d), 236Pu (2.858y) and 237Pu (45.2d) via nuclear reactions with protons and 3He-ions on 235,236,238U and 237Np targets in wide energy ranges is given. Methods for the chemical separation and purification of these nuclides from the irradiated uranium and neptunium targets are described. Cross sections, yields and radionuclidic purities of 235Np, 236Pu and 237Pu are presented and compared with literature data on the nuclear reactions leading to these radionuclides. The nuclear reactions with the so far highest known yields of 235Np, 236Pu and 237Pu are determined: 236U(p,2n) 235Np, 237Np(p,2n+pnβ -) 236Pu and 237Np(p,n) 237Pu, respectively. The highest radionuclidic purity of 235Np, 236Pu and 237Pu tracers can be reached with the 236U(p,2n) 235Np, 236U(p,nβ -) 236Pu and 237Np(3He,t) 237Pu reactions, respectively. In addition new cross sections and yield data of the 236U(3He,p3n) 235Np reaction in the energy range 42.4–60 MeV are given.

Clarification of the three-body decay of 12C (12.71 MeV)

Using beta decays of a clean source of 12N produced at the IGISOL facility, we have measured the breakup of the 12C (12.71 MeV) state into three alpha particles with a segmented particle detector setup. The high quality of the data permits solving the question of the breakup mechanism of the 12.71 MeV state, a longstanding problem in few-body nuclear physics. Among existing models, a modified sequential model fits the data best, but systematic deviations indicate that a three-body description is needed.

Laser spectroscopy of cooled zirconium fission fragments

The first on-line laser spectroscopy of cooled fission fragments is reported. The r ions, produced in uranium fission, were extracted and separated using an ion guide isotope separator. The ions were cooled and bunched for collinear laser spectroscopy by a gas-filled linear Paul trap. New results for nuclear mean-square charge radii, dipole, and quadrupole moments are reported across the N=60 shape change. The mean-square charge radii are found to be almost identical to those of the Sr isotones and previously offered modeling of the radial changes is critically reviewed.

Self-diffusion of (31)Si and (71)Ge in relaxed Si(0.20)Ge(0.80) layers

Self-diffusion of implanted (31)Si and (71)Ge in relaxed Si(0.20)Ge(0.80) layers has been studied in the temperature range 730-950 degrees C by means of a modified radiotracer technique. The temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficients were found to be Arrhenius-type with activation enthalpies of 3.6 eV and 3.5 eV and preexponential factors of 7.5 x 10(-3) m(2) s(-1) and 8.1 x 10(-3) m(2) s(-1) for (31)Si and (71)Ge , respectively. These results suggest that, as in Ge, in Si(0.20)Ge(0.80) both (31)Si and (71)Ge diffuse via a vacancy mechanism. Since in Si(0.20)Ge(0.80) (71)Ge diffuses only slightly faster than (31)Si , in self-diffusion studies on Si-Ge (71)Ge radioisotopes may be used as substitutes for the "uncomfortably" short-lived (31)Si radiotracer atoms.