Change of Proton Bragg Peak by Variation of Material Thickness in Head Phantom using Geant4

김유미(You Me Kim),천권수(Kwon Su Chon) 한국방사선학회 2021 한국방사선학회 논문지 Vol.15 No.4

양성자 치료는 방사선치료 중 하나로 브래그 피크로 알려진 물리적 특성을 활용한 방법이다. 양성자 치료계획 수립 시 주로 전산화단층촬영(CT)의 인체 횡단면 영상이 사용되고 있다. CT는 사용되는 관전압에 따라 HU가 변하게 되며 이는 구조물의 경계, 두께 변화로 이어진다. 본 연구는 Geant4를 이용하여 복합 물질로 구성된 두개골 팬텀에서 두께 변화에 따른 뇌 영역의 브래그 곡선의 변화를 살펴보았다. 먼저, 단일 물질로 구성된 팬텀에서 매질의 종류와 양성자의 입사에너지에 따른 브래그 곡선을 측정하여 Geant4 계산결과의 신뢰성을 확보하였다. 두개골 팬텀의 각 두께를 변동하였을 때 뇌 영역에서 발생하는 피크의 위치 변화를 측정하였다. 연부조직의 두께를 변화하였을 때 피크의 위치 변화는 나타나지 않았으며, 피부의 두께를 변화하였을 때 피크의 변화는 적었으며, 주로 뼈의 두께를 변화할 때 피크의 위치 변화가 나타났다. 또한 뼈를 단독으로 변화하였을 때와 뼈를 다른 조직과 함께 변화하였을 때 피크의 위치 변화량은 동일하였다. 뼈의 정확한 두께 측정이 방사선치료계획의 선량-깊이 분포 예측에 주요 인자 중 하나임을 확인하였다. Proton therapy using the Bragg peak is one of the radiation therapies and can deliver its maximum energy to the tumor with giving least energy for normal tissue. A cross-sectional image of the human body taken with the computed tomography (CT) has been used for radiation therapy planning. The HU values change according to the tube voltage, which lead to the change in the boundary and thickness of the anatomical structure on the CT image. This study examined the changes in the Bragg peak of the brain region according to the thickness variation in the head phantom composed of several materials using the Geant4. In the phantom composed of a single material, the Bragg peak according to the type of media and the incident energy of the proton beams were calculated, and the reliability of Geant4 code was verified by the Bragg peak. The variation of the peak in the brain region was examined when each thickness of the head phantom was changed. When the thickness of the soft tissue was changed, there was no change in the peak position, and for the skin the change in the peak was small. The change of the peak position was mainly changed when the bone thickness. In particular, when the bone was changed only or the bone was changed together with other tissues, the amount of change in the peak position was the same. It is considered that measurement of the accurate bone thickness in CT images is one of the key factors in depth-dose distribution of the radiation therapy planning.

