Proton Beam Range and Charge Verification Using Multilayer Faraday Collector.

PURPOSE

A daily quality assurance (QA) check in proton therapy is ensuring that the range of each proton beam energy in water is accurate to 1 mm. This is important for ensuring that the tumor is adequately irradiated while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. It is also important to verify the total charge collected against the beam model. This work proposes a time-efficient method for verifying the range and total charge of proton beams at different energies using a multilayer Faraday collector (MLFC).

METHODS

We used an MLFC-128-250 MeV comprising 128 layers of thin copper foils separated by thin insulating Kapton layers. Protons passing through the collector induce a charge on the metallic foils, which is integrated and measured by a multichannel electrometer. The charge deposition on the foils provides information about the beam range.

RESULTS

Our results show that the proton beam range obtained using MLFC correlates closely with the range obtained from commissioning water tank measurements for all proton energies. Upon applying a range calibration factor, the maximum deviation is 0.4 g/cm. The MLFC range showed no dependence on the number of monitor units and the source-to-surface distance. Range measurements collected over multiple weeks exhibited stability. The total charge collected agrees closely with the theoretical charge from the treatment planning system beam model for low- and mid-range energies.

CONCLUSIONS

We have calibrated and commissioned the use of the MLFC to easily verify range and total charge of proton beams. This tool will improve the workflow efficiency of the proton QA.