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Author Granero, D.; Candela-Juan, C.; Vijande, J.; Ballester, F.; Perez-Calatayud, J.; Jacob, D.; Mourtada, F. doi  openurl
  Title Technical Note: Dosimetry of Leipzig and Valencia applicators without the plastic cap Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Medical Physics Abbreviated Journal Med. Phys.  
  Volume 43 Issue 5 Pages 2087 - 4pp  
  Keywords Leipzig applicators; Valencia applicators; skin brachytherapy; Monte Carlo; dosimetry  
  Abstract (down) Purpose: High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for treatment of small skin lesions using the Leipzig and Valencia applicators is a widely used technique. These applicators are equipped with an attachable plastic cap to be placed during fraction delivery to ensure electronic equilibrium and to prevent secondary electrons from reaching the skin surface. The purpose of this study is to report on the dosimetric impact of the cap being absent during HDR fraction delivery, which has not been explored previously in the literature. Methods: GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations (version 10.0) have been performed for the Leipzig and Valencia applicators with and without the plastic cap. In order to validate the Monte Carlo simulations, experimental measurements using radiochromic films have been done. Results: Dose absorbed within 1 mm of the skin surface increases by a factor of 1500% for the Leipzig applicators and of 180% for the Valencia applicators. Deeper than 1 mm, the overdosage flattens up to a 10% increase. Conclusions: Differences of treating with or without the plastic cap are significant. Users must check always that the plastic cap is in place before any treatment in order to avoid overdosage of the skin. Prior to skin HDR fraction delivery, the timeout checklist should include verification of the cap placement. (C) 2016 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.  
  Address [Granero, D.] Hosp Gen Univ, Dept Radiat Phys, ERESA, Valencia 46014, Spain, Email: dgranero@eresa.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Amer Assoc Physicists Medicine Amer Inst Physics Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0094-2405 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000378924200010 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 2753  
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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 Valdes-Cortez, C.; Niatsetski, Y.; Perez-Calatayud, J.; Ballester, F.; Vijande, J. doi  openurl
  Title A Monte Carlo study of the relative biological effectiveness in surface brachytherapy Type Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Medical Physics Abbreviated Journal Med. Phys.  
  Volume 49 Issue Pages 5576-5588  
  Keywords Monte Carlo; relative biological effectiveness; surface HDR brachytherapy  
  Abstract (down) Purpose This work aims to simulate clustered DNA damage from ionizing radiation and estimate the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for radionuclide (rBT)- and electronic (eBT)-based surface brachytherapy through a hybrid Monte Carlo (MC) approach, using realistic models of the sources and applicators. Methods Damage from ionizing radiation has been studied using the Monte Carlo Damage Simulation algorithm using as input the primary electron fluence simulated using a state-of-the-art MC code, PENELOPE-2018. Two Ir-192 rBT applicators, Valencia and Leipzig, one Co-60 source with a Freiburg Flap applicator (reference source), and two eBT systems, Esteya and INTRABEAM, have been included in this study implementing full realizations of their geometries as disclosed by the manufacturer. The role played by filtration and tube kilovoltage has also been addressed. Results For rBT, an RBE value of about 1.01 has been found for the applicators and phantoms considered. In the case of eBT, RBE values for the Esteya system show an almost constant RBE value of about 1.06 for all depths and materials. For INTRABEAM, variations in the range of 1.12-1.06 are reported depending on phantom composition and depth. Modifications in the Esteya system, filtration, and tube kilovoltage give rise to variations in the same range. Conclusions Current clinical practice does not incorporate biological effects in surface brachytherapy. Therefore, the same absorbed dose is administered to the patients independently on the particularities of the rBT or eBT system considered. The almost constant RBE values reported for rBT support that assumption regardless of the details of the patient geometry, the presence of a flattening filter in the applicator design, or even significant modifications in the photon energy spectra above 300 keV. That is not the case for eBT, where a clear dependence on the eBT system and the characteristics of the patient geometry are reported. A complete study specific for each eBT system, including detailed applicator characteristics (size, shape, filtering, among others) and common anatomical locations, should be performed before adopting an existing RBE value.  
  Address [Valdes-Cortez, Christian] Hosp Reg Antofagasta, Nucl Med Dept, Antofagasta, Chile, Email: cvalcort@gmail.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Wiley Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0094-2405 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000811709400001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5262  
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Author Assam, I.; Vijande, J.; Ballester, F.; Perez-Calatayud, J.; Poppe, B.; Siebert, F.A. doi  openurl
  Title Evaluation of dosimetric effects of metallic artifact reduction and tissue assignment on Monte Carlo dose calculations for I-125 prostate implants Type Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Medical Physics Abbreviated Journal Med. Phys.  
