Speaker
Description
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC) in the United Kingdom is the world’s first hospital proton beam therapy facility, treating patients with ocular cancer since 1989. In recent years there has been rapid growth across Europe in both the demand and provision of particle radiation therapy treatments, with multiple centres under development in the UK. Correspondingly, this has brought about the need for advanced diagnostics and technologies, to fully exploit the fundamental benefits of ion beam therapy. One such device currently under development by the QUASAR group, is an online beam monitor based on LHCb VErtex LOcator (VELO) detector technology. The capability of the detector as a beam halo, dose monitor for clinical ion beam accelerators is being investigated and is planned for implementation into the CCC beamline. In order to assess the performance and suitability of the system, it is important to know the characteristics and operational parameters of the beam. Facility related constraints have required extensive study and modelling of the beamline and recent work toward complete characterisation of the beam is presented. This is the first comprehensive end-to-end model of the CCC beamline, developed using the Monte Carlo toolkit, Geant4 and with extensions, Beam Delivery Simulation (BDSIM) and TOol for PArticle Simulation (TOPAS). This has allowed the possibility of simulating the beam anywhere from the exit of the cyclotron to beyond the treatment nozzle and simulation results are shown alongside experimental measurements obtained for comparison and validation. The specific application of detector integration and several other anticipated outcomes is also discussed; planned experimental campaigns, halo maps for VELO and verification as a standard model for all related work performed at the beamline.
