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SiFi-CC: ON-LINE MONITORING OF DOSE DISTRIBUTION IN PROTON THERAPY USING HEAVY SCINTILLATING FIBERS
Context
The project SiFi-CC is a joint effort of a group of researchers and students from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland and RWTH Aachen University, Germany. The aim of the project is the development of a method for on-line monitoring of a cancer treatment called proton therapy. In this kind of treatment, a tumour is irradiated with a proton beam with parameters adjusted such, that protons deposit maximum of their energy in the tumour region, leading to the destruction of tumour cells. For this purpose, a treatment plan is prepared individually for each patient, usually based on CT (computed tomography) or PET (positron emission tomography) images. However, human body undergoes changes, which may lead to misplacement of the applied dose compared to the original plan. Therefore methods for on-line monitoring in proton therapy are sought for, as they would allow preparing better treatment plans for patients, leading to better and safer treatment.
Project
In our project, we want to test a possible option of design of a setup for proton therapy monitoring. Its operation consists in the detection of gamma radiation, which is produced in a patient's body irradiated with a proton beam. By reconstructing the source of this radiation we can conclude about the location and shape of the deposited dose. We will detect prompt-gamma radiation using long but thin pieces (so-called fibres) of a scintillating material, i.e. the one which shines the light when being traversed by a particle or a gamma ray. This light can be registered with special sensors called silicon photomultipliers. So the name of our project comes from SiPMs and scintillating Fiber-based Compton Camera (SiFi-CC).
The setup we propose has two modes of operation: a Compton camera and a coded-mask, which allow mapping the deposited dose distribution in three or two dimensions, respectively. The two options share a vast part of the hardware, therefore we want to develop them in parallel. First, we will conduct a series of virtual experiments (computer simulations) to find the best possible design option, then we will make sure in the laboratory tests that the simulation results correspond to reality. Once the design is fixed, we will build and test the setup, first in a laboratory, and then in a therapeutic centre with phantoms simulating the human body.
Job offers
Such a venture comprises very different tasks: from laboratory tests, through computer simulations, building a modern data acquisition system, processing of experimental data and implementation of algorithms for image reconstruction, up to experiments with a proton beam in a therapeutic centre. If you are interested in our joining our group, contact us and ask for our offer for students, PhD students and post-docs.
The project is financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, within the SONATA BIS 7 program, foreseen to end in September 2022.
