LET measurements and simulations at Clatterbridge published in the Journal of Instrumentation
Former QUASAR Group member Jacinta Yap and fellow OMA Network member Navrit Bal, together with collaborators from the UK and Czech Republic, have just published an article in the Journal of Instrumentation about their beam transport and simulation studies at the Clatterbridge ocular proton therapy beamline.
The paper, titled "LET measurements and simulation modelling of the charged particle field for the Clatterbridge ocular proton therapy beamline," reports the results of experimental measurements and simulations of the linear energy transfer (LET) of the 60 MeV ocular proton therapy beamline at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (UK) using the miniaturised MiniPIX-Timepix detector.
The MiniPIX detector enabled a wide-range detection of the deposited energy, position and direction of single particles. In addition, a realistic end-to-end model of the facility was developed in the Monte Carlo code TOPAS (TOol for PArticle Simulation) and was used to simulate the experimental conditions.
Top: 3D rendering of the treatment line at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Bottom: Clatterbridge Cancer Centre treatment beamline model visualised in TOPAS. (CC BY 4.0)
The values for the LET determined in the simulations showed general agreement with the experimental data, supporting the applicability of the TOPAS Clatterbridge Cancer Centre model.
This comprehensive study is the result of the research that both fellows carried out during their PhDs in the OMA project.
Full reference:
LET measurements and simulation modelling of the charged particle field for the Clatterbridge ocular proton therapy beamline
Jacinta S.L. Yap, Navrit J.S. Bal, Mark D. Brooke, Cristina Oancea, Carlos Granja, Andrzej Kacperek, Simon Jolly, Frank Van den Heuvel, Jason L. Parsons and Carsten P. Welsch
Journal of Instrumentation 20, P10008 (2025)