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Monte Carlo modeling and validation of a proton treatment nozzle by using the Geant4 toolkit

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Abstract

Modern commercial treatment planning systems for proton therapy use the pencil beam algorithm for calculating the absorbed dose. Although it is acceptable for clinical radiation treatment, the accuracy of this method is limited. Alternatively, the Monte Carlo method, which is relatively accurate in dose calculations, has been applied recently to proton therapy. To reduce the remaining uncertainty in proton therapy dose calculations, in the present study, we employed Monte Carlo simulations and the Geant4 simulation toolkit to develop a model for a of a proton treatment nozzle. The results from a Geant4-based medical application of the proton treatment nozzle were compared to the measured data. Simulations of the percentage depth dose profiles showed very good agreement within 1 mm in distal range and 3 mm in modulated width. Moreover, the lateral dose profiles showed good agreement within 3% in the central region of the field and within 10% in the penumbra regions. In this work, we proved that the Geant4 Monte Carlo model of a proton treatment nozzle could be used to the calculate proton dose distributions accurately.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 137-701, Korea

    Dae-Hyun Kim & Young Nam Kang

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 137-701, Korea

    Dae-Hyun Kim & Tae-Suk Suh

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, 1600 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA, 94143-1708, USA

    Jungwook Shin

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Myongji Hospital, Kwandong University, College of Medicine, Goyang, 412-270, Korea

    Jong Won Kim

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, CHA Bundang Medical Cente, CHA University, Seongnam, 463-712, Korea

    Seung Hoon Yoo

  6. Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, 410-769, Korea

    Seyjoon Park, Sang Hoon Lee, Sungkoo Cho, Dongho Shin, Dae Yong Kim & Se Byeong Lee

Authors
  1. Dae-Hyun Kim
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  2. Young Nam Kang
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  3. Tae-Suk Suh
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  4. Jungwook Shin
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  5. Jong Won Kim
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  7. Seyjoon Park
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  8. Sang Hoon Lee
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  9. Sungkoo Cho
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  10. Dongho Shin
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  11. Dae Yong Kim
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  12. Se Byeong Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Se Byeong Lee.

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Kim, DH., Kang, Y.N., Suh, TS. et al. Monte Carlo modeling and validation of a proton treatment nozzle by using the Geant4 toolkit. Journal of the Korean Physical Society 61, 1125–1130 (2012). https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.61.1125

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.61.1125

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