Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy MODERN PRACTICES IN RADIATION THERAPY Edited by Gopishankar Natanasabapathi Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy Edited by Gopishankar Natanasabapathi Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Iva Simcic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published March, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy, Edited by Gopishankar Natanasabapathi p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0427-8 Contents Preface IX Part 1 External Beam RT and New Practices 1 Chapter 1 Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Set-Up Error Correction Using Internal Markers and Its Association with the Patient’s Body Mass Index 3 Chi Lin, Shifeng Chen and Michael J. Baine Chapter 2 STAT RAD: A Potential Real-Time Radiation Therapy Workflow 23 David Wilson, Ke Sheng, Wensha Yang, Ryan Jones, Neal Dunlap and Paul Read Chapter 3 Segmentation Techniques of Anatomical Structures with Application in Radiotherapy Treatment Planning 41 S. Zimeras Chapter 4 Involved-Field Radiation Therapy (IF-RT) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) 59 Tomoki Kimura Part 2 Particle Therapy 67 Chapter 5 Scanned Ion Beam Therapy of Moving Targets with Beam Tracking 69 Nami Saito and Christoph Bert Chapter 6 Neutron Influence in Charged Particle Therapy 85 Su Youwu, Li Wuyuan, Xu Junkui, Mao Wang and Li Zongqiang Chapter 7 The Stopping Power of Matter for Positive Ions 113 Helmut Paul VI Contents Part 3 Brachytherapy and Intraoperative Radiation Treatments 133 Chapter 8 Prostate Seed Brachytherapy – Methods to Improve Implant Characteristics 135 Bruce Libby, Matthew D. Orton, Haidy Lee, Mark E. Smolkin, Stanley H. Benedict and Bernard F. Schneider Chapter 9 Intra-Operative Radiotherapy with Electron Beam 145 Ernesto Lamanna, Alessandro Gallo, Filippo Russo, Rosa Brancaccio, Antonella Soriani and Lidia Strigari Chapter 10 Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Early Breast Cancer 169 Masataka Sawaki Part 4 Scope of Radiation Therapy for Specific Diseases 179 Chapter 11 Enhancing Therapeutic Radiation Responses in Multiple Myeloma 181 Kelley Salem and Apollina Goel Chapter 12 Radiation Therapy and Skin Cancer 207 Jonathan D. Tward, Christopher J. Anker, David K. Gaffney and Glen M. Bowen Part 5 Radiation Induced Effects and Overcoming Strategies 247 Chapter 13 Critical Normal Tissue and Radiation Injury: The Stomach 249 Mineur Laurent, Jaegle Enric, Pourel Nicolas and Garcia Robin Chapter 14 The Cytoprotective Effect of Amifostine Against Radiation Induced Toxicity 257 Vassilis E. Kouloulias and John R. Kouvaris Chapter 15 Abscopal Effect of Radiation Therapy: Current Concepts and Future Applications 275 Kenshiro Shiraishi Part 6 Emerging Dosimeters and New QA Practices 189 Chapter 16 Quality Assurance (QA) for Kilovoltage Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) 291 Joerg Lehmann and Stanley Skubic Contents VII Chapter 17 Polymer Gel Dosimetry for Radiation Therapy 309 Senthil Kumar Dhiviyaraj Kalaiselven and James Jebaseelan Samuel Emmanvel Rajan Chapter 18 Digital Filtering Techniques to Reduce Image Noise and Improve Dose Resolution in X-Ray CT Based Normoxic Gel Dosimetry 327 N. Gopishankar, S. Vivekanandhan, A. Jirasek, S. S. Kale, G. K. Rath Sanjay Thulkar, V. Subramani, S. Senthil Kumaran and R. K. Bisht Part 7 Enhancing Patient Care in RT 339 Chapter 19 Information and Support for Patients Throughout the Radiation Therapy Treatment Pathway 341 Michelle Leech and Mary Coffey Preface Cherish the help of men of skill, Who ward and safe-guard you from ill. Thiruvalluvar (An Indian Poet) Cancer is a dreadful disease that confiscates million of people’s life every year. It has created trepidation in the human minds for significant amount of time. General perception about cancer is it often leads to death. A large number of cancer patients today can expect to recover from this increasingly treatable illness. This achievement is due to significant advances over the last 50 years in the technology for treating cancer with radiation. While radiation therapy technology has progressed considerably in the last half-century, the basic goal of such treatment is unchanged: To target and kill cancer cells while exposing the surrounding healthy tissue to as little as possible. Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA either directly or indirectly by creating free radicals within the cells that can in turn damage the DNA. Radiation may be delivered by a higher energy radiation generating equipments to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. Does radiation therapy kill only cancer cells? The answer is no. It can also damage normal cells leading to side effects as well. How far has radiation therapy technology progressed and how is the future of radiation therapy. Does this treatment modality for cancer have any role in treating tumors which usually prefer other treatments? All answers for these questions are found in this book entitled “Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy”. This book contains 19 exceptional chapters contributed by renowned world-class radiotherapy professionals and researchers who have overwhelming knowledge in this field. To make this more interesting, all the chapters were further grouped into sections so that the readers could pursue their specific subjects of interest in radiation treatment. Section I entitled “External Beam RT and New Practices” brings together chapters related to external beam radiotherapy which is defined as the methodology for treating tumors with radiation generation equipments like linear accelerators, cobalt units, etc. In recent times a remarkable advancement has happened in this treatment technique. This section groups chapters discussing relatively new type of external beam radiation therapy delivery system such as Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy X Preface (SBRT), Involved-Field Radiation Therapy (IF-RT), a rapid clinical work flow STAT RAD using tomotherapy system and in addition it discusses about segmentation techniques of anatomical structures for planning in External beam RT which is also useful in Brachytherapy planning as well. Section II entitled “Particle Therapy” has blended chapters pertinent to treatment modalities such as ion beam therapy. Main advantage of this technique is that it provides supreme dose conformity. Chapter 5 discusses about beam tracking system for moving targets treatment using ion beam therapy. Chapter 6 is about influence of neutron in charged particle therapy. Chapter 7 enumerates stopping power data which is determines the characteristics of ion beam therapy. Section III entitled “Brachytherapy and Intraoperative Radiation Treatments” has unified chapters related to delivery of radiation locally to the tumor with rapid dose fall-off in the surrounding normal tissue. New technical developments in brachytherapy such as transperineal seed implantation and Intra-operative radiotherapy, is discussed in this section. Section IV entitled “Scope of Radiation Therapy for Specific Diseases” contains two chapters; first one reveals the recent advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) such as targeted radiotherapy. Second chapter of this section mentions about underutilized radiation therapy modality for skin cancer which could be effective treatment for this disease if proper communication is established between the dermatologist’s and radiation oncologist’s. Section V entitled “Radiation Induced Effects and Overcoming Strategies“ congregates chapters discussing complications associated with radiation treatment and methods to protect normal tissue from radiation damage. There is one chapter in this section which reveals facts about anti-tumor effect at a non irradiated location in patients. Section VI entitled ”Emerging Dosimeters and New QA Practices” focuses on topics which are essential to determine and enhance the quality of the radiation equipment for patient treatment. With the introduction of new technology into the field of radiation oncology, a need arises to have a quality assurance program that is customized to these newer treatment
Recommended publications
  • Generation and Modeling of Radiation for Clinical and Research Applications Bishwambhar Sengupta Clemson University, [email protected]
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 8-2019 Generation and Modeling of Radiation for Clinical and Research Applications Bishwambhar Sengupta Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Sengupta, Bishwambhar, "Generation and Modeling of Radiation for Clinical and Research Applications" (2019). All Dissertations. 2440. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2440 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Generation and Modeling of Radiation for Clinical and Research Applications A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Physics by Bishwambhar Sengupta August 2019 Accepted by: Dr. Endre Takacs, Committee Chair Dr. Delphine Dean Dr. Brian Dean Dr. Jian He Abstract Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in todays world and also accounts for a major share of healthcare expenses for any country. Our research goals are to help create a device which has improved accuracy and treatment times that will alleviate the resource strain currently faced by the healthcare community and to shed some light on the elementary nature of the interaction between ionizing radiation and living cells. Stereotactic radiosurgery is the treatment of cases in intracranial locations using external radiation beams. There are several devices that can perform radiosurgery, but the Rotating Gamma System is relatively new and has not been extensively studied.