Geant4 전산모사를 이용한 종양의 밀도 변화에 따른 양성자의 선량 분포

김유미(You-Me Kim),천권수(Kwon-Su Chon) 한국방사선학회 2021 한국방사선학회 논문지 Vol.15 No.6

일 에너지의 양성자 선원은 좁은 브래그 피크를 형성하므로 종양의 치료 범위를 포함하기 위해서는 여러 개의 피크를 중첩하여 확산된 브래그 피크를 형성한다. 선행 연구에서는 뇌종양의 밀도를 뇌 조직과 동일하게 구성하여 종양의 흡수선량을 계산하였다. 그러나 종양의 밀도는 일정한 값이 아니므로 본 연구는 몬테카를로 방법의 Geant4 전산모사를 이용하여 종양의 밀도 변화에 따른 양성자 선원의 확산된 브래그 피크를 평가하였다. 뇌 조직 팬텀을 구성하여 치료 범위를 고려하여 종양의 크기를 10 mm와 20 mm로 선택하였다. 종양의 위치와 크기에 맞는 확산된 피크를 형성하기 위하여 수학적 방법을 이용하여 양성자 선원의 에너지와 상대적 강도를 계산하였다. 종양의 밀도가 높아질수록 SOBP의 95% 선량 구간과 실정 비정은 감소하였으며 95% 선량 구간의 평균 흡수선량은 증가하였다. 종양의 밀도 증가는 양성자 선원의 선량 분포에 영향을 주어 종양의 크기보다 작은 확산된 브래그 피크를 형성하였다. 종양의 밀도 반영은 비정을 결정하는데 영향을 주어 치료구간의 여유 마진(margin)을 최소화하여 양성자 치료의 장점을 최대로 활용할 수 있을 것이다. It is necessary to overlap several peaks to form spread out Bragg peak (SOBP) in order to cover the tumor volume because a mono-energetic proton beam forms a narrow Bragg peak. The tumor density has been considered as a brain tissue and then the absorbed dose of the tumor is calculated using Monte Carlo simulations. However, densities of tumors were not a constant. In this study, the SOBP of proton beams was calculated according to changing density of tumors by using Geant4. Tumors were selected as 10 mm and 20 mm width which were the treatment range in the brain phantom. The energies and relative weights of the proton beams were calculated using mathematical formula to form the SOBP suitable for the location and size of the tumor. As the density of the tumor was increased, the 95% modulation range and the practical range were decreased, and average absorbed dose in the 95% modulation range was increased. The change of the tumor density affects the dose distribution of the proton beams, which results in short SOBP within the tumor volume. The consideration of the tumor density affects the determination of the range, so that the margin of the treatment volume can be minimized, and the advantages of proton therapy can be maximized.

양성자에 대한 금 나노입자의 밀도에 따른 흡수 에너지의 몬테카를로 전산모사

천권수 한국방사선학회 2024 한국방사선학회 논문지 Vol.18 No.1

양성자 치료는 브래그 피크로 인해 우수한 치료 기법으로 알려져 있다. 양성자의 치료 효과를 높이기 위해 금 나노입자를 종양에 분포시켜 흡수선량을 높이는 방법이 연구되고 있다. 마이크로미터와 나노미터 범위에서 금 나노입자를 다루었던 것을 밀리미터 범위에서 금 나노입자를 전산모사 할 수 있는 방법을 제시하였다. 전산모사를 위해 Geant4 툴킷을 사용하였다. 인체와 유사한 물과 금 나노입자가 균일하게 분포되어 있다는 것을 가정하고 밀도비를 통해 금 나노입자의 개수 또는 농도를 조절하였다. 브래그 피크 위치에서 밀도비가 5%일 때 금 나노입자로 인해 순수 물 팬텀에 비해 흡수 에너지의 이득이 거의 2배로 나타났다. 밀도비가 증가할수록 흡수 에너지의 이득은 선형적으로 증가하였다. 브래그 피크 위치에서 금 나노입자가 하나의 복셀에만 분포하고 있을 때 양성자의 에너지는 자신 주변의 복셀에만 영향을 미치지만, 넓은 영역에 금 나노입자가 분포하는 경우 순수 물 팬텀에서 최고 흡수 에너지 (9.95 keV)의 95% 흡수 에너지 (9.46 keV)를 나타내는 부피는 16배 큰 영역에서 흡수 에너지의 이득이 나타났다. 그리고 이 영역은 밀도비가 증가할수록 증가하였다. 밀리미터 범위에서 금 나노입자의 밀도비와 RBE의 관계를 정량화하는 등 추가적인 연구가 필요하다. Proton therapy is known for its superior treatment method due to Bragg peak. To enhance the therapeutic effects of protons, research has been conducted on distributing gold nanoparticles within tumors to increase the absorbed dose. While previous studies focused on handling gold nanoparticles at micrometer and nonometer scale, this study proposes a method to computationally estimate the effect of gold nanoparticles at the millimeter scale. The Geant4 toolkit was applied to computational modeling. Assuming a uniform distribution of water, similar to the human body, and gold nanoparticles, the concentration of gold nanoparticles was adjusted using density ratios. When the density ratio was 5%, the gain in absorbed energy due to gold nanoparticles was nearly twice that of the pure water phantom at the Bragg peak. As the density ratio increased, the gain in absorbed energy linearly increased. When gold nanoparticles were distributed in only one voxel at the Bragg peak, the energy of the protons affected only the neighboring voxels. However, in cases where gold nanoparticles were distributed over a wide area, the volume showing 95% of the maximum absorbed energy (9.46 keV) for the pure water phantom (9.95 keV) exhibited an improvement in absorbed energy over a region 16 times larger, and this region increased as the density ratio increased. Further research is needed to quantify the relationship between the density ratio of gold nanoparticles and the relative biological effect (RBE) in the millimeter scale.

