EP4240481A1 - Système de surveillance de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant - Google Patents

Système de surveillance de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant

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Publication number
EP4240481A1
EP4240481A1 EP21890029.8A EP21890029A EP4240481A1 EP 4240481 A1 EP4240481 A1 EP 4240481A1 EP 21890029 A EP21890029 A EP 21890029A EP 4240481 A1 EP4240481 A1 EP 4240481A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
scintillator
ionizing
camera
radiation beam
radiation
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP21890029.8A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP4240481A4 (fr
Inventor
Peter S. Friedman
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
INTEGRATED SENSORS LLC
Original Assignee
INTEGRATED SENSORS LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US17/091,310 external-priority patent/US11027152B1/en
Application filed by INTEGRATED SENSORS LLC filed Critical INTEGRATED SENSORS LLC
Publication of EP4240481A1 publication Critical patent/EP4240481A1/fr
Publication of EP4240481A4 publication Critical patent/EP4240481A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
    • G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
    • G01T1/36—Measuring spectral distribution of X-rays or of nuclear radiation spectrometry
    • G01T1/40—Stabilisation of spectrometers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
    • G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
    • G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
    • G01T1/20—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors
    • G01T1/208—Circuits specially adapted for scintillation detectors, e.g. for the photo-multiplier section
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/10—X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy
    • A61N2005/1085—X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy characterised by the type of particles applied to the patient
    • A61N2005/1087—Ions; Protons
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/10—X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy
    • A61N5/1048—Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
    • A61N5/1071—Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods for verifying the dose delivered by the treatment plan

Definitions

  • One embodiment is directed generally to radiation beam monitoring, and in particular to monitoring ionizing beams of particle or photon radiation while having minimal impact on the quality of the radiation beam itself.
  • EBRT external beam radiation therapy
  • an accelerator is used to generate and precisely deliver relatively high-energy particle or photon beams from outside the body into the tumor.
  • ionizing particles such as protons, ions, electrons, etc.
  • ionizing photons such as relatively low-MeV gamma rays or X-rays. Ionizing photons are the more common type of radiation employed for EBRT.
  • particle beam radiation therapy in addition to protons, carbon ions and electrons, other types of particle beams used or being investigated include helium, oxygen, neon and argon ions, as well as low- energy neutrons (e.g., slow to thermal neutrons).
  • Low-energy neutrons are used, for example, in boron neutron capture therapy (“BNCT”) and gadolinium neutron capture therapy (“Gd-NCT”).
  • IMRT intensity modulated radiation therapy
  • IMPT intensity modulated proton therapy
  • 3D-CRT three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy
  • IGRT image guided radiation therapy
  • VMAT volumetric modulated arc therapy
  • SRS stereotactic radiosurgery
  • SBRT stereotactic body radiation therapy
  • FSRT spatially fractionated grid radiation therapy
  • FLASH ultrahigh dose-rate flash therapy
  • IORT intraoperative radiation therapy
  • BNCT boron neutron capture therapy
  • Gd-NCT gadolinium neutron capture therapy
  • Embodiments are directed generally to an ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system that includes an enclosure structure with at least one ultra-thin window to an incident ionizing-radiation beam.
  • Embodiments further include at least one scintillator within the enclosure structure that is substantially directly in an incident ionizing-radiation beam path and at least one ultraviolet illumination source within the enclosure structure and facing the scintillator.
  • At least one pixelated imaging system within the enclosure structure is located out of an incident ionizing- radiation beam path and includes at least one pixelated photosensor device optically coupled to an imaging lens.
  • Fig. 1 is a radiation damage recovery plot as a function of time (in hours) for 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 2 is a plot of the average pixel signal decrease as a function of time for a 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 3 is a plot of the fluorescence light loss and recovery in air as a function of time for different thicknesses of BoPEN film in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates an example of the Spread-Out Bragg Peak (“SOBP”) for an X-ray photon vs. proton beam in accordance to embodiments.
  • SOBP Spread-Out Bragg Peak
  • Fig. 5 is a plot showing the exponential fluorescence decrease as recorded by the average camera pixel signal in accordance to embodiments.
  • Figs. 6A-B illustrate two images of a 10 nA, 3.0 MeV proton beam inside a vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiment.
  • Fig. 7 is a projection of the camera field-of-view for the digital image in Fig. 6A, taken at a working distance of 326 mm in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 8A-C illustrate a system that includes a two camera, single scintillator beam monitor in a light-tight enclosure employing a rolled scintillator spool configuration in accordance to embodiments.
  • FIGs. 9A-D illustrate a system that includes a two camera, single scintillator roll film beam monitor with linear translation of the scintillator spool system in a 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 10A-C illustrate a system that includes a roll film scintillator beam monitor in a smaller 6-way-cross vacuum chamber without linear translation capability in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 11A-D illustrate a system that includes a single scintillator-frame beam monitor in 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 12A-C illustrate a system that includes a double scintillator-frame beam monitor in a 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 13A-C illustrate a system that includes a double scintillator-frame beam monitor in a 6-way-cross load-lock vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 14A-D illustrate a system that includes a two camera, two mirror, full-size single scintillator/window module beam monitor in a slim light-tight enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 15A-C illustrate a system that includes a one camera, one mirror, half-size rectangular single scintillator beam monitor in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 16A-C illustrate a system that includes a three camera version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 15A-C in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 17A-B illustrate a system that includes a four camera version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 14A-D for the full-size single scintillator-frame beam monitor in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 18A-B illustrate a system that includes a four camera, full-size double window/scintillator module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 19A-B illustrate a system that includes an eight camera, full-size double window/scintillator module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 20A-C illustrate a system that includes a four camera, single scintillator beam monitor employing a rolled scintillator spool configuration in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 21A-B illustrate a two camera, full-size single scintillator-frame beam monitor without mirrors in a light-tight box enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 22A-C illustrate a system that is a four camera version of Figs. 21A-B in accordance with embodiments.
  • FIGs. 23A-B illustrate 10 ⁇ s exposure camera images through a vacuum chamber window in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 24 illustrates a 1 ms exposure of a captured image of a ⁇ 2 mm diameter proton beam irradiating an ultra-thin 12.2 ⁇ m BoPEN film while moving back and forth in a rastered zig zag pattern at 40 mm I ms in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 25 illustrates a four plate light baffle for air circulation in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 26 is a photograph of a 25 x 25 cm rectilinear image taken at a 45° tilt angle in accordance to embodiments.
  • Figs. 27A-B illustrate the open central structure of a reduced/shortened 4” O.D. tube, 6-way-cross with 6” diameter CF-flanges modified such that the total beam entrance-to-exit length is ⁇ 5.9” in accordance to vacuum chamber embodiments.
  • Figs. 28A-C illustrate a system that includes a scintillator-frame beam monitor holding three separate scintillator films in a 6-way-cross vacuum chamber with a camera in an attached 4-way-cross open system capable of actively or passively cooling the camera in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 29A-B illustrate a system that includes a scintillator-frame beam monitor holding six separate scintillator films in a 6-way-cube vacuum chamber with a camera in an attached 4-way-cross open system capable of actively or passively cooling the camera in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 30A-C illustrate a system that includes an eight camera, full-size double window/scintillator sliding-frame module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 31 illustrates a method to avoid loss of data during the readout dead-time in a dual-scintillator multiple machine vision camera system by introducing a time-delay in the camera sensor readout sequence between the two scintillator camera systems in accordance with one embodiment.
  • Fig. 32 is a beam position, shape and intensity profile image using the same 3.1 MP camera as used in Fig. 26, photographed off an oscilloscope scintillator screen of an orbiting electron beam captured in 21 ps to minimize movement blur in accordance to embodiments.
  • Figs. 33A-B illustrate a system and method in which an ionizing- radiation beam source with two separated ultra-thin scintillator based multi-camera beam monitors can be used with a patient phantom or material cross-sectional phantom placed between them for patient treatment planning, analysis and quality assurance including 2D measurement of beam scattering, loss of beam quality/sharpness, and beam fluence as the beam penetrates the phantom for both single beam and grid separated multibeam high spatial resolution radiotherapies (RT) such as minibeam-RT and microbeam-RT in accordance to embodiments.
  • RT high spatial resolution radiotherapies
  • Embodiments are directed generally to ultra-fast transmissive (“UFT”) two-dimensional (“2D”), high resolution, ionizing particle and photon beam monitors primarily for applications based on, or related to, external beam radiation therapy (“EBRT”), including the monitoring in “real-time” of beam position and movement, intensity profile including tail, beam fluence/external dosimetry, angular divergence and patient treatment quality assurance.
  • UFT ultra-fast transmissive
  • 2D two-dimensional
  • EBRT external beam radiation therapy
  • the term “ultra-fast” refers to “real-time” on-line monitoring and data analysis of streaming images of an ionizing- radiation beam within approximately 10 ms or less per image, corresponding to a data analysis rate of approximately 100 frames per second (“fps”) or faster.