  Volume 49 Issue Pages 6195-6208  
  Keywords metallic artifact reduction; Monte Carlo dosimetry; post-implant CT; prostate brachytherapy; tissue assignment schemes; voxelized virtual patient model  
  Abstract (down) Purpose Monte Carlo (MC) simulation studies, aimed at evaluating the magnitude of tissue heterogeneity in I-125 prostate permanent seed implant brachytherapy (BT), customarily use clinical post-implant CT images to generate a virtual representation of a realistic patient model (virtual patient model). Metallic artifact reduction (MAR) techniques and tissue assignment schemes (TAS) are implemented on the post-implant CT images to mollify metallic artifacts due to BT seeds and to assign tissue types to the voxels corresponding to the bright seed spots and streaking artifacts, respectively. The objective of this study is to assess the combined influence of MAR and TAS on MC absorbed dose calculations in post-implant CT-based phantoms. The virtual patient models used for I-125 prostate implant MC absorbed dose calculations in this study are derived from the CT images of an external radiotherapy prostate patient without BT seeds and prostatic calcifications, thus averting the need to implement MAR and TAS. Methods The geometry of the IsoSeed I25.S17plus source is validated by comparing the MC calculated results of the TG-43 parameters for the line source approximation with the TG-43U1S2 consensus data. Four MC absorbed dose calculations are performed in two virtual patient models using the egs_brachy MC code: (1) TG-43-based D-w,w-TG(43), (2) D-w,D-w-MBDC that accounts for interseed scattering and attenuation (ISA), (3) D-m,D-m that examines ISA and tissue heterogeneity by scoring absorbed dose in tissue, and (4) D-w,D-m that unlike D-m,D-m scores absorbed dose in water. The MC absorbed doses (1) and (2) are simulated in a TG-43 patient phantom derived by assigning the densities of every voxel to 1.00 g cm(-3) (water), whereas MC absorbed doses (3) and (4) are scored in the TG-186 patient phantom generated by mapping the mass density of each voxel to tissue according to a CT calibration curve. The MC absorbed doses calculated in this study are compared with VariSeed v8.0 calculated absorbed doses. To evaluate the dosimetric effect of MAR and TAS, the MC absorbed doses of this work (independent of MAR and TAS) are compared to the MC absorbed doses of different I-125 source models from previous studies that were calculated with different MC codes using post-implant CT-based phantoms generated by implementing MAR and TAS on post-implant CT images. Results The very good agreement of TG-43 parameters of this study and the published consensus data within 3% validates the geometry of the IsoSeed I25.S17plus source. For the clinical studies, the TG-43-based calculations show a D-90 overestimation of more than 4% compared to the more realistic MC methods due to ISA and tissue composition. The results of this work generally show few discrepancies with the post-implant CT-based dosimetry studies with respect to the D-90 absorbed dose metric parameter. These discrepancies are mainly Type B uncertainties due to the different I-125 source models and MC codes. Conclusions The implementation of MAR and TAS on post-implant CT images have no dosimetric effect on the I-125 prostate MC absorbed dose calculation in post-implant CT-based phantoms.  
  Address [Assam, Isong; Siebert, Frank-Andre] UKSH, Clin Radiotherapy Radiooncol, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany, Email: Isong.Assam@uksh.de  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Wiley Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0094-2405 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000835807200001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 5321  
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Author Langer, C.; Algora, A.; Couture, A.; Csatlos, M.; Gulyas, J.; Heil, M.; Krasznahorkay, A.; O'Donnell, J.M.; Plag, R.; Reifarth, R.; Stuhl, L.; Sonnabend, K.; Tornyi, T.; Tovesson, F. doi  openurl
  Title Simulations and developments of the Low Energy Neutron detector Array LENA Type Journal Article
  Year 2011 Publication Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A Abbreviated Journal Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A  
  Volume 659 Issue 1 Pages 411-418  
  Keywords Monte Carlo simulations; Charge-exchange reactions; Scintillation detectors; Neutron detector  
  Abstract (down) Prototypes of the Low Energy Neutron detector Array (LENA) have been tested and compared with detailed GEANT simulations. LENA will consist of plastic scintillation bars with the dimensions 1000 x 45 x 10 mm(3). The tests have been performed with gamma-ray sources and neutrons originating from the neutron-induced fission of (235)U. The simulations agreed very well with the measured response and were therefore used to simulate the response to mono-energetic neutrons with different detection thresholds. LENA will be used to detect low-energy neutrons from (p,n)-type reactions with low momentum transfer foreseen at the R(3)B and EXL setups at FAIR, Darmstadt.  
