Preliminary results of an in-beam PET prototype for proton therapy

Characterization of an In-Beam PET Prototype for Proton Therapy With Different Target Compositions

“…A detailed description of the prototype architecture, the calibration procedures and the preliminary experimental results from proton activation study on homogeneous phantoms can be found in [12], [13]. We remind here that the PET prototype is based on two stationary planar heads, consisting of two opposing 4.5 4.5 1.8 lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO) scintillator matrices, 21 21 pixels (2 2 18 pixel dimensions).…”

“…In the actual experimental set-up, the PET prototype allows a spatial resolution of 1 mm along and at the center of the field of view (FOV), but its limited angular acceptance prevents from reaching the same resolution along the -axis (currently of ) [12], [13]. This is the reason why in our experiments, we did not consider phantoms with inhomogeneities smaller than twice the resolution along the -axis.…”

“…2(e)). Phantom irradiation modalities were similar to those characterizing the first experiments presented in [12], [13]. Pencil-like proton beams of 62 MeV with an initial energy spread of about 300 keV, shaped by a brass collimator with an aperture diameter of 25 mm, were delivered to the phantoms into the CATANA treatment room for eye tumors [16].…”

“…The prototype performances have been already studied on homogeneous polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantoms by measuring the -activation induced by both 62 MeV proton beams at CATANA facility [12], [13] and low energy carbon beams. In the latter case its performances have been validated against those of the clinically established BASTEI tomograph at GSI [14].…”

Comparison of two dedicated ‘in beam’ PET systems via simultaneous imaging of12C-induced β+-activity

“…Motivated by this clinical experience and in connection with the rapidly growing number of ion beam therapy facilities worldwide, an increasing interest has been devoted to PET imaging for quality assurance not only of carbon ions but also of protons (Litzenberg et al 1999, Parodi et al 2002, Inaniwa et al 2005, 3 He (Fiedler et al 2006), 16 O (Inaniwa et al 2008) and even photons (Möckel et al 2007). Besides the already clinically operated in-beam PET tomograph at GSI or the post-irradiation ('offline') usage of commercial full-ring PET or PET/CT scanners (Hishikawa et al 2002, Parodi et al 2007, new experimental planar positron cameras suited for in-beam installation have been recently realized at HIMAC (Iseki et al 2003), Kashiwa (Nishio et al 2006) and Pisa (Attanasi et al 2008a). This paper focuses on the latter system, that was developed inside the DoPET project (dosimetry with a positron emission tomograph).…”