    [Show full text]
  • Interactions of Particles and Matter, with a View to Tracking
    Interactions of particles and matter, with a view to tracking 2nd EIROforum School on Instrumentation, May 15th-22nd 2011, EPN science campus, Grenoble The importance of interactions Particles can interact with matter they traverse according to their nature and energy, and according to the properties of the matter being traversed. These interactions blur the trajectory and cause energy loss, but ... they are the basis for tracking and identification. In this presentation, we review the mechanisms that are relevant to present particle physics experiments. Particles we©re interested in Common, long-lived particles that high- energy experiments track and identify: gauge bosons: leptons: e±, µ±, , e µ hadrons: p, n, , K, ... Most are subject to electro-magnetic interactions (), some interact through the strong force (gluons), a few only feel the weak force (W±, Z). No gravity ... [Drawings: Mark Alford (0- mesons, ½+ baryons), ETHZ (bottom)] Energies that concern us The physics of current experiments may play in the TeV-EeV energy range. But detection relies on processes from the particle energy down to the eV ! [Top: LHC, 3.5+3.5 TeV, Bottom: Auger Observatory, > EeV] Interactions of neutrinos Neutrino interactions with matter are exceedingly rare. Interactions coming in 2 kinds: W± exchange: ªcharged currentº Z exchange: ªneutral currentº Typical reactions: - e n p e + e p n e ( discovery: Reines and Cowan, 1956) - + ± (in the vicinity of a nucleus, W or Z) - - e e (neutral current discovery, 1973) First neutral current event First neutral current event, seen in + the Gargamelle bubble chamber: e - - + - e e e e - One candidate found in 360,000 e anti-neutrino events.
    [Show full text]
  • Radium-Archiv
    246 Archivbehelf: Institut für Radiumforschung (XIII. Nachlaß Berta Karlik) XIII. NACHLASS „BERTA KARLIK“ Korrespondenzen Karton Fiche Aaserud, Finn – Kopenhagen; 1983 (1 Brief) 39 568 Abed-Navandy, Mohamed; 1967 (Empfehlungsschreiben) 39 568 Adler, Elfriede – Wien; 1955 (1 Brief) 39 568 Adloff, J. P., s. Getoff, Nikola Agathangelidis, A. – Thessaloniki; 1966 (2 Briefe) 39 568 Ageno, Mario, s. Rom, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Ahlften, Walter von – Hamburg; 1953, 1954 (2 Briefe) 39 568 Aiginger, Hans (Wien, Österreichische Hochschule, Atominstitut); 1972 (2 39 568 Briefe). Intus: Bericht an das Ministerium „Stellungnahme zum Projekt einer österreichischen Beteiligung an den Aktivitäten des SIN-Schweize- rischen Institutes für Nuklearforschung“ als Beilage Alaga, G., s. Paul, Helmut, u. Urban, Paul Albrecht, Wolfgang – Blindenmarkt; 1954, 1955 (2 Briefe) 39 568 Aldermaston/Berkshire, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, 39 568 Atomic Weapons Research Establishment; 1959 (2 Briefe u. Empfangs- bestätigungen). Siehe auch Curran, S.C. Alexandria, University of Alexandria, Dean of the Faculty of Science; 1956 39 568 (1 Brief) Alm am Steinernen Meer, „Erholungsheim Gasteg-Alm“ u. Verein katho- 39 568 lischer Lehrerinnen für Österreich; 1961 (2 Briefe) Amersham/Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, The Radiochemical Centre, s. Wien, Radio-Austria A.G.; Them. Korr., Wien, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Radiumforschung, Isoto- penstelle, u. Them. Korr., Tritium Amon, Otto – Melk a. d. Donau; 1964 (1 Brief) 39 568 Archivbehelf: Institut für Radiumforschung (XIII. Nachlaß Berta Karlik) 247 Korrespondenzen Karton Fiche Amsterdam, Institut voor Kernphysisch Onderzoek, s. Aten, A. H. W. Jun; Bak- ker, C. J.; Wapstra, Aaldert H. Amsterdam, Joint Commission on Standard, s. Sizoo, G.
