Monte Carlo Simulation Study of Annihilation Gamma Yield from C-11 and C-12 Irradiation in Water and PMMA Phantoms

Ananta Raj Chalise, Yujie Chi, Youfang Lai, Yiping Shao, Mingwu Jin

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

With technical advances in radioactive isotope generation, isotopes with positron decay (PDI) become a viable alternative to their stable counterparts for hadron therapy. Due to substantial signal boosting for positron emission tomography (PET), PDI is promising for accurate and precise online beam range (RB) verification. In this study, we quantified the online beam range verification ability of C-11 ion beams for PET imaging. Geant4 was used to simulate the dose and gamma photon distributions inside the phantom generated from C-11 and C-12 ion beams impinging water and PMMA phantoms. Quark Gluon String Pre-compound (QGSP), Binary Ion Cascade (BIC) and High Precision (HP) Neutron model physics-list was used to govern the relevant physics processes for four therapeutic energies (ET ) (to reach the same penetration depth at each energy level for two carbon species). The annihilation gammas (AGs) were determined by a PET system in GATE and the retrace-back method. AG yields with different acquisition times from start of ion history were compared between C-11 and C-12 beams. Exactly after the beam was turned on, AG with time tag ≤ 5 minutes were collected and analyzed. For the water phantom at the lowest ET , the measured AG from C-11 was 8 folds higher than that from C-12 beam, while dropped to 1.09 folds for the highest ET. In general, with the increasing ET , AG yield rates increased for both species. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) of AG distribution peaks were 0.61 mm and 3.3 mm for C-11 at the lowest and highest ET respectively. The results in PMMA were similar to those in water. The simulation results show that C-11 is an excellent candidate for accurate and precise online RB verification using PET.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2019 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2019
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728141640
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2019
Event2019 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2019 - Manchester, United Kingdom
Duration: Oct 26 2019Nov 2 2019

Publication series

Name2019 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2019

Conference

Conference2019 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityManchester
Period10/26/1911/2/19

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Signal Processing
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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