  • the streaming images can be coming in at rates of 1 ,000 to 10,000 fps (i.e., 1 ms to 0.1 ms) with the data analysis occurring concurrently.
  • transmissive and “highly transmissive” are adjectives used to describe the relatively small amount of energy that a particle or photon loses in transit through a given material or system, which will be different for an entrance or exit window as compared to the scintillator material itself as compared to the integrated beam monitor system comprising the entrance window, exit window, scintillator, and the column of air between the entrance and exit windows.
  • the relative amount of energy loss will vary greatly at different incident particle or photon energies which can vary over many orders-of-magnitude, and for different types of particles from neutrons to protons to carbon-ions, etc.
  • the term “highly transmissive” would mean losing no more than about ⁇ 0.1 % of its incident energy in transit through the UFT beam monitor system (i.e., losing ⁇ 0.2 MeV), but for the exact same system at 80 MeV “highly transmissive” would mean losing ⁇ 0.5% (i.e., losing ⁇ 0.4 MeV).
  • the term “transmissive” would mean at 210 MeV losing no more than about ⁇ 0.2% of its incident energy in transit through the UFT beam monitor system (i.e. , losing ⁇ 0.4 MeV), but for the same system at 80 MeV the term “transmissive” would mean losing ⁇ 1% (i.e., losing ⁇ 0.8 MeV).
  • the beam monitors in accordance to embodiments incorporate thin and ultra-thin scintillator materials (e.g., scintillator sheet or film material) and are capable of internal, frequent, self-calibration to compensate for a variety of factors including system non-uniform ity including camera sensor/pixel response, optical system distortions, slow degradation of the scintillator material due to radiation damage, signal drift due to temperature rise within the monitor enclosure, etc.
  • scintillator sheet or film material e.g., a scintillator sheet or film material
  • the term ”ultra-thin refers to both window (i.e., entrance and/or exit window) and scintillator materials having a thickness of ⁇ 0.05 mm, and the term “thin” refers to scintillator materials having a thickness of ⁇ 0.5 mm and thus also includes ultra-thin scintillators.
  • the integrated detector/monitor in accordance to embodiments has an intrinsic 2D position resolution in the range of ⁇ 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm, depending on the application specification requirements, and is highly transparent to the incident ionizing particle or photon beam, thereby resulting in minimal beam scatter, low to extremely low energy straggling, and minimal generation of secondary radiation.
  • Embodiments in addition to EBRT, can be used for the monitoring of low-luminosity exotic particle beams and/or high-luminosity particle beams generated by research accelerators for scientific experiments, industrial particle and photon beam monitoring for materials processing (e.g., high energy ion implantation, food and medical sterilization, cutting and welding, etc.), materials analysis, non-destructive analysis, radioisotope production, etc.
  • materials processing e.g., high energy ion implantation, food and medical sterilization, cutting and welding, etc.
  • materials analysis e.g., high energy ion implantation, food and medical sterilization, cutting and welding, etc.
  • Radioisotope production etc.
  • Beam monitors in accordance to embodiments generally do not require a controlled atmosphere or vacuum environment for proper operation, although some embodiments have been designed for operation in vacuum or controlled gaseous environments.
  • Embodiments for EBRT applications generally result in positioning the beam monitor downstream from the accelerator exit nozzle in an ambient air atmosphere.
  • other embodiments are configured to operate within the vacuum environment of the beamline pipe to optimize and/or monitor the beam shape, intensity, position and beam focus prior to reaching the beam exit/nozzle or target region.
  • Embodiments for EBRT applications downstream from the nozzle incorporate a unique folded optical configuration to achieve a thin profile to minimize encroaching upon the confined and narrow space between the beam nozzle exit and the patient.
  • the embodiments of beam monitors Due to the ultra-fast response capability of the embodiments of beam monitors, they can provide sub-millisecond and even microsecond beam analysis and feedback to the delivery system, thereby allowing corrective actions to be taken if necessary.
  • this capability can potentially improve the treatment delivery efficacy and protect the patient, especially for recent “FLASH” therapy applications.
  • this capability can provide particle time-of-flight (TOF) information in the range of 50 to 100 ⁇ s, or greater.
  • TOF particle time-of-flight
  • a scintillator including a plastic scintillator to detect ionizing radiation, coupled with an electronic photodetection device to quantitatively measure the emitted photons from the scintillator. It is also known to use a digital camera to record the light emitted from an irradiated scintillator in applications ranging from monitoring the beam shape and position of an electron beam, to using X-rays irradiating a scintillator to evaluate the quality of mechanical welds, to optimizing the beam delivery system used in proton beam therapy.
  • embodiments implement multi-camera folded optical configurations, such as 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 cameras, for advanced beam monitoring systems that provide critical performance and space-saving advantages such as extremely high spatial resolution while minimizing encroachment on the limited space existing between the EBRT exit nozzle and the patient’s body.
  • Embodiments also include configurations of relatively compact machine vision cameras with imaging sensors that can stream images live to a computer system that includes a frame grabber for real-time data processing and analysis, the use of machine vision cameras that can be programmed for application specific parameter optimization such as selection of exposure time, gray scale level (i.e.
  • Embodiments further include the use of both single and double scintillator configurations that can be integrated as part of an easy to replace foil- window/scintillator module package, and rolled scintillator-film motorized spool assemblies for automated scintillator film advancement/replacement that uses novel polymer thin film scintillator materials such as biaxially-oriented polyethylene naphthalate (“BoPEN”), biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (“BoPET”), polyethersulfone (“PES”), etc.
  • BoPEN biaxially-oriented polyethylene naphthalate
  • BoPET biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate
  • PES polyethersulfone
  • Embodiments include novel designs for quick replacement of radiation damaged scintillator film or sheet with new scintillator film or sheet without significant service downtime and recalibration time associated with the scintillator replacement process, configurations for real-time beam monitoring systems operating in a vacuum environment, configurations for beam monitoring systems operating in either a naturally circulating or controlled flow-through ambient air or special gaseous environment such as an enriched oxygen gaseous atmosphere to possibly minimize radiation damage by enhancing oxygen assisted radiation damage recovery, configurations incorporating actively cooled camera sensors for enhanced performance and reduced radiation damage of the camera sensor element, configurations incorporating the addition of internal UV sources such as UV-LEDs and internal UV detectors such as UV-photodiodes and appropriate filters such as bandpass filters to achieve internal self-calibration of system non-uniform ity and near continuous self-correction for progressive scintillator radiation damage; real-time software correction of optical system distortions, perspective distortions (e.g., keyston
  • Embodiments include configurations utilizing 3-way tees or wyes, 4- way-cross, 5-way-cross and 6-way-cross vacuum chamber configurations for beamline vacuum operation that allow the use of either two cameras, or two photomultiplier tubes (“PMT”s), or one camera and one PMT, or PMT replacements such as solid state photomultipliers (“SSPM”) including silicon photomultipliers (“SiPM”), avalanche photodiodes (“APD”), single-photon avalanche diodes (“SPAD”), etc.
  • PMT solid state photomultipliers
  • SiPM silicon photomultipliers
  • API avalanche photodiodes
  • SPAD single-photon avalanche diodes
  • Embodiments include high dynamic range (“HDR”) computational imaging and with the thinnest scintillator films have extremely low beam energy straggling with minimal generation of secondary ionizing particles and photons.
  • Embodiments achieve advantages in part by using a scintillator film material, available in continuous rolls (e.g., >1000 ft length) of about 70 cm width and greater, and thicknesses from about 1 ⁇ m to 250 ⁇ m in conjunction with other components to achieve unexpected results with regard to radiation damage resistance, photon emission, and as a thin and/or ultra-thin film scintillator.
  • Embodiments include designs to take advantage of the new thin and ultra-thin scintillator material which is highly resistant to radiation damage, while being able to minimize and possibly eliminate most problems having to do with scintillator non- uniformity and time consuming scintillator material replacement and system calibration.
  • Embodiments include an innovative folded-optics design to minimize the product profile/thickness to within about 6-14 cm, depending upon scintillator and camera size and camera angle.
  • Embodiments include an innovative automated, internal, rapid calibration system using UV-LEDs, UV-photodiodes, and UV and VIS bandpass filters, with an estimated time for system calibration of about one minute or less.
  • Embodiments include machine vision cameras that would typically stream images at frame rates from about 10 fps to 40,000 fps.
  • Embodiments discussed below include an in-line beam monitor design (e.g. Figs. 11-13) with fast, high gain photomultipliers (e.g., approaching 1 ⁇ 10 7 ), coupled with an efficient photon collection system and suitable scintillator and radiation source (e.g., highly ionized particles with an atomic number of ⁇ 10 or greater, such as Ne +10 ) capable of generating at least ⁇ 200 photoelectrons and achieving on the order of about 100 ps timing resolution, and possibly better than 50 ps timing resolution, which is critically important for time-of-flight (“TOF”) experiments.
