Investigation of the Physical Properties of Different Ion Species at Hadron Therapy; A Comprehensive Study
Abstract
Purpose: Recently, using hadrons as a therapeutic beam has been highly advised for radiation treatment of mainly deep-seated tumors due to the desired conforming of three-dimensional dose conformation onto tumor volume. This refers to the physical properties of commonly available hadrons versus photons and electrons in colliding with patient body atoms which is our main challenge in this study, in a comparative fashion.
Materials and Methods: In this work, protons Caron- and Oxygen-Ions are considered as hadron beams while irradiating a given tumor located at soft tissue equivalent phantom to mimic the patient body using FLUKA simulation code. The high-impact properties of available beams implemented at hadron therapy facilities are investigated quantitatively, during the simulation process while no study has been done formerly.
Results: Depth dose profiles of hadrons, linear energy transfer, beams lateral divergence, spread out Bragg peak, produced neutrons and positron emitter as radioisotopes produced due to colliding hadrons with the nucleus of the atoms are measured, numerically. The latter case include C10, C11, N13, and O15 in soft tissue which are highly important for proton range verification inside the patient body using positron emission tomography.
Conclusion: The physical properties of different therapeutic ion species were compared comprehensively. Among hadrons, linear energy transfer of Carbon- and Oxygen ions is superior versus proton due to their high atomic numbers that reduce treatment sessions remarkably. Furthermore, in proton therapy, the main source of produced neutrons are passive or active modulation devices located in front of the therapeutic beam. Among produced positron emitters, C11 and O15 are remarkable for providing functional images to assess the hadron range inside the patient body.
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| Issue | Vol 12 No 1 (2025) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/fbt.v12i1.17736 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Hadron Therapy Depth Dose Profiles Neutrons Spread Out Bragg Peak Beam Divergence Positron Emitters | ||
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