  Address [Langer, C.; Heil, M.; Plag, R.; Reifarth, R.] GSI Helmholtzzentrum Schwerionenforsch GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany, Email: c.langer@gsi.de  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Elsevier Science Bv Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-9002 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000297826100057 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 833  
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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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Author Gimenez-Alventosa, V.; Gimenez, V.; Oliver, S. doi  openurl
  Title PenRed: An extensible and parallel Monte-Carlo framework for radiation transport based on PENELOPE Type Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Computer Physics Communications Abbreviated Journal Comput. Phys. Commun.  
  Volume 267 Issue Pages 108065 - 12pp  
  Keywords Radiation transport; Monte Carlo simulation; Electron-photon showers; Parallel computing; MPI; Medical physics  
  Abstract (down) Monte Carlo methods provide detailed and accurate results for radiation transport simulations. Unfortunately, the high computational cost of these methods limits its usage in real-time applications. Moreover, existing computer codes do not provide a methodology for adapting these kinds of simulations to specific problems without advanced knowledge of the corresponding code system, and this restricts their applicability. To help solve these current limitations, we present PenRed, a general-purpose, standalone, extensible and modular framework code based on PENELOPE for parallel Monte Carlo simulations of electron-photon transport through matter. It has been implemented in C++ programming language and takes advantage of modern object-oriented technologies. In addition, PenRed offers the capability to read and process DICOM images as well as to construct and simulate image-based voxelized geometries, so as to facilitate its usage in medical applications. Our framework has been successfully verified against the original PENELOPE Fortran code. Furthermore, the implemented parallelism has been tested showing a significant improvement in the simulation time without any loss in precision of results. Program summary Program title: PenRed: Parallel Engine for Radiation Energy Deposition. CPC Library link to program files: https://doi .org /10 .17632/rkw6tvtngy.1 Licensing provision: GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL). Programming language: C++ standard 2011. Nature of problem: Monte Carlo simulations usually require a huge amount of computation time to achieve low statistical uncertainties. In addition, many applications necessitate particular characteristics or the extraction of specific quantities from the simulation. However, most available Monte Carlo codes do not provide an efficient parallel and truly modular structure which allows users to easily customise their code to suit their needs without an in-depth knowledge of the code system. Solution method: PenRed is a fully parallel, modular and customizable framework for Monte Carlo simulations of the passage of radiation through matter. It is based on the PENELOPE [1] code system, from which inherits its unique physics models and tracking algorithms for charged particles. PenRed has been coded in C++ following an object-oriented programming paradigm restricted to the C++11 standard. Our engine implements parallelism via a double approach: on the one hand, by using standard C++ threads for shared memory, improving the access and usage of the memory, and, on the other hand, via the MPI standard for distributed memory infrastructures. Notice that both kinds of parallelism can be combined together in the same simulation. Moreover, both threads and MPI processes, can be balanced using the builtin load balance system (RUPER-LB [30]) to maximise the performance on heterogeneous infrastructures. In addition, PenRed provides a modular structure with methods designed to easily extend its functionality. Thus, users can create their own independent modules to adapt our engine to their needs without changing the original modules. Furthermore, user extensions will take advantage of the builtin parallelism without any extra effort or knowledge of parallel programming. Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: PenRed has been compiled in linux systems withg++ of GCC versions 4.8.5, 7.3.1, 8.3.1 and 9; clang version 3.4.2 and intel C++ compiler (icc) version 19.0.5.281. Since it is a C++11-standard compliant code, PenRed should be able to compile with any compiler with C++11 support. In addition, if the code is compiled without MPI support, it does not require any non standard library. To enable MPI capabilities, the user needs to install whatever available MPI implementation, such as openMPI [24] or mpich [25], which can be found in the repositories of any linux distribution. Finally, to provide DICOM processing support, PenRed can be optionally compiled using the dicom toolkit (dcmtk) [32] library. Thus, PenRed has only two optional dependencies, an MPI implementation and the dcmtk library.  
  Address [Gimenez-Alventosa, V] Univ Politecn Valencia, Inst Instrumentac Imagen Mol I3M, Ctr Mixto CSIC, Cami Vera S-N, Valencia 46022, Spain, Email: vicent.gimenez@i3m.upv.es;  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Elsevier Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0010-4655 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes WOS:000678508900001 Approved no  
  Is ISI yes International Collaboration no  
  Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4907  
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