    [Show full text]
  • Comments on Recent Measurements of the Stopping Power of Liquid Water
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 299 (2013) 51–53 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb Comments on recent measurements of the stopping power of liquid water ⇑ Rafael Garcia-Molina a, Isabel Abril b, Pablo de Vera b, Helmut Paul c, a Departamento de Física – Centro de Investigación en Óptica y Nanofísica, Universidad de Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain b Departament de Física, Universitat d’Alacant, E-03080 Alacant, Spain c Atomic and Surface Science, University of Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A 4040 Linz, Austria article info abstract Article history: Two experiments about the stopping power of liquid water for proton beams have recently been Received 16 November 2012 reported. The one by the Jyväskylä group (4.8–15.2 MeV) agrees nicely with the Bethe theory and other Received in revised form 2 January 2013 recent theoretical calculations, whereas the other one by the Kyoto group (0.3–2 MeV) appears to be Available online 8 February 2013 about 10% low. In this comment we show that the Kyoto energy spectra can be interpreted differently, so that the deduced stopping power also agrees with the Bethe stopping power. Keywords: Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Stopping power Stopping force Energy loss of particles Liquid water Protons For medical physics, liquid water is one of the most important where S is the linear stopping power; Z2, A2 and q are the atomic substances. There are two recent experimental stopping power re- number, mass number and density of the target; Z1 and v are the sults of liquid water for swift protons: measurements by Shimizu atomic number and velocity of the projectile; b = v/c where c is et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Measurement of the Ni Directional Correlation with a Tunnel Diode
    . A MEASIBEMENT OP THE Ni^*^ DIE3CTI0NAL COHSELATION WITH A TUMT'RT. DIODE COUTGIDEHGE CIECUIT by GARY EDWIN CT.ARK « B. A., Park College, 1961 A MASTER'S THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the * requirements for the degree MASTER OP SCIENCE Department of Physics KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas. 1966 Approved by; • Major Professor n C91 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1 1. Purpose of the Paper 1 2. Review of Literature 2 II. TUNNEL DIODE COINCIDENCE CIRCUIT ........ 3 1. Properties of the Tunnel Diode 3 2. The Univibrator Circuit 5 5. Detection of Coincident Pulses 9 4. Zero Crossover 10 5. Noise and Feedthrough ......... 11 6. Slewing 12 7. Effect of Temperature lA- 8. Jitter 14 9. Nanosecond Systems, Inc., Equipment . • 14 III. THEORY OP DIRECTIONAL CORRELATION 1? 1. The Directional Correlation Function . 17 2. The Ni60 Cascade 20 $. Analysis of Chance Rates 21 4. Experimental Considerations 24 5. Correction for Finite-Size Detectors . 27 IV. MEASUREMENT OF THE Ni^^ DIRECTIONAL CORRELATION 51 1. Apparatus 51 2. Determination of Resolving Times .... 52 5. Determination of Chance Rates 55 4. Determination of Correction for Finite- Size Detectors 54 5. Reduction of Error at 155° ....... 55 6. Analysis of Ni«^ Correlation Data ... 56 V. CONCLUSION , 41 VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 42 VII. PLATES. 45 VIII . REFERENCES 75 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Purpose of the Paper In nuclear spectrometry scintillation materials and photo- multiplier tubes are frequently used which produce electrical pulses with two useful parameters, pulse height and time of occurrence. In this paper we are concerned with the second parameter and in particular a method of determining whether or not two pulses occur coincidently within a few nanoseconds (10"-' seconds) or less.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stopping Power of Matter for Positive Ions
    7 The Stopping Power of Matter for Positive Ions Helmut Paul Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria 1. Introduction When a fast positive ion travels through matter, it excites and ionizes atomic electrons, losing energy. For a quantitative understanding of radiotherapy by means of positive ions, it is necessary to know the energy loss per unit distance of matter transversed, S, which is alternatively called stopping power or stopping force or linear energy transfer (LET)1. To avoid a trivial dependence of the linear stopping power S upon the density ρ, one often uses the mass stopping power S/ρ instead. In the following, we discuss experimental and theoretical stopping power data. Using our large collection2 (Paul, 2011a) of experimental stopping data for ions from 1H to 92U, the reliability of various stopping theories and stopping tables is estimated by comparing them statistically to these data. We consider here only the electronic (not the “nuclear”) energy loss of ions in charge equilibrium. We treat both gaseous and condensed targets (i.e., targets gaseous or condensed at normal temperature and pressure), and we treat them separately. Solid targets are assumed to be amorphous or polycrystalline. We treat elements, compounds and mixtures. 1.1 Tables and programs The tables and computer programs used here are listed in Table 1. Program PASS (on which the tables in ICRU Report 73 are based) and the program by Lindhard and Sørensen (1996) (LS) are based on first principles only. The same is true for CasP (Grande & Schiwietz, 2004) and HISTOP (Arista & Lifshitz, 2004), except that they use empirical values (Schiwietz& Grande, 2001) for the ionic charge.