  • TOF time-of-flight
  • Embodiments further enhance timing resolution for TOF measurements by increasing photon collection, such as through the use of two PMTs or SSPMs in the opposite arms of a 6-way-cross instead on one PMT (or SSPM) and one camera, or improving the collection of photons from the front side of a scintillator by depositing a reflective coating on the scintillator back side, or roughening the front collection surface of a scintillator to prevent total internal reflection.
  • Embodiments include multi-camera configurations (e.g.
  • Embodiments include manual or motor controlled push-pull linear positioners and/or rotary drives to advance fresh scintillator film as needed into the incident beam active area.
  • Embodiments include a load-lock vacuum chamber design to change scintillator films without having to break the beamline vacuum.
  • Embodiments include an ultra-thin, light-blocking beam entrance and exit foil and/or polymer window, bonded to a thin frame, that can also be bonded to the scintillator film or sheet material to make a simple window/scintillator replaceable module package that can be dropped into a pocket in the beam monitor front and/or back cover plate and calibrated within a minute or so without having to open up the system enclosure.
  • Embodiments have a design based on two different in-line scintillators, one sensitive to essentially all particles and high energy photons/gammas except neutrons, and the other doped with a high neutron cross-section isotope such as B 10 , Li 6 or Gd in order to make it neutron sensitive.
  • a high neutron cross-section isotope such as B 10 , Li 6 or Gd
  • EBRT particle accelerators are designed for pencil-beam spot scanning, but a few systems are designed for pencil-beam raster scanning.
  • the beam monitor embodiments disclosed below are compatible with both types of pencil-beam scanning systems, with most configured to operate downstream from the exit nozzle, but some embodiments have been designed to operate upstream of the nozzle in the vacuum environment of the beamline delivery system either in the patient treatment room or prior to the treatment room and switch house and close to the accelerator.
  • the purpose of such systems operating in the beamline vacuum is usually diagnostic to facilitate beam tuning including measurement and optimization of the 2D beam profile in the delivery system, whether for EBRT, or for nuclear and high energy physics.
  • the scintillator material should be an extremely thin film so as to be almost transparent with very little low energy straggling so as not to degrade the beam in the process of measuring it.
  • the scintillator film in some embodiments should be less than 100 ⁇ m thick and possibly as thin as 1 ⁇ m.
  • the scintillator film BoPEN is employed in thickness down to 1 ⁇ m, and in some embodiments this film is physically attached to a rigid frame as shown in some of the 6-way-cross embodiments disclosed below.
  • Fig. 1 is a radiation damage recovery plot as a function of time (in hours) for 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film exposed at a proton dose rate of 0.20 kGy/s, for 5 minutes, corresponding to a total dose of 59 kGy in accordance to embodiments.
  • the relative light loss was measured almost immediately in air after exposure, while in the right plot the sample was kept for ⁇ 21 hours in vacuum before being removed and then measured in air.
  • an average conventional daily patient treatment regime delivers ⁇ 2 Gy per session. So, the above test that delivered 59,000 Gy to the BoPEN scintillator film in 300 seconds is presumably equivalent to the dose incurred in treating ⁇ 30,000 patients. In other words, 1 second of accelerated irradiation in the 5.4 MeV test beam, approximately simulates the radiation received by the scintillator in conventionally treating ⁇ 100 patients (a lesser number of patients for FLASH therapy). Or viewed another way, if a typical proton beam treatment room can process about 30 patients per day, then 5 minutes of the above accelerated proton beam test is equivalent to ⁇ 1000 days of conventional patient treatments in a one-room facility. This degree of radiation damage resistance, with no obvious visual sign of surface degradation or discoloration in an off-the-shelf commercial polyester film, under such an aggressive, high rate, accelerated testing regime is an unexpected result.
  • Fig. 2 is a plot of the average pixel signal decrease as a function of time for a 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film exposed at a proton dose rate of 9.2 kGy/s, for 53 seconds, corresponding to a total dose of 490 kGy in accordance to embodiments.
  • the time scale is shown in terms of the camera image numbers recorded at 2 fps of the BoPEN film while being irradiated in a vacuum chamber. It can be seen that even at this high dose rate there is relatively little difference between the linear and exponential fits.
  • Fig. 3 is a plot of the fluorescence light loss and recovery in air as a function of time for different thicknesses of BoPEN film, ranging from 3.0 pm to 191 pm, after exposure to a 5.4 MeV proton beam in accordance to embodiments.
  • a convenient non-destructive method for measuring film thickness and uniformity is via the front/back surface reflectance generated by spectral interference. This method can accurately measure film thicknesses over the full range from ⁇ 1 ⁇ m to 250 pm, and to within about ⁇ 0.1 ⁇ m accuracy. For the films in Fig. 3, the measured thicknesses were: 3.0, 5.8, 12.2 and 191.0 ⁇ m, as measured by spectral reflectance in the near-IR over the wavelength range from ⁇ 1 ,000 to 1 ,900 nm.
  • radiation damage depends on the probability of free-radical interaction, or a multi-particle free-radical mechanism, and so the thicker films having a greater free-radical density at the exit surface due to dE/dx, also has a higher probability of single or multiple free-radical proximity interactions.
  • Other explanations include that the thinner films have a faster and higher probability of free-radical migration and diffusion to the film air surface, and because the Fig. 3 measurements were all in air, the thinner films have a higher rate of oxygen permeation and diffusion, as well as singlet oxygen escape.
  • an additional 20% scintillator dose can account for patient planning and calibration activity, and weekly machine maintenance.
  • This adjustment means that the previously stated estimate of 30 patients per day, at 2 Gy per patient, corresponding to 60 Gy per day scintillator dosage, might prudently be increased by about 20% to 72 Gy per day. Therefore, the above calculated 59 kGy of accelerated exposure at a test facility, would be equivalent to 819 days of accumulated patient service assuming conventional irradiation treatment (i.e., not FLASH).
  • Fig. 4 illustrates an example of the Spread-Out Bragg Peak (“SOBP”) for an X-ray photon vs. proton beam in accordance to embodiments.
  • SOBP Spread-Out Bragg Peak
  • Fig. 4 shows that the above estimate overstates the rad-damage to the scintillator, because 2 Gy to the patient does not equal to 2 Gy to the scintillator due to the SOBP.
  • the SOBP means that if the tumor receives 2 Gy, then depending upon such factors as the tumor density, thickness and location, which determine the proton beam energy, the radiation dose delivered to the skin, or scintillator will typically fall in the range of about 50% to 75% of the dose to the patient’s tumor, and would be about 1 .0-1.5 Gy.
  • Fig. 5 is a plot showing the exponential fluorescence decrease as recorded by the average camera pixel signal measured off of a 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film exposed at a proton dose rate of 460 kGy/s, for 33 seconds, corresponding to a total dose of 15,000 kGy in accordance to embodiments.
  • the time scale is shown in terms of the camera image numbers recorded at 2 fps of the BoPEN film while being irradiated by a 3.0 MeV proton beam in a vacuum chamber.
  • the radiation damage is not linear with exposure but is exponential.
  • Rad-damage induced darkening i.e. yellow-brown discoloration
  • the resulting current density of 40 nA/cm 2 yielded a dose rate of 3.3 kGy/s and produced an accumulated dose of 390 kGy. This dose rate was 16 times greater than received by the 59 kGy dose irradiated sample disclosed above.
  • Figs. 6A-B illustrate two images of the above 10 nA, 3.0 MeV proton beam, having approximately a 2.68 mm diameter, irradiating a 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film inside a vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiment.
  • Fig. 6A is the digital image recorded with a 1 ms exposure and the pixel image resolution is 38.2 ⁇ m.
  • the number of images recorded for the above experiment corresponded to 89 images at 1 nA (see disclosure below), 133 images at 10 nA, and 67 images at 50 nA, with the fluorescence pattern and signal intensity recorded for each picture on a pixel-by-pixel basis as seen in Figs. 6A and 6B for the 1st image taken at a beam current of 10 nA.
  • a complete set of pictures at the three beam currents were taken without breaking vacuum or moving the camera, and by sequentially increasing the beam current after each set of images (i.e. , from 1 nA, to 10 nA, to 50 nA) while the beam remained focused on the same scintillator spot area.
  • the partially ablated hole/crater represented the sum total from the three beam current doses piled on top of one another.
  • the 1 nA beam caused no obvious physical film damage, it did suffer a 0.6% decrease in fluorescence per second of irradiation (i.e., slope was 0.003, see Fig. 2).
  • the linear fit in Fig. 2 corresponds to a current density of 50 nA/cm 2 , a dose rate of 9.2 kGy/sec, and an accumulated dose of 490 kGy.
  • the subsequent 10 nA fixed beam suffered more than an order-of-magnitude larger, 18% decrease in its overall fluorescence in its first second of irradiation as compared to its initial signal, which must be due to immediate surface ablation.
  • the 50 nA fixed beam suffered a 43% decrease in its overall fluorescence in its first second of irradiation as compared to its initial signal as seen in Fig. 5, and given its deep hole creation in just 33 seconds it can be considered a “fast” ablation.
