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Author Gimenez-Alventosa, V.; Antunes, P.C.G.; Vijande, J.; Ballester, F.; Perez-Calatayud, J.; Andreo, P. doi  openurl
  Title Collision-kerma conversion between dose-to-tissue and dose-to-water by photon energy-fluence corrections in low-energy brachytherapy Type Journal Article
  Year 2017 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 62 Issue 1 Pages 146-164  
  Keywords Monte Carlo; dosimetry; low-energy seed; collision-kerma; mass energy-absorption coefficients; energy-fluence correction factor  
  Abstract (down) The AAPM TG-43 brachytherapy dosimetry formalism, introduced in 1995, has become a standard for brachytherapy dosimetry worldwide; it implicitly assumes that charged-particle equilibrium (CPE) exists for the determination of absorbed dose to water at different locations, except in the vicinity of the source capsule. Subsequent dosimetry developments, based on Monte Carlo calculations or analytical solutions of transport equations, do not rely on the CPE assumption and determine directly the dose to different tissues. At the time of relating dose to tissue and dose to water, or vice versa, it is usually assumed that the photon fluence in water and in tissues are practically identical, so that the absorbed dose in the two media can be related by their ratio of mass energy-absorption coefficients. In this work, an efficient way to correlate absorbed dose to water and absorbed dose to tissue in brachytherapy calculations at clinically relevant distances for low-energy photon emitting seeds is proposed. A correction is introduced that is based on the ratio of the water-to-tissue photon energy-fluences. State-of-the art Monte Carlo calculations are used to score photon fluence differential in energy in water and in various human tissues (muscle, adipose and bone), which in all cases include a realistic modelling of low-energy brachytherapy sources in order to benchmark the formalism proposed. The energy-fluence based corrections given in this work are able to correlate absorbed dose to tissue and absorbed dose to water with an accuracy better than 0.5% in the most critical cases (e.g. bone tissue).  
  Address [Gimenez-Alventosa, Vicent; Antunes, Paula C. G.; Vijande, Javier; Ballester, Facundo] Univ Valencia, Dept Atom Mol & Nucl Phys, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain, Email: vijande@uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000391567700001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 2923  
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Author Etxebeste, A.; Barrio, J.; Bernabeu, J.; Lacasta, C.; Llosa, G.; Muñoz, E.; Ros, A.; Oliver, J.F. doi  openurl
  Title Study of sensitivity and resolution for full ring PET prototypes based on continuous crystals and analytical modeling of the light distribution Type Journal Article
  Year 2019 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 64 Issue 3 Pages 035015 - 17pp  
  Keywords continuous crystals; NEMA NU 4-2008; positron emission tomography (PET); Monte Carlo simulations; image reconstruction; depth of interaction  
  Abstract (down) Sensitivity and spatial resolution are the main parameters to maximize in the performance of a PET scanner. For this purpose, detectors consisting of a combination of continuous crystals optically coupled to segmented photodetectors have been employed. With the use of continuous crystals the sensitivity is increased with respect to the pixelated crystals. In addition, spatial resolution is no longer limited to the crystal size. The main drawback is the difficulty in determining the interaction position. In this work, we present the characterization of the performance of a full ring based on cuboid continuous crystals coupled to SiPMs. To this end, we have employed the simulations developed in a previous work for our experimental detector head. Sensitivity could be further enhanced by using tapered crystals. This enhancement is obtained by increasing the solid angle coverage, reducing the wedge-shaped gaps between contiguous detectors. The performance of the scanners based on both crystal geometries was characterized following NEMA NU 4-2008 standardized protocol in order to compare them. An average sensitivity gain over the entire axial field of view of 13.63% has been obtained with tapered geometry while similar performance of the spatial resolution has been proven with both scanners. The activity at which NECR and true peak occur is smaller and the peak value is greater for tapered crystals than for cuboid crystals. Moreover, a higher degree of homogeneity was obtained in the sensitivity map due to the tighter packing of the crystals, which reduces the gaps and results in a better recovery of homogeneous regions than for the cuboid configuration. Some of the results obtained, such as spatial resolution, depend on the interaction position estimation and may vary if other method is employed.  