    [Show full text]
  • Particle Radiation in Microelectronics
    DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ RESEARCH REPORT No. 5/2012 Particle radiation in microelectronics BY ARTO JAVANAINEN Academic Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to be presented, by permission of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science of the University of Jyväskylä, for public examination in Auditorium FYS 1 of the University of Jyväskylä on June 20, 2012 at 12 o’clock noon Jyväskylä, Finland June 2012 To our beloved daughters Iida and Edla “Mielikuvitus on tietoa tärkeämpää” “Imagination is more important than knowledge” — Albert Einstein Preface The work reported in this thesis has been carried out over the years 2005–2012 at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä. It has been a great pleasure to work in the RADEF group all these years. Most of all, I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Ari Virtanen for his endless patience and all the fruitful conversations we have had about physics and beyond. Very special thanks go to Mr. Reno Harboe-Sørensen from the European Space Research and Technology Centre of the European Space Agency. Reno’s extraordinary experience in the field of radiation effects and his invaluable guidance have been the main driving forces for this work and the whole existence of RADEF facility. Dr. Heikki Kettunen and Mr. Mikko Rossi deserve my thanks for all the help they have offered me over the years in various experiments. Also I have to thank Dr. Iiro Riihimäki, whose impact on this work cannot be ignored. I want to thank Dr. Tomek Malkiewicz, Dr. Jarek Perkowski and Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Cern and the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceeul Uses of Atomic Energy
    CERN/285 25 September, 1958 ORGANISATION EUROPEENNE POUR LA RECHERCHE NUCLEAIRE EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH ELEVENTH SESSION OF COUNCIL Geneve. - 9 October, 1958 C E R N AND THE SECOND UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE PEACEFUL USES OF ATOMIC ENERGY September 1-15, 1958 OCR Output 5592/G CERN/285 CERN AND THE SECOND UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE PEACEEUL USES OF ATOMIC ENERGY September 1-15, 1958 CERN at the Scientific Exhibition During the two weeks of activities of the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, CERN was able greatly to benefit by the Conference, especially by showing the CERN laborato ries to a great number of scientists and other people and giving information on the international character of CERN. This was brought about originally by a suggestion put forward by Professor C.J. Bakker, Director-General, to the Conference Secretary-General, Dr. Sigvard Eklund; Professor Bakker namely proposed that regular visits to CERN by the official delegates to the Conference be organized. Dr. Eklund in turn then invited CERN to participate in the Scientific Exhibition at the Palais des Nations, though this would have to be limited to a static, i.e. non-functional exhibit under the exhibition regulations, since CERN was not officially participating in the Conference. Accordingly space was granted and a modest stand representing the activities of CERN was set up under the direction of the Public Information Office in the pavillon erected for the Scientific Exhibition. This included a 1:5OO scale model of the CERN research centre as it will appear under the present programme when comple ted in 1960.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Singly-Charged Particles in Microelectronics Reliability
    THE ROLE OF SINGLY-CHARGED PARTICLES IN MICROELECTRONICS RELIABILITY By Brian Sierawski Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Electrical Engineering December, 2011 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Ronald D. Schrimpf Robert A. Reed Marcus H. Mendenhall Robert A. Weller James H. Adams c Copyright by Brian Sierawski 2012 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my family in appreciation of their support and patience. To my wife Heather, thank you for your sacrifice during my academic pursuits. Your important and sometimes unseen role in my accomplishments has been substantial. To my children Carter and Jenna, I hope that my efforts inspire you to use your abilities to the fullest. To my parents David and Patricia and my brother Jeff, thank you for the beginnings of what has turned out to be a rewarding career in electronics. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the individuals and agencies that have made this re- search possible. My committee members have been valuable resources in guiding the data collection, simulation, and analysis performed in this dissertation. My cowork- ers at the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics including Kevin Warren and Michael Alles have also provided valuable conversations. Further, Jonathan Pellish and Ken LaBel with the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and have provided much appreciated support to pursue this topic. I would like to thank our corporate partners for their contributions namely Robert Baumann at Texas Instruments, Shi-Jie Wen and Richard Wong at Cisco Systems, and Nelson Tam at Marvell Semiconductor.
