Thesis

Implementation of a portable PET scanner for proton therapy beam quality assessment

• Call:

  ProtoTera Call 2021/2

• Academic Year:

  2021

• Supervisor:

  Ana Luisa Silva

• Co-Supervisor:

  Pedro Correia

• Host Institution:

  I3N – Institute for Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication (Aveiro Pole)

• Granting Degree Institution:

  Universidade de Aveiro

• Typology:

  National

• Abstract:

  The lack of integrated PET devices in the beamline facilities of Proton Therapy Centers (PTC) usually requires that when phantoms are used for beam quality assessment using PET imaging, they need to be transported to a nearby room where the PET scanner is installed. The short half-life of the isotopes created during irradiation implies that this transport must be as fast as possible, otherwise, the PET signal is lost. For this reason, benchtop and portable PET scanners can be seen as an advantage over conventional, bulky scanners, due to their versatility and the possibility to be more easily integrated into different locations and scenarios within the PTC facilities. Another advantage of the use of PET in beam quality assessment is the possibility of having a faster 3D map of the β+ decays and correlating this with the beam interaction in phantom, contrary to current technologies that characterize the beam using stacks of 2D representations (slices) of the beam profile, in a procedure that is time-consuming for clinical usage and therefore should be optimized. This proposal will combine different fields of expertise within the development of radiation detectors and devices for medical physics, from the simulation of the physics associated with the Proton therapy and PET imaging, integration of scintillation materials with solid-state photodetectors, electronics, software, and mechanics.