  • Fig. 7 is a projection of the camera field-of-view for the digital image in Fig. 6A, taken at a working distance of 326 mm in accordance with embodiments.
  • the camera was a Basler acA720-520um with a 50mm FL, f/1 .4 lens.
  • images were photographed through a chamber window of the 3.0 MeV proton beam irradiating the 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN scintillator film in real-time, with the camera outside the vacuum chamber at an estimated working distance from the front of the camera lens to the scintillator film of ⁇ 326 mm (as shown in Fig. 7).
  • the very “first” digital image (1 ms shutter speed) taken within the 1st second of irradiation (i.e. , at 2 fps and prior to significant ablation) at a beam current of 10 nA appears in Fig. 6A, which from the measured ablation area of 0.020 cm 2 at the top surface of the hole yielded a current density of 500 nA/cm 2 corresponding to a dose rate of 92 kGy/sec.
  • the fitted beam profile for the image in Fig. 6A appears in Fig.
  • an incident 5.4 MeV proton beam has adequate energy to pass through the 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film and exit with a residual energy of 3.26 MeV.
  • the proton beam only penetrates approximately 119 ⁇ m into the 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film. If the proton beam current density is sufficient to cause ablation and start “burning a hole” in the BoPEN film, then as the ablation proceeds the beam will penetrate further and further into the film, eventually exiting first at reduced energy and then almost at full energy once the hole has burrowed or punched through.
  • the total estimated beam penetration depth was about 150-160 ⁇ m, and encompassed a maximum surface ablation area of ⁇ 0.020 cm 2 , although the hole ellipsoid minor and major axes in the area of deepest penetration at the hole bottom was measured to be much smaller at about 0.4 x 0.6 mm (0.002 cm 2 ).
  • the associated beam current density was 2500 nA/cm 2 at 50 nA, corresponding to an accumulated dose of 15 MGy at a dose rate of 460 kGy/sec (see Table 1 ). At this dose rate, it is clear from the “average pixel signal” in Fig.
  • the ablated area/hole created by the 50 nA beam was elliptically shaped with measured minor and major axes of ⁇ 1.4 mm ⁇ 1 .8 mm, corresponding to an equivalent circle with a radius of 0.80 mm and an area of 2.0 mm 2 .
  • the Gaussian fit distribution for Fig. 6A, as shown in Fig. 6B, corresponding to the 97% intensity full bandwidth has a beam radius of 2.2o.
  • This larger fluorescent emission area of 5.6 mm 2 associated with the 2.2o radius encompasses about 97% of the fluorescent signal area shown in Fig. 6A, and extends beyond the ablated hole.
  • the fluorescent elli ⁇ soid minor and major axis dimensions corresponding to the 2.2o radius of 1 .34 mm is 2.34 mm ⁇ 3.02 mm, and corresponds to the estimated dimensions in Fig. 6A, with the camera image of the elli ⁇ soid area containing ⁇ 3,800 pixels. It follows from Fig. 7 that each pixel corresponds to a field-of-view image area of ⁇ 38.2 ⁇ m x 38.2 ⁇ m.
  • the Basler acA720-520um camera used for the Fig. 6A image has a 720 x 540 pixel CMOS sensor.
  • the working distance (“WD”) from the front of the lens to the scintillator was about 326 mm, with the sensor field-of-view being 27 mm ⁇ 21 mm as shown in Fig. 7.
  • the maximum beam current and minimum beam radius in the vacuum beamline pipe of a 250 MeV proton accelerator is typically ⁇ 800 nA for a superconducting cyclotron with approximately a 1 mm beam radius.
  • the associated beam current density is ⁇ 25,000 nA/cm 2 .
  • the dose rate could be 100-200 kGy/s, causing significant ablation of the BoPEN film and resulting in hole-burning within a minute or so.
  • Good practice would dictate that the film radiation exposure in any one spot be limited to ten seconds or less.
  • embodiments include a 5-way or 6-way-cross vacuum chamber that is designed to allow the BoPEN scintillator to be moved out of the beam within seconds after being moved into the beam to capture the required beam images.
  • the proton beam image in Fig. 6A at a dose rate of 92 kGy/s provides an example of what such an image might look like.
  • the BoPEN thickness in Fig. 6A is 191 ⁇ m, as compared to only 25-50 ⁇ m in the 5-way or 6-way-cross, the camera lens can be much closer to the scintillator in the cross than the 326 mm distance in Figs. 6A, 6B and 7, so the solid collection angle is much greater to collect a larger fraction of the emitted photons from the thinner BoPEN film, and in addition a better light-sensitive camera could be employed than used in Figs. 6A, 6B.
  • embodiments demonstrate an unexpected result that 5 minutes of testing at a beam particle energy of 5.4 MeV, a beam current density of 2.4 nA/cm 2 , and an irradiation dose rate of 200 Gy/s will not cause visual damage to the BoPEN scintillator, but would be roughly equivalent to the dose incurred in treating ⁇ 30,000 patients assuming a conventional dose of 2 Gy per patient, or 3,000 patients at a FLASH dose of 20 Gy per patient.
  • radiation damage to a BoPEN film scintillator is not a significant issue and can be readily handled as disclosed below.
  • a strategy of advancing the scintillator film either by unwinding it from a spool (e.g., similar to advancing 35mm film frame-by-frame in a camera) or by pushing a frame with the film mounted to it by a few centimeters on a periodic basis (e.g. weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc.) could be implemented via a variety of embodiments as disclosed below.
  • FIGs. 8A-C illustrate a system 800 that includes a two camera 840, single scintillator beam monitor in a light-tight enclosure employing a rolled scintillator spool configuration in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 8A is a perspective view with the top cover plate removed
  • Fig. 8B is a top view
  • Fig. 8C is a section A-A view.
  • the dotted arrows in all three figures show the direction of film movement from the feed roll to the take-up roll.
  • System 800 includes a two mirror 830, folded optical configuration which minimizes the light-tight enclosure depth/thickness while incorporating a mechanism for advancing the scintillator film 860 to minimize or eliminate having to correct for scintillator radiation damage.
  • a relatively thick scintillator film such as 125-250 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film (i.e., 5-10 mils) is wound onto a small diameter (e.g., 2.5”) feeder spool 870 to an outer diameter (“OD”) that fits within the light-tight enclosure (e.g., ⁇ 4”).
  • This film could be of any width (e.g., 25-45 cm), and could contain a total length of about 20-25 meters of 191 ⁇ m BoPEN scintillator.
  • film 860 would be pulled across an active window area 812 onto a suitable take-up spool 872, and advanced by a stepper motor 880 that rotates the take-up spool spindle as required.
  • An ultra-thin dark colored exit window 814 such as 15 to 25 ⁇ m thick black aluminum foil, is shown in Fig. 8C, while one of the UV- LED sources 850 and UV-photodiodes 852 are shown in Fig. 8A, with the two UV- LED/UV-photocell combinations 854 shown in Fig. 8B.
  • FIGs. 9A-D illustrate a system 900 that includes a two camera, single scintillator roll film beam monitor with linear translation of the scintillator spool system in a 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 9A is a cross-sectional view looking from the front with the scintillator film 940 positioned in the center of the beam path by linear position translators 950 and with cameras 902 and 904 in the top and bottom arms to achieve enhanced beam image resolution.
  • the scintillator film is wound onto and stored on a small diameter feeder spool 930 and pulled across the beam axis transit area 970 (in Fig. 9B) onto a suitable take-up spool advanced by an internal (i.e.
  • Fig. 9B is the same cross-sectional view but with the scintillator film 940 translated vertically up and out of the beamline path region 970, by the linear position translators in their extended position 952.
  • FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the closed system showing all 6 arms including the beam entrance and exit gate valves 912 and 910 that can be shut to isolate the beam monitor system and allow scintillator roll access and replacement without breaking beamline vacuum.
  • Fig. 9D is a cross-sectional perspective view of Fig. 9C showing the ⁇ 45° scintillator film angle with respect to both the beam angle of incidence and the viewing angle for both camera systems (also visible in Fig. 9A). It is noted that the 6-way-cross in Figs. 9A-D is shown like all of the other 6-way-crosses with each arm at a 90° angle with respect to its nearest adjacent arm.
  • one or both camera arms can be constructed at approximately a 45° angle with respect to the main body of the 6-way-cross housing the scintillator film so that the camera lens optical axis is at approximately a 90° angle with respect to the scintillator film plane.
  • FIGs. 10A-C illustrate a system 1000 that includes a roll film scintillator beam monitor in a smaller 6-way-cross vacuum chamber without linear translation capability in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 10A is a cross-sectional view from the front showing a camera 1004 and camera lens 1006 in the top arm and a PMT 1060 in the bottom arm; the latter for fast timing applications with enhanced light collection capability via a set of condensing lenses with the top lens 1050 located in the vacuum chamber just below the scintillator film 1040 and the bottom lens 1052 located just above the PMT 1060 in an ambient air environment.
  • Fig. 10A is at approximately a 45° angle with respect to the beam, camera and PMT.