  Address [Etxebeste, Ane; Barrio, John; Bernabeu, Jose; Lacasta, Carlos; Llosa, Gabriela; Munoz, Enrique; Ros, Ana; Oliver, Josef F.] Univ Valencia, CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, Valencia, Spain, Email: ane.etxebeste@ific.uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000457182500004 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 3897  
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Author Oliver, J.F.; Rafecas, M. doi  openurl
  Title Improving the singles rate method for modeling accidental coincidences in high-resolution PET Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 55 Issue 22 Pages 6951-6971  
  Keywords  
  Abstract (down) Random coincidences ('randoms') are one of the main sources of image degradation in PET imaging. In order to correct for this effect, an accurate method to estimate the contribution of random events is necessary. This aspect becomes especially relevant for high-resolution PET scanners where the highest image quality is sought and accurate quantitative analysis is undertaken. One common approach to estimate randoms is the so-called singles rate method (SR) widely used because of its good statistical properties. SR is based on the measurement of the singles rate in each detector element. However, recent studies suggest that SR systematically overestimates the correct random rate. This overestimation can be particularly marked for low energy thresholds, below 250 keV used in some applications and could entail a significant image degradation. In this work, we investigate the performance of SR as a function of the activity, geometry of the source and energy acceptance window used. We also investigate the performance of an alternative method, which we call 'singles trues' (ST) that improves SR by properly modeling the presence of true coincidences in the sample. Nevertheless, in any real data acquisition the knowledge of which singles are members of a true coincidence is lost. Therefore, we propose an iterative method, STi, that provides an estimation based on ST but which only requires the knowledge of measurable quantities: prompts and singles. Due to inter-crystal scatter, for wide energy windows ST only partially corrects SR overestimations. While SR deviations are in the range 86-300% (depending on the source geometry), the ST deviations are systematically smaller and contained in the range 4-60%. STi fails to reproduce the ST results, although for not too high activities the deviation with respect to ST is only a few percent. For conventional energy windows, i.e. those without inter-crystal scatter, the ST method corrects the SR overestimations, and deviations from the true random rate are of the order of 1% or less. In addition, in the case of conventional energy window STi results reproduce ST results and therefore the former can be used to obtain the true random rate.  
  Address [Oliver, Josep F.; Rafecas, Magdalena] Univ Valencia, CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, IFIC, E-46003 Valencia, Spain, Email: josep.f.oliver@uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes ISI:000283789700025 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ elepoucu @ Serial 344  
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Author Valdes-Cortez, C.; Mansour, I.; Rivard, M.J.; Ballester, F.; Mainegra-Hing, E.; Thomson, R.M.; Vijande, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title A study of Type B uncertainties associated with the photoelectric effect in low-energy Monte Carlo simulations Type Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 66 Issue 10 Pages 105014 - 14pp  
  Keywords Monte Carlo simulations; brachytherapy; low energy physics; photoelectric effect  
  Abstract (down) Purpose. To estimate Type B uncertainties in absorbed-dose calculations arising from the different implementations in current state-of-the-art Monte Carlo (MC) codes of low-energy photon cross-sections (<200 keV). Methods. MC simulations are carried out using three codes widely used in the low-energy domain: PENELOPE-2018, EGSnrc, and MCNP. Three dosimetry-relevant quantities are considered: mass energy-absorption coefficients for water, air, graphite, and their respective ratios; absorbed dose; and photon-fluence spectra. The absorbed dose and the photon-fluence spectra are scored in a spherical water phantom of 15 cm radius. Benchmark simulations using similar cross-sections have been performed. The differences observed between these quantities when different cross-sections are considered are taken to be a good estimator for the corresponding Type B uncertainties. Results. A conservative Type B uncertainty for the absorbed dose (k = 2) of 1.2%-1.7% (<50 keV), 0.6%-1.2% (50-100 keV), and 0.3% (100-200 keV) is estimated. The photon-fluence spectrum does not present clinically relevant differences that merit considering additional Type B uncertainties except for energies below 25 keV, where a Type B uncertainty of 0.5% is obtained. Below 30 keV, mass energy-absorption coefficients show Type B uncertainties (k = 2) of about 1.5% (water and air), and 2% (graphite), diminishing in all materials for larger energies and reaching values about 1% (40-50 keV) and 0.5% (50-75 keV). With respect to their ratios, the only significant Type B uncertainties are observed in the case of the water-to-graphite ratio for energies below 30 keV, being about 0.7% (k = 2). Conclusions. In contrast with the intermediate (about 500 keV) or high (about 1 MeV) energy domains, Type B uncertainties due to the different cross-sections implementation cannot be considered subdominant with respect to Type A uncertainties or even to other sources of Type B uncertainties (tally volume averaging, manufacturing tolerances, etc). Therefore, the values reported here should be accommodated within the uncertainty budget in low-energy photon dosimetry studies.  
