• 대한방사선방어학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한방사선방어학회 2011년도 추계 학술발표회 및 심포지엄
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• pp.116-117
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• 2011

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권6호
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• pp.2213-2220
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• 2022

The maximum dose delivery at the end of the beam range provides the main advantage of using proton therapy. The range of the proton beam, however, is subject to uncertainties, which limit the clinical benefits of proton therapy and, therefore, accurate in vivo verification of the beam range is desirable. For the beam range verification in spot scanning proton therapy, a prompt gamma detection system, called as gamma electron vertex imaging (GEVI) system, is under development and, in the present study, the performance of the GEVI system in spot scanning proton therapy was predicted with Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations in terms of shift detection sensitivity, accuracy and precision. The simulation results indicated that the GEVI system can detect the interfractional range shifts down to 1 mm shift for the cases considered in the present study. The results also showed that both the evaluated accuracy and precision were less than 1-2 mm, except for the scenarios where we consider all spots in the energy layer for a local shifting. It was very encouraging results that the accuracy and precision satisfied the smallest distal safety margin of the investigated beam energy (i.e., 4.88 mm for 134.9 MeV).

• Experimental Neurobiology
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.241-251
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• 2017

Saturation mutagenesis was performed on a single position in the voltage-sensing domain (VSD) of a genetically encoded voltage indicator (GEVI). The VSD consists of four transmembrane helixes designated S1-S4. The V220 position located near the plasma membrane/extracellular interface had previously been shown to affect the voltage range of the optical signal. Introduction of polar amino acids at this position reduced the voltage-dependent optical signal of the GEVI. Negatively charged amino acids slightly reduced the optical signal by 33 percent while positively charge amino acids at this position reduced the optical signal by 80%. Surprisingly, the range of V220D was similar to that of V220K with shifted optical responses towards negative potentials. In contrast, the V220E mutant mirrored the responses of the V220R mutation suggesting that the length of the side chain plays in role in determining the voltage range of the GEVI. Charged mutations at the 219 position all behaved similarly slightly shifting the optical response to more negative potentials. Charged mutations to the 221 position behaved erratically suggesting interactions with the plasma membrane and/or other amino acids in the VSD. Introduction of bulky amino acids at the V220 position increased the range of the optical response to include hyperpolarizing signals. Combining The V220W mutant with the R217Q mutation resulted in a probe that reduced the depolarizing signal and enhanced the hyperpolarizing signal which may lead to GEVIs that only report neuronal inhibition.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권3호
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• pp.1016-1023
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• 2022

In proton therapy, a highly conformal proton dose can be delivered to the tumor by means of the steep distal dose penumbra at the end of the beam range. The proton beam range, however, is highly sensitive to range uncertainty, which makes accurately locating the proton range in the patient difficult. In-vivo range verification is a method to manage range uncertainty, one of the promising techniques being prompt gamma imaging (PGI). In earlier studies, we proposed gamma electron vertex imaging (GEVI), and constructed a proof-of-principle system. The system successfully demonstrated the GEVI imaging principle for therapeutic proton pencil beams without scanning, but showed some limitations under clinical conditions, particularly for pencil beam scanning proton therapy. In the present study, we upgraded the GEVI system in several aspects and tested the performance improvements such as for range-shift verification in the context of line scanning proton treatment. Specifically, the system showed better performance in obtaining accurate prompt gamma (PG) distributions in the clinical environment. Furthermore, high shift-detection sensitivity and accuracy were shown under various range-shift conditions using line scanning proton beams.