• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.533-538
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• 2019

The mechanical-collimation imaging is the most mature technology in prompt gamma (PG) imaging which is considered the most promising technology for beam range verification in proton therapy. The purpose of the present study is to compare the performances of two mechanical-collimation PG cameras, knife-edge (KE) camera and multi-slit (MS) camera. For this, the PG cameras were modeled by Geant4 Monte Carlo code, and the performances of the cameras were compared for imaginary point and line sources and for proton beams incident on a cylindrical PMMA phantom. From the simulation results, the KE camera was found to show higher counting efficiency than the MS camera, being able to estimate the beam range even for $10^7$ protons. Our results, however, confirmed that in order to estimate the beam range correctly, the KE camera should be aligned, at least approximately, to the location of the proton beam range. The MS camera was found to show lower efficiency, being able to estimate the beam range correctly only when the number of the protons is at least $10^8$. For enough number of protons, however, the MS camera estimated the beam range correctly, errors being less than 1.2 mm, regardless of the location of the camera.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1406-1416
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• 2019

In this research, a multi-slit prompt-gamma camera was developed to locate the distal dose falloff of the proton beam spots in spot scanning proton therapy. To see the performance of the developed camera, therapeutic proton beams were delivered to a solid plate phantom and then the prompt gammas from the phantom were measured using the camera. Our results show that the camera locates the 90% distal dose falloff (= d90%), within about 2-3 mm of error for the spots which are composed $3.8{\times}10^8$ protons or more. The measured location of d90% is not very sensitive to the irradiation depth of the proton beam (i.e., the depth of proton beam from the phantom surface toward which the camera is located). Considering the number of protons per spot for the most distal spots in typical treatment cases (i.e., 2 Gy dose divided in 2 fields), the camera can locate d90% only for a fraction of the spots depending on the treatment cases. However, the information of those spots is still valuable in that, in the multi-slit prompt-gamma camera, the distal dose falloff of the spots is located solely based on prompt gamma measurement, i.e., not referring to Monte Carlo simulation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3422-3428
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• 2022

The prompt gamma imaging (PGI) technique is considered as one of the most promising approaches to estimate the range of proton beam in the patient and unlock the full potential of proton therapy. In the PGI technique, a dedicated algorithm is required to estimate the range of the proton beam from the prompt gamma (PG) distribution acquired by a PGI system. In the present study, a new range estimation algorithm was developed for a multi-slit prompt-gamma camera, one of PGI systems, to estimate the range of proton beam with high accuracy. The performance of the developed algorithm was evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations for various beam/phantom combinations. Our results generally show that the developed algorithm is very robust, showing very high accuracy and precision for all the cases considered in the present study. The range estimation accuracy of the developed algorithm was 0.5-1.7 mm, which is approximately 1% of beam range, for 1×10⁹ protons. Even for the typical number of protons for a spot (1×10⁸), the range estimation accuracy of the developed algorithm was 2.1-4.6 mm and smaller than the range uncertainties and typical safety margin, while that of the existing algorithm was 2.5-9.6 mm.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.968-973
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• 2013

In the transportation industry, especially in the shipbuilding process, 3D surface measurement of large-scale hull pieces is needed for fabrication and assembly. We suggest an efficient method for checking the shape of curved plates under the forming operation with short time by measuring 3D profiles along the multi lines of the target surface. For accurate profile reconstruction, 2D camera calibration and 3D calibration using gauge blocks were performed. The evaluation test shows that the measurement accuracy is within the boundary of tolerance required in the shipbuilding process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3140-3149
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• 2023

In theory, the sharp dose falloff at the distal end of a proton beam allows for high conformal dose to the target. However, conformity has not been fully achieved in practice, primarily due to beam range uncertainty, which is approximately 4% and varies slightly across institutions. To address this issue, we developed a new range verification system prototype: a multi-slit prompt-gamma camera (MSPGC). This system features high prompt-gamma detection sensitivity, an advanced range estimation algorithm, and a precise camera positioning system. We evaluated the range measurement precision of the prototype for single spot beams with varying energies, proton quantities, and positions, as well as for spot-scanning proton beams in a simulated SSPT treatment using a phantom. Our results demonstrated high accuracy (<0.4 mm) in range measurement for the tested beam energies and positions. Measurement precision increased significantly with the number of protons, achieving 1% precision with 5 × 10⁸ protons. For spot-scanning proton beams, the prototype ensured more than 5 × 10⁸ protons per spot with a 7 mm or larger spot aggregation, achieving 1% range measurement precision. Based on these findings, we anticipate that the clinical application of the new prototype will reduce range uncertainty (currently approximately 4%) to 1% or less.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2016