  Address [Valdes-Cortez, Christian; Ballester, Facundo; Vijande, Javier] Univ Valencia UV, Dept Fis Atom Mol & Nucl, Burjassot, Spain, Email: javier.vijande@uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000655291500001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4847  
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Author Torres-Espallardo, I.; Diblen, F.; Rohling, H.; Solevi, P.; Gillam, J.; Watts, D.; Espana, S.; Vandenberghe, S.; Fiedler, F.; Rafecas, M. doi  openurl
  Title Evaluation of resistive-plate-chamber-based TOF-PET applied to in-beam particle therapy monitoring Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 60 Issue 9 Pages N187-N208  
  Keywords PET; in-beam; RPC; particle therapy; TOF; range deviation; partial-ring  
  Abstract (down) Particle therapy is a highly conformal radiotherapy technique which reduces the dose deposited to the surrounding normal tissues. In order to fully exploit its advantages, treatment monitoring is necessary to minimize uncertainties related to the dose delivery. Up to now, the only clinically feasible technique for the monitoring of therapeutic irradiation with particle beams is Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In this work we have compared a Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC)-based PET scanner with a scintillation-crystal-based PET scanner for this application. In general, the main advantages of the RPC-PET system are its excellent timing resolution, low cost, and the possibility of building large area systems. We simulated a partial-ring scannerbeam monitoring, which has an intrinsically low positron yield compared to diagnostic PET. In addition, for in-beam PET there is a further data loss due to the partial ring configuration. In order to improve the performance of the RPC-based scanner, an improved version of the RPC detector (modifying the thickness of the gas and glass layers), providing a larger sensitivity, has been simulated and compared with an axially extended version of the crystal-based device. The improved version of the RPC shows better performance than the prototype, but the extended version of the crystal-based PET outperforms all other options. based on an RPC prototype under construction within the Fondazione per Adroterapia Oncologica (TERA). For comparison with the crystal-based PET scanner we have chosen the geometry of a commercially available PET scanner, the Philips Gemini TF. The coincidence time resolution used in the simulations takes into account the current achievable values as well as expected improvements of both technologies. Several scenarios (including patient data) have been simulated to evaluate the performance of different scanners. Initial results have shown that the low sensitivity of the RPC hampers its application to hadron  
  Address [Torres-Espallardo, I.; Solevi, P.; Gillam, J.; Rafecas, M.] UV, CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular IFIC, E-46071 Valencia, Spain, Email: irene.torres@uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000354104700003 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 2227  
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Author Muñoz, E.; Barrientos, L.; Bernabeu, J.; Borja-Lloret, M.; Llosa, G.; Ros, A.; Roser, J.; Oliver, J.F. doi  openurl
  Title A spectral reconstruction algorithm for two-plane Compton cameras Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 65 Issue 2 Pages 025011 - 17pp  
  Keywords Compton imaging; Compton camera; hadron therapy; image reconstruction  
  Abstract (down) One factor limiting the current applicability extent of hadron therapy is the lack of a reliable method for real time treatment monitoring. The use of Compton imaging systems as monitors requires the correct reconstruction of the distribution of prompt gamma productions during patient irradiation. In order to extract the maximum information from all the measurable events, we implemented a spectral reconstruction method that assigns to all events a probability of being either partial or total energy depositions. The method, implemented in a list-mode maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm, generates a four dimensional image in the joint spatial-spectral domain, in which the voxels containing the emission positions and energies are obtained. The analytical model used for the system response function is also employed to derive an analytical expression for the sensitivity, which is calculated via Monte Carlo integration. The performance of the method is evaluated through reconstruction of various experimental and simulated sources with different spatial and energy distributions. The results show that the proposed method can recover the spectral and spatial information simultaneously, but only under the assumption of ideal measurements. The analysis of the Monte Carlo simulations has led to the identification of two important degradation sources: the mispositioning of the gamma interaction point and the missing energy recorded in the interaction. Both factors are related to the high energy transferred to the recoil electrons, which can travel far from the interaction point and even escape the detector. These effects prevent the direct application of the current method in more realistic scenarios. Nevertheless, experimental point-like sources have been accurately reconstructed and the spatial distributions and spectral emission of complex simulated phantoms can be identified.  
