Bonn 2020 – scientific programme

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ST: Fachverband Strahlen- und Medizinphysik

ST 7: Radiation Therapy and Detector Physics

ST 7.4: Talk

Thursday, April 2, 2020, 14:45–15:00, H-HS II

Shielding Design for a Small Animal Proton Irradiation Platform — •Francesca Neri¹, Tim Binder¹, Jonathan Bortfeldt¹, Daniel Köpl², Neeraj Kurichiyanil¹, Marco Schippers³, Peter G. Thirolf¹, Matthias Würl¹, Indra Yohannes², Marco Pinto¹, and Katia Parodi¹ — ¹Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany — ²Rinecker Proton Therapy Center, Munich, Germany — ³Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

The SIRMIO project aims to realize an innovative, portable system for precision image-guided treatment, suitable for installation at existing proton therapy facilities and able to degrade and refocus clinical beams for adaptation to small animal irradiation. The about 1 m long beamline design is adaptable to deliver proton beams with energies from 20 to 50 MeV and includes permanent quadrupole magnets, dynamic collimators and a degrader. The transport of a clinical proton beam implies the activation of certain beamline elements, necessitating the employment of proper shielding to protect the users and to minimize the exposure of small animals to secondary radiation. Gamma spectroscopy experiments using material samples of the beamline elements have been carried out for an assessment of the shielding needs. The results show that gamma emission up to about 4 MeV is observed, primarily from the collimator material. The time-dependent energy spectra, subsequent radionuclide identification and decay analysis are used for a comprehensive validation of the simulation tools used for the shielding design of the full-scale platform. This work is supported by the European Research Council (grant agreement 725539).