    [Show full text]
  • Simulating Gasbased Detectors
    Simulating gas-based detectors Rob Veenhof RD51 collaboration and Uludağ university, Bursa, Turkey Operating principles: The charged particle or photon we want to observe passes through the gas and ionises molecules; the electric field in the gas volume transports the ionisation electrons and ions; electrons multiply in high field areas; moving electrons and ions induce currents in electrodes. Ionisation [Four Curies: Pierre, Marie, Irène and Pierre©s father, around 1904 at the BIPM] 1896: Ionisation by radiation Early in the study of radioactivity, ionisation by radiation was recognised: º Becquerel discovered in 1896 the special radiating properties of uranium and its compounds. Uranium emits very weak rays which leave an impression on photographic plates. These rays pass through black paper and metals; they make air electrically conductive. ª [Pierre Curie, Nobel Lecture, June 6th 1905] ªA sphere of charged uranium, which discharges spontaneously in the air under the influence of its own radiation, retains its charge in an absolute vacuum. The ex- changes of electrical charges that take place between charged bodies under the in- fluence of the new rays, are the result of a special conductivity imparted to the sur- rounding gases, a conductivity that persists for several moments after the radiation has ceased to act.º [Antoine Henri Becquerel, Nobel Lecture, December 11th 1903] º Becquerel discovered in 1896 the special radiating properties of uranium and its compounds. Uranium emits very weak rays which leave an impression on photographic plates. These rays pass through black paper and metals; they make air electrically conductive. ª Christian Mùller (1904-1980) 1930-1933: EM energy loss 1930 - Hans Bethe, non-relativistic quantum calculation: Z: ªhidden in Nº (2): only for electrons R: Rydberg constant 1931 - Christian Mùller solves relativistic e- scattering.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction in Matter Subjected to Any Ionizing Radiation, Energetic Particles Occur Invariably
    Basic Physical and Chemical Information Needed for Development of Monte Carlo Codes Mitio Inokutifr) ^§ ® 3 \^j Abstract It is important to view track structure analysis as an application of a branch of theoretical physics (i.e., statistical physics and physical kinetics in the language of the Landau school). Monte Carlo methods and transport equation methods represent two major approaches. In either approach, it is of paramount importance to use as input the cross section data that best represent the elementary microscopic processes. Transport analysis based on unrealistic input data must be viewed wish caution, because results can be misleading. Work toward establishing the cross section data, which demands a wide scope of knowledge and expertise, is being carried out through extensive international collaborations. In track structure analysis for radiation biology, the need for cross sections for the interactions of electrons with DNA and neighboring protein molecules seems to be especially urgent. Finally, it is important to interpret results of Monte Carlo calculations fully and adequately. To this end, workers should document input data as thoroughly as possible and report their results in detail in many ways. Workers in analytic transport theory are then likely to contribute to the interpretation of the results. Introduction In matter subjected to any ionizing radiation, energetic particles occur invariably. These include primary particles, charged or uncharged, and secondary particles such as electrons ejected in ionization processes. In track structure analysis, spatial distributions of collision processes of all the energetic particles and their consequences for molecules in matter are studied. The analysis amounts to an application of a branch of theoretical physics called statistical physics1 (or physical kinetics2 by the Landau school).
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    The Wheat from the Chaff: Separation of Species in the Exhaust of the Princeton Field Reversed Configuration Fusion Reactor Joseph Abbate, Meagan Yeh Advisors: Samuel Cohen, Bruce Koel The Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC) concept relies on low-neutron production by D-3He fusion to enable small, safe, nuclear-fusion reactors to be built, an approach requiring rapid and efficient extraction of fusion ash and energy produced by D-3He fusion reactions. The ash exhaust stream would contain energetic (0.1-1 MeV) protons, T, 3He, and 4He ions and nearly 1e5 cooler (ca. 100 eV) D ions. The T extracted from the reactor would be a valuable fusion product in that it decays into 3He, which could be used as fuel. If the T were not extracted it would be troublesome because of neutron production by the D-T reaction. This paper discusses methods to separate the various species in a PFRC reactor’s exhaust stream. First, we discuss using the electric and magnetic fields of magnetohydrodynamic power generation, direct energy conversion, and curved magnetic fields as plausible frameworks for separating the energetic from the cool components. Then we discuss exploiting material properties such as reflection, sputtering threshold, and permeability, to allow separation of the deuterons from the fast fusion products. In either case, the fast fusion products still need to be separated by species. In our final section, we detail methods of separating the fast fusion products from one another through refrigeration, including a cost analysis. Introduction Nuclear fusion reactors, once successfully operated, have the potential to supply essentially limitless energy.
    [Show full text]