  Address [Munoz, Enrique; Barrientos, Luis; Bernabeu, Jose; Borja-Lloret, Marina; Llosa, Gabriela; Ros, Ana; Roser, Jorge; Oliver, Josep F.] Univ Valencia, CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, Valencia, Spain, Email: Enrique.Munoz@ific.uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000520111400001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4332  
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Author Roser, J.; Barrientos, L.; Bernabeu, J.; Borja-Lloret, M.; Muñoz, E.; Ros, A.; Viegas, R.; Llosa, G. doi  openurl
  Title Joint image reconstruction algorithm in Compton cameras Type Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 67 Issue 15 Pages 155009 - 15pp  
  Keywords Compton camera; compton imaging; hadron therapy; image reconstruction; LM-MLEM; Monte Carlo simulations; multi-layer compton telescope  
  Abstract (down) Objective. To demonstrate the benefits of using an joint image reconstruction algorithm based on the List Mode Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization that combines events measured in different channels of information of a Compton camera. Approach. Both simulations and experimental data are employed to show the algorithm performance. Main results. The obtained joint images present improved image quality and yield better estimates of displacements of high-energy gamma-ray emitting sources. The algorithm also provides images that are more stable than any individual channel against the noisy convergence that characterizes Maximum Likelihood based algorithms. Significance. The joint reconstruction algorithm can improve the quality and robustness of Compton camera images. It also has high versatility, as it can be easily adapted to any Compton camera geometry. It is thus expected to represent an important step in the optimization of Compton camera imaging.  
  Address [Roser, J.; Barrientos, L.; Bernabeu, J.; Borja-Lloret, M.; Munoz, E.; Ros, A.; Viegas, R.; Llosa, G.] CSIC UV, Inst Fis Corpuscular IFIC, Valencia, Spain, Email: Jorge.Roser@ific.uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000827830200001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5298  
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Author Borys, D. et al; Brzezinski, K. doi  openurl
  Title ProTheRaMon-a GATE simulation framework for proton therapy range monitoring using PET imaging Type Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 67 Issue 22 Pages 224002 - 15pp  
  Keywords proton therapy; GATE; Monte Carlo simulations; J-PET; medical imaging  
  Abstract (down) Objective. This paper reports on the implementation and shows examples of the use of the ProTheRaMon framework for simulating the delivery of proton therapy treatment plans and range monitoring using positron emission tomography (PET). ProTheRaMon offers complete processing of proton therapy treatment plans, patient CT geometries, and intra-treatment PET imaging, taking into account therapy and imaging coordinate systems and activity decay during the PET imaging protocol specific to a given proton therapy facility. We present the ProTheRaMon framework and illustrate its potential use case and data processing steps for a patient treated at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) proton therapy center in Krakow, Poland. Approach. The ProTheRaMon framework is based on GATE Monte Carlo software, the CASToR reconstruction package and in-house developed Python and bash scripts. The framework consists of five separated simulation and data processing steps, that can be further optimized according to the user's needs and specific settings of a given proton therapy facility and PET scanner design. Main results. ProTheRaMon is presented using example data from a patient treated at CCB and the J-PET scanner to demonstrate the application of the framework for proton therapy range monitoring. The output of each simulation and data processing stage is described and visualized. Significance. We demonstrate that the ProTheRaMon simulation platform is a high-performance tool, capable of running on a computational cluster and suitable for multi-parameter studies, with databases consisting of large number of patients, as well as different PET scanner geometries and settings for range monitoring in a clinical environment. Due to its modular structure, the ProTheRaMon framework can be adjusted for different proton therapy centers and/or different PET detector geometries. It is available to the community via github (Borys et al 2022).  
