Evaluation of nuclear models in fast Monte Carlo simulations of proton therapy treatments

Details

Supervisors

Lee, John Aldo ; Ciccarelli, Maureen

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil biomédical, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Proton therapy is an advanced cancer treatment technique that offers significant advantages over conventional radiation therapy methods. Unlike the photons used in conventional radiotherapy, proton therapy relies on the use of charged particles called protons. This approach exploits their unique characteristic to deposit their energy with increased precision in targeted tissues, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. To predict the behavior of the proton beam, Monte Carlo methods use random sampling to simulate path of the protons, and all their interactions with matter. Among the possible interactions, those with atomic nuclei of the target can lead to spallation reaction. These reactions are responsible of a diminution of the primary fluence and of the production of secondary particles. Different models are implemented in order to predict result of this situation. However, the literature does not agree on which model is the most effective, and it generally varies significantly depending on numerous parameters, whether they are physical or even computational. In this context, this master thesis aims to evaluate the different models available on Gate, a Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. This will be done by comparing energy deposition of experimental data with simulations, and by comparing energy spectrum of the particles emitted with ICRU63 report data.