  • Fig. 10A shows the two UV-LED/UV-photodiode combination assemblies 1080 on opposite sides of the camera lens 1006.
  • the scintillator film is wound onto and stored on a small diameter feeder spool 1030 and pulled across the beam axis transit region onto a suitable take-up spool 1024 advanced by an external stepper motor assembly 1020 that rotates the take-up spool spindle as required.
  • Fig. 10B is a perspective view showing all 6 arms including the beam entrance 1001 and exit gate valves that allow system vacuum isolation and subsequent pressurization through the reducer nipple 1090 (in Fig. 10A) for scintillator roll replacement without breaking beamline vacuum.
  • Fig. 10C is a closeup cross-sectional view showing the two UV-LEDs 1086 and 1088, and two UV- photodiodes 1082 and 1084 on opposite sides of the camera lens.
  • FIGs. 11A-D illustrate a system 1100 that includes a single scintillatorframe beam monitor in 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 11A is a cross-sectional view showing 4 of the 6 arms as seen from the front with a push-pull linear positioner on the left and a vacuum reducer nipple on the right.
  • Fig. 11B is a perspective view showing all 6 arms of the closed system including a gate valve attached to the beam exit flange.
  • Fig. 11C is a cross- sectional perspective view showing the tilted scintillator frame at approximately a 45° angle to the beam, camera and PMT.
  • Fig. 11A is a cross-sectional view showing 4 of the 6 arms as seen from the front with a push-pull linear positioner on the left and a vacuum reducer nipple on the right.
  • Fig. 11B is a perspective view showing all 6 arms of the closed system including a gate valve attached to the beam
  • 11D is a close-up sectional view of the beam cross center showing a first condensing lens in the chamber vacuum region with the second condensing lens just below the viewport window in front of the PMT in an ambient air environment. Also just above the viewport UV window for the camera, on either side of the lens barrel are a pair of UV-LEDs and associated UV- photodiodes.
  • FIGs. 12A-C illustrate a system 1200 that includes a double scintillator- frame beam monitor in a 6-way-cross vacuum chamber in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 12A is a cross-sectional view showing 4 of the 6 arms as seen from the front, with a full-nipple and push-pull linear positioner added to each side as compared to only one side in Figs. 11A-D.
  • Fig. 12A shows one scintillator-frame on the left side with a second scintillator-frame mostly on the left side but covering the beam center.
  • Fig. 12A is a cross-sectional view showing 4 of the 6 arms as seen from the front, with a full-nipple and push-pull linear positioner added to each side as compared to only one side in Figs. 11A-D.
  • Fig. 12A shows one scintillator-frame on the left side with a second scintillator-frame mostly on the left side but covering the
  • FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view showing one scintillator-frame in each nipple with no scintillator in the beam center region.
  • Fig. 12C is a perspective view of the closed 6-way-cross vacuum chamber.
  • the scintillatorframe is at about a 45° angle with respect to the beam, camera and PMT.
  • FIGs. 13A-C illustrate a system 1300 that includes a double scintillatorframe beam monitor in a 6-way-cross load-lock vacuum chamber similar to Figs. 12A-C, but with the addition of two gate valves, each positioned between the 6-way- cross body and the added reducer tees which have replaced the full-nipples in Fig. 12 in accordance with embodiments.
  • the added gate valves convert this structure into a load-lock vacuum chamber, which allows scintillator replacement without breaking the system vacuum.
  • Fig. 13A is a cross-sectional view (similar to Fig. 12A) showing 4 of the 6 arms as seen from the front.
  • Fig. 13B is a cross-sectional perspective view that shows the approximately 45° scintillator-frame angle with respect to the beam, camera and PMT.
  • Fig. 13C is a perspective view of the closed 6-way-cross load-lock vacuum chamber.
  • Figs. 9-13 are based on “off-the-shelf” 6-way-cross configurations that have been modified such that the inner flanges associated with the two vertical tubes/arms as seen in Figs 9-13 are reduced or shortened to the minimum length required to weld each vertical flange to the cross body.
  • the purpose of this modification is to position the cameras and/or PMTs as close as possible to the beamline axis/cross-center to improve the photon collection efficiency.
  • Figs. 27A-B illustrate a system 2700 that includes both a side view (Fig. 27A) and perspective view (Fig. 27B) of the open central structure of the above reduced/shortened 4” O.D. tube, 6-way-cross with 6” diameter CF-flanges modified such that the total beam entrance-to-exit length is ⁇ 5.9” in accordance to vacuum chamber embodiments.
  • the 4” tubes that connect to the top and bottom 6” CF- flanges that connect to the viewport windows, and subsequently to the full nipples that accommodate the camera and PMT, are also shortened such that the total end- to-end length for these two flanges is ⁇ 7.9” in accordance to embodiments.
  • the described priority can always be changed such that if the 4” O.D. tube, 6-way-cross embodiment shown in Figs.
  • Figs. 14A-D illustrate a system 1400 that includes a two camera, two mirror, full-size single scintillator/window module beam monitor in a slim light-tight enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • a “slim” light-tight enclosure is 5” thick or less; however, depending upon the patient size requirements, scintillator dimensions, and image spatial and positional resolution specifications, the thickness can typically vary over a range from about 3” to 7”.
  • Fig. 14A is a perspective view of the components of a “drop-in” window/scintillator frame module.
  • Fig. 14B shows how the window/scintillator frame module dro ⁇ s into one of the cover plate pockets.
  • FIG. 14C is a perspective drawing of the two camera, single scintillator beam monitor enclosure with the top cover plate removed and positioned above the main structure.
  • Fig. 14D is a cross-sectional view of the light-tight enclosure with drop-in ultra-thin window 1422 and window/scintillator 1460 modules, showing the folded optical design of camera, mirror and scintillator, and minimum scintillator field-of-view by camera-lens system on right side (i.e., within dotted line cone). Also shown in Figs. 14C and 14D are a UV-LED source and UV-photodiode for internal calibration.
  • FIGs. 15A-C illustrate a system 1500 that includes a one camera, one mirror, half-size rectangular single scintillator beam monitor in a slim light-tight enclosure version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 14C-D in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 15A is a perspective view assembly drawing showing the camera 1540, mirror 1530, ultra-thin window 1522, window/scintillator module 1560, UV-LED source 1550, UV-photodiode 1552, and the box construction with window cover plate 1520 and window/scintillator cover plate 1570 based on an internal frame structure.
  • the actual enclosure shape and construction can vary and does not have to be rectangular (e.g. can be cylindrical).
  • Fig. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the light- tight enclosure showing all of the basic described components.
  • Fig. 15C is a perspective view of the enclosed system.
  • Figs. 16A-C illustrate a system 1600 that includes a three camera version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 15A-C in accordance with embodiments.
  • the additional two side cameras do not have to be identical to the single top camera and can be selected for improved light-sensitivity, faster frame rates, and/or higher pixel resolution.
  • Fig. 16A is a perspective view assembly drawing showing the three cameras 1640, 1644 and 1646, associated mirrors 1630, 1634 and 1636, ultra-thin window 1622, and window/scintillator module 1660, based on an internal frame structure.
  • the actual enclosure shape and construction can vary and does not have to be rectangular (e.g. can be cylindrical).
  • Fig. 16B is a cross-sectional view of the light-tight enclosure showing all of the basic described components.
  • Fig. 16C is a perspective view of the enclosed system.
  • FIGs. 17A-B illustrate a system 1700 that includes a four camera version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 14A-D for the full-size single scintillatorframe beam monitor with folded-optics in accordance with embodiments.
  • the two additional cameras allow the field-of-view of each camera to be appropriately reduced to a scintillator quadrant, resulting most likely in selection of a different camera or different lens than in Fig. 14 for improved light-sensitivity, faster frame rates, and/or higher pixel resolution.
  • Fig. 17A-B illustrate a system 1700 that includes a four camera version of the embodiments shown in Figs. 14A-D for the full-size single scintillatorframe beam monitor with folded-optics in accordance with embodiments.
  • the two additional cameras allow the field-of-view of each camera to be appropriately reduced to a scintillator quadrant, resulting most likely in selection of a different camera or different lens than in Fig. 14 for improved light-sensitivity, faster frame rates,
  • FIG. 17A is a perspective view assembly drawing showing the four cameras 1740, 1741 , 1742 and 1743, associated mirrors 1730, 1731 , 1732 and 1733, ultra-thin window 1722, UV-LED sources 1750 and 1751 , associated UV-photodiodes 1752 and 1753, and window/scintillator module 1760, based on an internal frame structure.
  • the actual enclosure shape and construction can vary and does not have to be rectangular (e.g. can be cylindrical).
  • Fig. 17B is a cross-sectional view of the light-tight enclosure showing all of the basic described components.
  • Figs. 18A-B illustrate a system 1800 that includes a four camera, full- size double window/scintillator module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • This embodiment is a double scintillator version of that shown in Figs. 14A-D and incorporates both a front and back cover plate pocket design for the two “drop-in” window/scintillator frame modules.