  Address [Borys, Damian] Silesian Tech Univ, Dept Syst Biol & Engn, Gliwice, Poland, Email: damin.borys@polsl.pl  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000885248200001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5416  
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Author Brzezinski, K. et al doi  openurl
  Title Detection of range shifts in proton beam therapy using the J-PET scanner: a patient simulation study Type Journal Article
  Year 2023 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 68 Issue 14 Pages 145016 - 17pp  
  Keywords proton therapy; positron emission tomography; in vivo range verification; J-PET; Monte Carlo  
  Abstract (down) Objective. The Jagiellonian positron emission tomography (J-PET) technology, based on plastic scintillators, has been proposed as a cost effective tool for detecting range deviations during proton therapy. This study investigates the feasibility of using J-PET for range monitoring by means of a detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of 95 patients who underwent proton therapy at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) in Krakow, Poland. Approach. Discrepancies between prescribed and delivered treatments were artificially introduced in the simulations by means of shifts in patient positioning and in the Hounsfield unit to the relative proton stopping power calibration curve. A dual-layer, cylindrical J-PET geometry was simulated in an in-room monitoring scenario and a triple-layer, dual-head geometry in an in-beam protocol. The distribution of range shifts in reconstructed PET activity was visualized in the beam's eye view. Linear prediction models were constructed from all patients in the cohort, using the mean shift in reconstructed PET activity as a predictor of the mean proton range deviation. Main results. Maps of deviations in the range of reconstructed PET distributions showed agreement with those of deviations in dose range in most patients. The linear prediction model showed a good fit, with coefficient of determination r (2) = 0.84 (in-room) and 0.75 (in-beam). Residual standard error was below 1 mm: 0.33 mm (in-room) and 0.23 mm (in-beam). Significance. The precision of the proposed prediction models shows the sensitivity of the proposed J-PET scanners to shifts in proton range for a wide range of clinical treatment plans. Furthermore, it motivates the use of such models as a tool for predicting proton range deviations and opens up new prospects for investigations into the use of intra-treatment PET images for predicting clinical metrics that aid in the assessment of the quality of delivered treatment.  
  Address [Brzezinski, Karol; Gajewski, Jan; Kopec, Renata; Olko, Pawel; Stasica, Paulina; Rucinski, Antoni] Polish Acad Sci, Inst Nucl Phys, Krakow, Poland, Email: karol.brzezinski@ific.uv.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:001026535700001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5616  
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Author Borja-Lloret, M.; Barrientos, L.; Bernabeu, J.; Lacasta, C.; Muñoz, E.; Ros, A.; Roser, J.; Viegas, R.; Llosa, G. doi  openurl
  Title Influence of the background in Compton camera images for proton therapy treatment monitoring Type Journal Article
  Year 2023 Publication Physics in Medicine and Biology Abbreviated Journal Phys. Med. Biol.  
  Volume 68 Issue 14 Pages 144001 - 16pp  
  Keywords Compton imaging; Compton camera; proton therapy; treatment monitoring; Monte Carlo simulation; image reconstruction; background  
  Abstract (down) Objective. Background events are one of the most relevant contributions to image degradation in Compton camera imaging for hadron therapy treatment monitoring. A study of the background and its contribution to image degradation is important to define future strategies to reduce the background in the system. Approach. In this simulation study, the percentage of different kinds of events and their contribution to the reconstructed image in a two-layer Compton camera have been evaluated. To this end, GATE v8.2 simulations of a proton beam impinging on a PMMA phantom have been carried out, for different proton beam energies and at different beam intensities. Main results. For a simulated Compton camera made of Lanthanum (III) Bromide monolithic crystals, coincidences caused by neutrons arriving from the phantom are the most common type of background produced by secondary radiations in the Compton camera, causing between 13% and 33% of the detected coincidences, depending on the beam energy. Results also show that random coincidences are a significant cause of image degradation at high beam intensities, and their influence in the reconstructed images is studied for values of the time coincidence windows from 500 ps to 100 ns. Significance. Results indicate the timing capabilities required to retrieve the fall-off position with good precision. Still, the noise observed in the image when no randoms are considered make us consider further background rejection methods.  
  Address [Borja-Lloret, M.; Barrientos, L.; Bernabeu, J.; Lacasta, C.; Munoz, E.; Ros, A.; Roser, J.; Viegas, R.; Llosa, G.] Inst Fis Corpuscular IFIC, CSIC UV, Valencia, Spain, Email: Marina.Borja@csic.es  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0031-9155 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:001022671300001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5571  
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