In proton therapy, in vivo proton beam range verification is very important to deliver conformal dose to the target volume and minimize unnecessary dose to normal tissue. For this purpose, a multi-slit prompt-gamma camera module made of 24 scintillation detectors and 24-channel signal processing system is under development. In the present study, we have developed and tested a dual-mode signal processing system, which can operate in the energy calibration mode and the fast data acquisition mode, to process the signals from the 24 scintillation detectors. As a result of performance test, using the energy calibration mode, we were able to perform energy calibration for the 24 scintillation detectors at the same time and determine the discrimination levels for the detector channels. Further, using the fast data acquisition mode, we were able to measure a prompt-gamma distribution induced by a 45 MeV proton beam. The measured prompt gamma distribution was found similar to the proton dose distribution at the distal fall-off region, and the estimated beam range was $17.13{\pm}0.76mm$, which is close to the proton beam range of 16.15 mm measured by an EBT film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.292-299
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• 2013

The measurement in the manufacturing process of curved ship hull plates still depends on wooden templates as a standard instrument. The metrology-enabled automation in the shipbuilding process has been challenged instead of line measurement with wooden templates. The developed measurement system consists of a CCD camera, multiple structured laser sources and 3-DOF motion device. The system carries out measurement of curved profiles for large scale plates by an optical triangulation method. The results of experiment conducted in a manufacturing shop demonstrate the accurate and robust performance.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.187-193
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• 2012

AKARI has 4 imaging bands in the far-infrared (FIR) and 9 imaging bands that cover the near-infrared (NIR) to mid-infrared (MIR) contiguously. The FIR bands probe the thermal emission from sub-micron dust grains, while the MIR bands observe emission from stochastically-heated very small grains and the unidentified infrared (UIR) band emissions from carbonaceous materials that contain aromatic and aliphatic bonds. The multi-band characteristics of the AKARI instruments are quite efficient to study the spectral energy distribution of the interstellar medium, which always shows multi-component nature, as well as its variations in the various environments. AKARI also has spectroscopic capabilities. In particular, one of the onboard instruments, Infrared Camera (IRC), can obtain a continuous spectrum from 2.5 to $13{\mu}m$ with the same slit. This allows us to make a comparative study of the UIR bands in the diffuse emission from the 3.3 to $11.3{\mu}m$ for the first time. The IRC explores high-sensitivity spectroscopy in the NIR, which enables the study of interstellar ices and the UIR band emission at $3.3-3.5{\mu}m$ in various objects. Particularly, the UIR bands in this spectral range contain unique information on the aromatic and aliphatic bonds in the band carriers. This presentation reviews the results of AKARI observations of the interstellar medium with an emphasis on the observations of the NIR spectroscopy.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.207-217
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• 2017

For effective patient treatment in proton therapy, it is therefore important to accurately measure the beam range. For measuring beam range, various researchers determine the beam range by measuring the prompt gammas generated during nuclear reactions of protons with materials. However, the accuracy of the beam range determination can be lowered in heterogeneous phantoms, because of the differences with respect to the prompt gamma production depending on the properties of the material. In this research, to improve the beam range determination in a heterogeneous phantom, we derived a formula to correct the prompt-gamma distribution using the ratio of the prompt gamma production, stopping power, and density obtained for each material. Then, the prompt-gamma distributions were acquired by a multi-slit prompt-gamma camera on various kinds of heterogeneous phantoms using a Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation, and the deduced formula was applied to the prompt-gamma distributions. For the case involving the phantom having bone-equivalent material in the soft tissue-equivalent material, it was confirmed that compared to the actual range, the determined ranges were relatively accurate both before and after correction. In the case of a phantom having the lung-equivalent material in the soft tissue-equivalent material, although the maximum error before correction was 18.7 mm, the difference was very large. However, when the correction method was applied, the accuracy was significantly improved by a maximum error of 4.1 mm. Moreover, for a phantom that was constructed based on CT data, after applying the calibration method, the beam range could be generally determined within an error of 2.5 mm. Simulation results confirmed the potential to determine the beam range with high accuracy in heterogeneous phantoms by applying the proposed correction method. In future, these methods will be verified by performing experiments using a therapeutic proton beam.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

Background: To monitor proton beam in proton therapy, prompt gamma imaging systems are being developed by several research groups, and these systems are expected to improve the quality of the treatment and the patient safety. To apply the prompt gamma imaging systems into spot scanning proton therapy, the systems should be able to monitor the proton beam range of a spot with a small number of protons ( <$10^8$ protons), which is quite often not the case due to insufficient prompt gamma statistics. Materials and Methods: In the present study, we propose to improve prompt gamma statistics by merging the prompt gamma distributions of several individual spots into a new distribution. This proposal was tested by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations for a multi-slit prompt gamma camera which has been developed to measure the proton beam range in the patient. Results and Discussion: The results show that the proposed method clearly enhance the statistical precision of beam range measurement. The accuracy of beam range verification is improved, within ~1.4 mm error, which is not achievable before applying the developed method. Conclusion: In this study, we tried to improve the statistics of the prompt gamma statistics by merging the prompt gamma distributions of multiple spots, and it was found that the merged distribution provided sufficient prompt gamma statistics and the proton beam range was determined accurately.