  • Fig. 18A is a perspective view assembly drawing showing the four cameras 1840, 1842, 1844 and 1846, with their associated mirrors including mirror 1836 coupled to camera 1846, aimed at the two window/scintillator modules 1860 and 1862.
  • Fig. 18B is a cross-sectional view of the light-tight enclosure and like Fig. 18A shows two cameras with their respective folded-optics mirrors aimed at each scintillator.
  • FIGs. 19A-B illustrate a system 1900 that includes an eight camera, full-size double window/scintillator module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • Fig. 19A is similar to Fig. 18A, but the number of cameras has been doubled, similar to Figs. 17A-B compared to Figs. 14A- D.
  • Cameras 1940, 1941 , 1942 and 1943 though their respective fold-optic mirrors, are each aimed at one quadrant of scintillator/window module 1960.
  • cameras 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947 are each aimed at one quadrant of scintillator/window module 1962.
  • Fig. 19B is a cross- sectional view of the light-tight enclosure and like Fig. 19A shows four cameras with their respective folded-optics mirrors aimed at each scintillator.
  • FIGs. 20A-C illustrate a system 2000 that includes a four camera, single scintillator beam monitor employing a rolled scintillator spool configuration in accordance with embodiments, and is similar to the two camera version shown in Figs. 8A-C.
  • Fig. 20A is a perspective view
  • Fig. 20B is a top view
  • Fig. 20C is a Section A-A view.
  • Figs. 20A and 20B show cameras 2040, 2014, 2042 and 2043, and their associated folded-mirrors such as 2030 and 2031 .
  • the dotted arrows in Figs. 20A-C show the direction of film movement from the feed roll 2070 to the take- up roll 2072.
  • film 2060 would be pulled across an active window area 2012 onto a suitable take-up spool 2072, and advanced by a stepper motor 2080 that rotates the take-up spool spindle as required.
  • An ultra-thin dark colored or black exit window 2014 such as 15 ⁇ m to 25 ⁇ m thick black aluminum foil, is shown Fig. 20C, while two UV-LED sources 2050 and 2051 , and UV-photodiodes 2052 and 2053 are shown in Fig. 20A.
  • FIGs. 21A-B illustrate a system 2100 as perspective (Fig. 21 A) and cross-sectional (Fig. 21 B) views of a two camera 2140, full-size single scintillator- frame beam monitor in a light-tight box enclosure somewhat similar to that shown in Figs. 14C-D, but using smaller size cameras (e.g., ⁇ 1” ⁇ 1” ⁇ 1”) and not employing a folded optical system configuration with a mirror for each camera in accordance with embodiments. Each camera is thus aimed directly at the bottom scintillator plate 2130 resulting in the entire box enclosure being about 5 cm thicker than shown in Figs. 14C-D.
  • the two cameras can be inserted just behind the exit nozzle or collimator (i.e. , u ⁇ stream) or alternately described as straddling behind the nozzle or collimator, and therefore integrated directly into the nozzle or collimator enclosure with the scintillator/window 2130 module inserted in the pocket of the exit cover plate 2120 located in front (i.e. downstream) of where the beam exits the nozzle or collimator.
  • Figs. 21 A-B still incorporate one or two or more UV-LEDs and UV- photodiodes as found in all of the other beam monitors embodiments.
  • Figs. 22A-C illustrate a system 2200 that is a four camera version of Figs. 21 A-B in accordance with embodiments.
  • the four cameras 2240 can be inserted just behind the exit nozzle or collimator (i.e., u ⁇ stream) or alternately described as straddling behind the nozzle or collimator, and therefore integrated directly into the nozzle or collimator enclosure with the scintillator/window 2230 module inserted in the pocket of the exit cover plate located in front (i.e. downstream) of where the beam exits the nozzle or collimator.
  • the BoPEN film were advanced 5 cm on a biweekly basis to shift the most likely rad-damaged scintillator center area (i.e., isocenter region) midway to the side, then the previously described 20-25 meter film length could last approximately 16 years. If the same BoPEN film were advanced 10 or 20 cm biweekly, then a single roll would last either 8 or 4 years respectively before requiring replacement.
  • Aerial films were previously made in four standard widths, 35mm, 70mm, 126mm and 240mm. These widths are the edge-to-edge dimensions and include sprockets on both sides, so for example the maximum image width on the 70mm film is ⁇ 58mm, and on the 240mm is 228mm.
  • the thinnest Kodak aerial film Estar “Ultra-Thin” Base made was 30 ⁇ m (i.e., 0.0012”) but was still strong enough to hold sprocket holes without tearing.
  • the standard Kodak Estar Ultra-Thin Base was 38 ⁇ m (i.e., 0.0015”), while the standard Kodak Estar Thick Base was 178 ⁇ m (i.e., 0.0070”).
  • Film roll lengths for the Thick Estar Bases went from 100 to 800 feet, whereas film roll lengths of up to 2000 feet were standard for the other thinner Estar base films.
  • a detailed thickness study by Kodak for their standard 240mm wide Estar Base in a standard 30 meter length film roll yielded that “the thickness variation across essentially the entire roll length had a standard deviation of less than 1 .85 ⁇ m”. However, within the 23 cm ⁇ 23 cm aerial format picture area (i.e., 9” x 9”) the standard thickness deviation was 1 .0 ⁇ m.
  • the spool core diameter was 31/32” for film roll lengths up to 200 feet for the Estar Thin Base (64 ⁇ m), 150 feet for the standard Estar Base (102 ⁇ m), and 100 feet for the Estar Thick Base (i.e. 178 ⁇ m without emulsion and 184 ⁇ m thickness for B/W emulsions and 213 ⁇ m for their thickest color film).
  • a spool core diameter of 2.125” was used for all Estar film base thicknesses.
  • the suggested spool core diameter of 2.5” disclosed above, and film length of 20-25 meters, are conservative given the standard specifications used for aerial films, as is the film thickness uniformity across the active area.
  • the 25 ⁇ m thick BoPEN should be ideal, especially considering that the BoPEN film is stronger than the Estar Base film (i.e. , BoPET) used by Kodak, and the sprocket film holes that can tear in rapid advance photographic film systems are not required for the much slower advancing roll-to-roll embodiments described herein.
  • the 12 ⁇ m thick BoPEN is also a potentially viable thickness for the roll-to-roll scintillator film designs such as the highly transmissive beamline vacuum cross monitors shown in Figs. 9 and 10.
  • LLDPE linear low-density polyethylene
  • BoPEN is much stronger than LLDPE, having at least three times the tensile strength.
  • BoPEN rolls/coils are available in ultra-thin films down to 1.3 ⁇ m thickness in 12” and wider size rolls, whereas 12 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film is available in 40” wide rolls of 9800 ft length.
  • a less expensive 5-way-cross can be employed, and depending upon the frame and arm (or nipple) length, the scintillator can be pulled out of the beam path entirely and pushed into the beam path only when beam monitoring is required (e.g., as shown in Fig. 12B).
  • Another advantage of mounting the scintillator film to a rigid frame, as compared to a roll-to-roil system, is that thick scintillators (e.g., ⁇ 0.5 mm) cannot be rolled onto a small diameter spool, while the thinnest scintillator films of only a few microns cannot be reliably advanced across the beam axis transit area without risk of damage when pulling it from the feed spool 1030 onto the take-up spool 1024 as in Fig. 10A.
  • 3 6, 12 and 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN films have unexpected characteristics of radiation hardness and fast recovery (see Fig. 3).
  • Other embodiments can use 1 .3 ⁇ m BoPEN films or 250 ⁇ m thick BoPEN films for several different applications.
  • the calibration system and its operation can be initiated either manually or automatically (e.g., on a pre- programmed schedule) and is based on activating an internal UV-LED source or sources to illuminate the scintillator film for a short time (e.g., seconds) and capturing images of the fluorescence intensity pattern and comparing them to previous images by means of an appropriate computer system to detect any changes in the system response, including changes in the scintillator fluorescence or camera sensor such as might be caused by radiation damage, etc.
  • each UV-LED is itself monitored by a dedicated proximity UV- photosensor such as a photodiode to correct for any source intensity change or drift over time.
  • the computer system in one embodiment is a dedicated, low-latency, fast-PC (personal computer) or workstation, etc., having a processor that executes instructions.
  • the computer system is a customized FPGA based PCB (printed circuit board) or frame grabber, although more likely a frame grabber connected to a computer.
  • the FPGA could be partially or fully embedded in the camera(s).
  • the computer system besides performing internal calibration checks, is also programmed to perform image analysis in real-time of the beam as it irradiates the scintillator so as to monitor and analyze in two-dimensions (“2D”) the beam position and beam shape, beam movement, the beam intensity profile including tail, beam fluence and external dosimetry, and beam angular divergence in the case of the beam monitor configuration incorporating two or more scintillators in the beam path and separated by an appropriate distance.
  • 2D two-dimensions
  • the embodiments incorporate one or more machine vision cameras oriented at an angie to the scintillator plane, all of the camera images will incur perspective/tilt distortion (i.e.