Ridge filter 가공정밀도가 깊이별 선량균질도에 미치는 영향

김정환,최상현,장홍석,안동현,강건욱,김근범,양태건 대한방사선방어학회 2020 대한방사선방어학회 학술발표회 논문요약집 Vol.2020 No.11

첨단 암 치료로서 중입자치료의 임상적 유용성에 대한 고찰

최상규 대한방사선과학회 2019 방사선기술과학 Vol.42 No.6

Heavy ion particle, represented carbon ion, radiotherapy is currently most advanced radiation therapy technique. Conventional radiation therapy has made remarkable changes over a relatively short period of time and leading various developments such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, 4D radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, and high precisional therapy. However, the biological and physical superiority of particle radiation, represented by Bragg peak, can give the maximum dose to tumor and minimal dose to surrounding normal tissues in the treatment of cancers in various areas surrounded by radiation-sensitive normal tissues. However, despite these advantages, there are some limitations and factors to consider. First, there is not enough evidence, such as large-scale randomized, prospective phase III trials, for the clinical application. Secondly, additional studies are needed to establish a very limited number of treatment facilities, uncertainty about the demand for heavy particle treatment, parallel with convetional radiotherapy or indications. In addition, Bragg peak of the heavy particles can greatly reduce the dose to the normal tissues front and behind the tumor compared to the photon or protons. High precision and accuracy are needed for treatment planning and treatment, especially for lungs or livers with large respiratory movements. Currently, the introduction of the heavy particle therapy device is in progress, and therefore, it is expected that more research will be active.

액체 섬광체를 이용한 100 MeV 양성자 빔의 선량 분포 평가

김성환(Sunghwan Kim) 대한방사선과학회(구 대한방사선기술학회) 2017 방사선기술과학 Vol.40 No.4

본 논문에서는 방사선치료 시 용적 선량 평가에 응용할 수 있는 광 도시메트리 시스템을 구축하고 100 MeV 고선속 양성자 빔에 대한 특성 평가를 수행하였다. 광 도시메트리 시스템은 액체 유기 섬광체와 카메라 렌즈, 고감도 저잡음 화상(complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor; CMOS) 카메라로 구성되며, 2 m 거리에 영상의 화각 (field of view; FOV)이 15 ㎝가 되도록 설계 및 제작하였다. 구축된 광 도시메트리 시스템은 100 MeV 양성자 빔에 대하여 1~40 Gy 선량 범위에서 선량-출력의 직선성을 확인하였으며, 심부선량백분율 데이터와 등선량 곡선을 획득하였다. 본 연구에서는 용매의 인체조직등가성에 제한점이 있지만 광 도시메트리 절차를 확립하였으며, 새로 운용적 선량 평가법의 제안으로 그 의미가 있다. In this paper, an optical dosimetric system for radiation dose measurement is developed and charac-terized for 100 MeV proton beams in KOMAC(Korea Multi-Purpose Accelerator Complex). The system con-sists of 10 wt% Ultima GoldTM liquid organic scintillator in the ethanol, a camera lens(50 mm / f1.8), and a high sensitivity CMOS(complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) camera (ASI120MM, ZWO Co.). The FOV(field of view) of the system is designed to be 150 mm at a distance of 2 m. This system showed sufficient linearity in the range of 1~40 Gy for the 100 MeV proton beams in KOMAC. We also success-fully got the percentage depth dose and the isodose curves of the 100 MeV proton beams from the cap-tured images. Because the solvent is not a human tissue equivalent material, we can not directly measure the absorbed dose of the human body. Through this study, we have established the optical dosimetric procedure and propose a new volume dose assessment method.

