GEANT4 Study of Proton–Body Interactions

Abstract

Proton therapy uses a beam of protons to destroy cancer cells. A problem of the method is the determination of what part of the body the protons are hitting during the irradiation. In a previous study we determine that by capturing the gamma rays produced during the irradiation one can determine the location of the proton-body interaction, in this work we investigate if by examining the gamma rays produced it is possible to determine the body part that produced the gamma rays by the proton collision. This study uses GEANT4 computer simulations of interactions of proton-tissue, protonbrain, proton-bone, etc., which produce gamma rays, to determine the characteristics of the gamma rays produced. We then analyze the characteristics of the gamma rays to find signatures that could be used to determine the source of the rays. In particular, we study the distribution of gamma ray energies, their full-width half-maximum, energy resolution, maximum height, and total number of counts. This study concludes that it is possible to use the gamma ray spectra to determine what body part produced it.