  • the window/scintillator module assembly 1460 consists of ultra-thin window 1402, such as 15 ⁇ m to 25 ⁇ m thick black aluminum foil, and a scintillator film or sheet 1406, with both components attached or glued to opposite sides of a thin frame 1404, Replacement of the ultra-thin window/scintillator module using the design in Figs. 14A-D should take only a few minutes. If only one scintillator/window module 1460 is employed, then an ultra-thin window by itself such as 1402 is glued to the frame 1404 without adding the bottom scintillator plate. The window module itself, without a scintillator component, is shown as 1422 in Figs.
  • Figs. 14C-D and fits into the pocket of cover plate 1420 and held in place by a retaining frame (e.g., 1410 in Fig. 14B) as shown in Fig. 14C.
  • Figs. 14C-D show one such embodiment based on a 2 camera, 1 scintillator arrangement, with both cameras 1440 and 1442 indirectly aimed at the back scintillator 1406 in the back window/scintillator module 1460 through their respective folded-optics mirrors 1430 and 1432.
  • UV-LEDs 1450 and UV-photodiodes 1452 are also shown in Figs. 14C- D.
  • Embodiments include a number of different light-tight enclosure beam monitors incorporating one or two scintillators and from one (1 ) to twelve (12) or more cameras, depending upon the desired beam spatial/positional resolution and the required scintillator active area size which for EBRT applications can typically extend up to about 40 cm ⁇ 40 cm.
  • the intrinsic 2D position resolution should be on the order of ⁇ 0.03 to 0.2 mm, depending upon the required UFT beam monitor specifications.
  • the software required for stitching multiple camera images together is commercially available for scientific, industrial, medical, consumer applications, etc.
  • a number of smartphones now employ multi-camera systems such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+, which use 3 cameras to stitch together high quality images with minimal distortion that can cover the full range from ultra-wide angle to telephoto.
  • the above disclosed platform can perform the equivalent of stitching together multiple images as they stream in from multiple machine vision cameras in order to track and analyze the moving particle beam or photon beam as it travels both horizontally and vertically across the scintillator surface.
  • the software in embodiments is mostly FPGA based, on a multi- camera frame grabber based system that can provide calibration and corrections for optical distortions and equi ⁇ ment/system non-uniform ity.
  • camera images can be streamed live, processed and analyzed in real-time at rates potentially as fast as 25-100 ⁇ s per image (i.e., 10,000-40,000 fps) depending upon the system hardware, firmware and software, including the choice of camera interface.
  • machine vision cameras operating at over 30,000 fps, corresponding to a timing resolution of ⁇ 33 ⁇ s, can still provide sub-mm image resolution for embodiments such as the above multi-camera, 20 cm ⁇ 20 cm, or even 40 cm ⁇ 40 cm, scintillator EBRT beam monitors at a cost of about $5K to $8K per camera is single unit quantities.
  • the larger size 40 cm ⁇ 40 cm scintillator beam monitoring systems in accordance to embodiments employ 4 or more cameras, and are configured if desired with two different types of cameras - for example in a single-scintillator 6-camera configuration there could be four relatively inexpensive high picture resolution, low frame rate (fps) cameras, plus two of the more expensive high fps cameras; other combinations are also possible such as 4 slow and 4 fast cameras, or 4 low sensitivity and 4 high sensitivity cameras in a 8-camera system.
  • fps low frame rate
  • low cost, high spatial resolution, low sensitivity, low fps cameras could even be paired side-by-side with ultra-fast, high sensitivity, ultra-compact PMTs (e.g., Hamamatsu H11934 series with dimensions of 30 mm ⁇ 30 mm ⁇ 32 mm) with camera lenses coupled to each PMT thereby viewing the same scintillator area as the camera.
  • the PMTs would provide the low-light sensitivity and dose rate information with ultra-fast ns and sub-ns response capability (e.g., 10 ns is equivalent to 100,000,000 fps).
  • ultra-fast ns and sub-ns response capability e.g. 10 ns is equivalent to 100,000,000 fps.
  • smaller size machine vision cameras can be procured for ⁇ $1 K (see below).
  • Figs. 23A-B illustrate camera images through a vacuum chamber window of a ⁇ 3.6 mm diameter proton beam, moving at 80 mm /ms, irradiating a 191 ⁇ m thick BoPEN scintillator, with a 10 ⁇ s exposure in accordance to embodiments.
  • the camera used is a Basler daA1280-54um with a 25mm FL, f/1.4 lens, at a working distance of ⁇ 350 mm, with a pixel field-of-view of 48 ⁇ m x 48 ⁇ m.
  • Fig. 23A constitutes an image of the camera's full field-of-view.
  • Figs. 23A-B the proton beam energy was 5.4 MeV at a 10 nA beam current.
  • Fig. 23B is an enlarged and cropped image with the background digitally removed of the beam spot area in Fig. 23A, showing the pixel resolution detail including the intensity distribution and beam shape and dimensions which covers an irregularly shaped elliptical area of ⁇ 60 x 100 pixels.
  • the beam horizontal “smear” during the 10 ⁇ s exposure due to the 80 mm /ms movement is only ⁇ 0.8 mm, or about a 22% elongation.
  • Fig. 24 illustrates a 1 ms exposure of a captured image using the same camera/lens as in Fig. 23, but of a ⁇ 2 mm diameter proton beam irradiating an ultra-thin 12.2 ⁇ m BoPEN film while moving back and forth in a rastered zig zag pattern at 40 mm /ms in accordance to embodiments.
  • the proton beam energy is 5.4 MeV at a 10 nA beam current, but at a lens working distance of ⁇ 390 mm, corresponding to a somewhat larger 55 ⁇ m x 55 ⁇ m field-of- view pixel resolution.
  • Similar images have been captured on BoPEN films as thin as 3.0 ⁇ m, with plans to irradiate a 1 .3 ⁇ m thick BoPEN film in the near future.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • embodiments use a number of faster camera interfaces for interfacing with high-speed FPGA based frame grabber hardware, firmware and software, to process and analyze the streaming images at much higher speeds, including CoaXPress 2.0 (CPX-12), GigE (10 Gigabit Ethernet), Camera Link HS, etc.
  • FIG. 11 A shows 4 of the 6 arms of a modified CF-flange 6-way-cross vacuum chamber configuration, although any type of flange system can be used (e.g., ConFlat, KF/QF, ISO-K, ISO- F, ASA, Wire-Seal, etc.).
  • the two arms not shown in Fig. 11A are perpendicular to the plane of the drawing where the beam enters 1101 the cross center as seen in Fig. 11B. Either or both of these two arms can incorporate an optional gate valve attached to one or both flanges for vacuum isolation.
  • Fig. 11 A shows 4 of the 6 arms of a modified CF-flange 6-way-cross vacuum chamber configuration, although any type of flange system can be used (e.g., ConFlat, KF/QF, ISO-K, ISO- F, ASA, Wire-Seal, etc.).
  • the two arms not shown in Fig. 11A are perpendicular to the plane of the drawing where the beam enters
  • FIG. 11B shows one such gate valve 1110 attached to the exit arm flange.
  • the scintillator- frame unit 1140 is nudged or pushed by shaft 1172 an appropriate distance (e.g., ⁇ 1 cm, or more) on its track 1145 in Fig. 11D towards the opposite side (i.e., the right side in Figs. 11 A-D) to bring unexposed or minimally exposed scintillator film into the central beam path region.
  • This linear shift/movement can be accomplished either manually, or controlled pneumatically, or by a stepper motor as indicated by the linear positioner 1170 shown on the left side in Fig. 11A.
  • Fig. 11A shows the camera 1104 and camera lens 1106 in the top nipple, along with the UV-LED/UV-photodiode assembly combination 1180, and a conical reducer nipple 1190 to the vacuum-exhaust/air-bleed line (not shown).
  • Fig. 11D shows a close-up of the two small UV-LEDs 1186 and UV-photodiodes 1182 positioned on opposite sides of the camera lens.
  • the PMT 1160 in the bottom nipple is shown most clearly in Fig. 11C, while the two condensing lenses 1150 and 1152 on either side of the viewport window 1156 in the bottom nipple are best seen in Fig.
  • Fig. 11D provides a close-up magnified view of the 6-way-cross center area in which the two viewport windows 1155 and 1156, UV-LEDs, UV-photodiodes, two scintillator-frame tracks, and the two condensing lenses are most easily seen.
  • Most of the embodiments disclosed herein include at least one UV illumination source, with at least one UV photosensor to monitor the stability of each UV source.
  • the UV source employed in some embodiments for the BoPEN scintillator is a UV-LED with peak emission at ⁇ 280 nm, where the BoPEN scintillator film essentially absorbs at least 99% of the source photons at the film surface within a ⁇ 0.1 ⁇ m thick layer.
  • the UV photosensor used to monitor the UV- LED in embodiments is a UV-photodiode. If needed, the UV source and/or UV photosensor can be coupled to a suitable UV bandpass or UV shortpass filter.