몬테칼로 시뮬레이션을 활용한 양성자가속기 단기사용 시 구성품의 방사화 평가

배상일(Sang-Il Bae),김정훈(Jung-Hoon Kim) 대한방사선과학회(구 대한방사선기술학회) 2020 방사선기술과학 Vol.43 No.5

The evaluation of radioactivated components of heavy-ion accelerator facilities affects the safety of radiation management and the exposure dose for workers. and this is an important issue when predicting the disposal cost of waste during maintenance and dismantling of accelerator facilities. In this study, the FLUKA code was used to simulate the proton treatment device nozzle and classify the radio-nuclides and total radioactivity generated by each component over a short period of time. The source term was evaluated using NIST reference beam data, and the neutron flux generated for each component was calculated using the evaluated beam data. Radioactive isotopes caused by generated neutrons were compared and evaluated using nuclide information from the International Radiation Protection Association and the Korea Radioisotope association. Most of the nuclides produced form of beta rays and electron capture, and short-lived nuclides dominated. However, In the case of 54Mn, which is a radioactive product of iron, the effect of gamma rays should be considered. In the case of tritium generated from a material with a low atomic number, it is considered that handling care should be taken due to its long half-life.

몬테카를로 시뮬레이션을 통한 중하전입자의 콘크리트 방사화 비교평가

배상일(Sang-Il Bae),조용인(Yong-In Cho),김정훈(Jung-Hoon Kim) 대한방사선과학회(구 대한방사선기술학회) 2021 방사선기술과학 Vol.44 No.4

A heavy particle accelerator is a device that accelerates particles using high energy and is used in various fields such as medical and industrial fields as well as research. However, secondary neutrons and particle fragments are generated by the high-energy particle beam, and among them, the neutrons do not have an electric charge and directly interact with the nucleus to cause radiation of the material. Quantitative evaluation of the radioactive material produced in this way is necessary, but there are many difficulties in actual measurement during or after operation. Therefore, this study compared and evaluated the generated radioactive material in the concrete shield for protons and carbon ions of specific energy by using the simulation code FLUKA. For the evaluation of each energy of proton beam and carbon ion, the reliability of the source term was secured within 2% of the relative error with the data of the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory(NSRL), which is an internationally standardized data. In the evaluation, carbon ions exhibited higher neutron flux than protons. Afterwards, in the evaluation of radioactive materials under actual operating conditions for disposal, a large amount of short-lived beta-decay nuclides occurred immediately after the operation was terminated, and in the case of protons with a high beam speed, more radioactive products were generated than carbon ions. At this time, radionuclides of 44Sc, 3H and 22Na were observed at a high rate. In addition, as the cooling time elapsed, the ratio of long-lived nuclides increased. For nonparticulate radionuclides, 3H, 22Na, and for particulate radionuclides, 44Ti, 55Fe, 60Co, 152Eu, and 154Eu nuclides showed a high ratio. In this study, it is judged that it is possible to use the particle accelerator as basic data for facility maintenance, repair and dismantling through the prediction of radioactive materials in concrete according to the cooling time after operation and termination of operation.

양성자 치료시 반복법을 사용한 3D 선량 재구성

김영학,이원호 대한방사선방어학회 2015 대한방사선방어학회 학술발표회 논문요약집 Vol.2015 No.10

특집/양성자치료

김대용,박성용 대한의사협회 2008 대한의사협회지 Vol.51 No.7

Proton is quite different from x-ray in terms of energy emission. As it enters a cancer patient’s body through skin and tissue, it releases a relatively low dose of energy before it reaches the target. It, however, hits the targeted tumor by depositing the biggest dose of energy on it, then suddenly stopping its activity afterwards. The point where the highest energy is released is called as the Bragg peak. The proton beam has many advantages over the conventional x-ray beam because the proton beam radiates primarily the tumor site, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue and organs totally unharmed or relatively less damaged. Thus, the patients can enjoy much more enhanced quality-of-life during and after the treatment as well as have a high probability to be cured from their diseases.