  • the scintillator- frame When the rad-damage in any particular area starts to become significant, the scintillator- frame is pushed slightly towards the far side until such time as the frame has been pushed completely to the far side as shown in Figs. 11A and 11D. Once the scintillator has been fully radiation damaged along its useable length, the scintillator- frame is then pulled back to its initial position and the scintillator-frame replaced. Replacement requires breaking vacuum in the 6-way-cross chamber, but because of the excellent BoPEN rad-hardness (see Table 1 above) it might be possible to schedule such replacement during preplanned downtime periods allocated for general maintenance.
  • the scintillator 6-way-cross chamber includes both entrance and exit gate valves, then breaking vacuum is limited to the small chamber volume with no impact on the rest of the beamline and so scintillator-frame replacement can be done whenever convenient and should only take about an hour or so including ambient pressurization and re-evacuation.
  • Other features of consequence are the machine vision camera in the top arm, the PMT in the bottom arm, the push-pull linear positioner on the left side, and the reducer nipple on the right side which is connected to a small vacuum pump system (not shown) with a bleed valve for chamber pressurization followed by re-evacuation.
  • a small vacuum pump system not shown
  • Also not shown are the described beam entrance gate valve, although the exit gate valve is easily seen in Figs.
  • the viewport window 1156 can be glass.
  • a set of highly efficient, high transmission glass (e.g., Schott B270) aspheric condensing lenses are employed with an f/number that can be less than 1 .0 (e.g., between f/0.6 to f/0.9).
  • the first condensing lens 1150 is located inside the cross vacuum chamber just below the scintillator/frame, while the second lens 1152 is located just below the glass viewport window 1156 and in front of the PMT at ambient pressure as shown in Fig. 11D.
  • Both lenses can be anti-reflection coated for maximum light transmission and the second lens located in front of the PMT can further reduce reflection loss by optically coupling it to a matching refractive index plastic or glass light guide (e.g., cylinder) thereby eliminating the air gap completely.
  • the PMTs should be selected for minimum jitter (e.g., ⁇ 0.3 ns), maximum quantum efficiency (e.g., ⁇ 22%), and most importantly for maximum gain (e.g. >1x10 6 ).
  • the scintillator should have a high light yield and if capable of total internal reflection (TIR) could have a reflective coating deposited on the non-collecting surface, or surface roughened to eliminate TIR on the light collect surface, or for optimum TOF performance could employ two matching PMTs with two sets of condensing lenses in the 6-way-cross (i.e. , replacing the camera with a second PMT).
  • TIR total internal reflection
  • Figs. 12A-C The embodiment shown in Figs. 12A-C is similar to that in Figs. 11A- D, but with the addition of two horizontal full-nipples 1290 and 1292 to accommodate a dual scintillator-frame configuration.
  • the embodiment in Figs. 13A-C is quite similar to that in Figs. 12A-C, but with the important addition of two vertical gate valves 1310 and 1311 that effectively transform the embodiment in Fig. 12 into the load-lock vacuum chamber of Fig. 13.
  • Figs. 12A-B show 4 of the 6 arms of the customized 6-way-cross vacuum chamber; the two arms not shown are perpendicular to the plane of the drawing where the beam enters and exits the cross center.
  • Fig. 12A-B show 4 of the 6 arms of the customized 6-way-cross vacuum chamber; the two arms not shown are perpendicular to the plane of the drawing where the beam enters and exits the cross center.
  • FIG. 12C is a perspective view showing all 6 sides/arms, including the two perpendicular arms where the beam enters 1201 and exits 1202 and which can incorporate one or two optional gate valves such as 1310 and 1311 as shown in Figs. 13A-C and previously discussed for Fig. 11 .
  • the dual scintillator-frame embodiments employ either a straight track 1245 or a segmented track 1345, as shown respectively in Figs. 12A and 13A that goes through all three chamber sections on which the scintillator-frames can be pushed or pulled. If two identical scintillators are employed, the maximum time before scintillator replacement can be essentially doubled.
  • the dual scintillators 1240 and 1241 in their frames as illustrated in Figs.
  • one scintillator might be selected for minimum film thickness and maximum beam transmission (e.g., BoPEN), with the other selected for minimum decay time and rise time to provide the fastest possible timing when coupled to an efficient light-collection system such as the condenser lens system shown in Figs. 12A-B, which can be seen more clearly in Fig. 11D as lens elements 1150 and 1152, and a fast PMT 1060, 1160 & 1260 in Figs. 10A, 11C and 12B respectively for sub-ns TOF (time-of-flight) measurements.
  • BoPEN maximum beam transmission
  • timing resolutions of ⁇ 0.1 ns are achievable for highly ionized, high-Z (i.e., atomic number) beams using the 6-way-cross beam monitors shown in Figs. 10A, 11A-D and 12A-B.
  • the two scintillators mounted in their respective frames can either be identical or the first scintillator-frame combination 1240 might be selected for fast timing (e.g., BC-400 from Saint-Gobain) and the second being a thinner scintillator 1241 of different composition, such as BoPEN, selected for maximum beam transmissivity with minimal beam scattering and energy loss (i.e. , from an incident photon or particle beam such as protons, ions, electrons, neutrons, etc.).
  • the scintillator-frame 1241 in its initial start position is shown in Fig. 12A before being nudged or pulled in small ste ⁇ s towards the opposite (i.e.
  • Such linear movement can be accomplished either manually with linear push-pull positioners 1220 and 1230 in Fig. 12A, and 1320 and 1330 in Fig. 13A, or controlled pneumatically or by a stepper motor.
  • the center scintillator-frame is pulled from the right into the right side nipple chamber 1292 in Fig. 12A (or 1392 in Fig. 13A) for removal, while the left scintillator-frame 1340 in the left side nipple 1390 in Fig. 13A can be pushed into the center of the 6-way-cross where the beam enters through flange 1301 in Fig. 13C.
  • the top vertical nipple contains the camera 1004, 1104, 1204, 1304 in Figs. 10-13 respectively, and camera lens 1006 or 1106, while the bottom vertical nipple contains the PMT 1060, 1160, 1260 or 1360 (or SSPM).
  • the two vertical nipples containing the camera and PMT are at ambient pressure and isolated from the vacuum by their hermetically-sealed windows - e.g. 1155 and 1156 shown in Fig. 11D.
  • the scintillators are pushed-pulled along a three section channel/rail or track 1345 in Figs. 13A and 13B with two breaks or open-segments of ⁇ 2 cm each through which the two gate valves 1310 and 1311 can close.
  • the scintillator-frames 1340 and 1341 can each be removed without breaking vacuum by closing a gate valve.
  • each scintillator nipple section can be individually pressurized for scintillator replacement and then re-evacuated using a small pump through the two nipple tee sections 1391 and 1393.
  • nipple 1290 is actually a reducer tee with reducer flange 1291 for connection to an external pressurization line and optional vacuum line to minimize downtime during scintillator replacement.
  • This arrangement is similar in function to the conical reducer nipples 1090 and 1190 shown in Figs. 10A and 11A for attachment to an external pressurization/vacuum- exhaust line.
  • the described embodiments include UV-photodiodes 1082 and 1084, as shown on each side of the camera lens 1006 in Figs.
  • This internal UV-LED/UV-photodiode calibration system 1080 in Fig. 10A also shown as 1180 in Fig. 11A, and 1182 and 1186 in Fig. 11D, can also be used to monitor and correct for any changes with time or temperature of the camera sensor output.
  • a number of variations of the 6-way-cross structures described above and in Figs. 9-13 are available.
  • a PMT is not required, then a 5-way- cross can be used, but if spatial resolution, sensitivity and accuracy are paramount, then the 6-way-cross could be used with two cameras - i.e. the second camera replacing the PMT as shown in Fig. 9A.
  • the beamline monitor is to be optimized for time-of-flight (“TOF”) measurements with the highest timing resolution and accuracy required, then two closely-matched PMTs with two sets of condensing lenses can be employed, and the camera eliminated as discussed previously.
  • TOF time-of-flight
  • All of the embodiments with cameras include the camera or cameras viewing the scintillator at various angles of incidence or reflection, the latter indirectly via a folded-optics mirror system. Parameter optimization determines the most appropriate camera lens angle of incidence with respect to the normal to the scintillator plane (i.e. surface) or mirror for each application. For most of the embodiments disclosed here, the camera lens viewing angle with respect to the scintillator will typically fall within the range of 25-65°, with an average value of ⁇ 45°. For the camera images captured in Figs. 6, 23 and 24, the camera angle of incidence with respect to the scintillator normal typically fell within 10-20°. For the embodiments in Figs.
  • the mean camera angle with respect in the scintillator normal, or mirror normal in the case of Figs. 8 and 14-20 was typically 40-50° but can be increased to minimize the enclosure depth or thickness.
  • any camera angle greater than a few degrees will create some angular distortion of the image, and depending upon the amount of distortion, a circle, for example, can look like or appear as a distorted elli ⁇ se.
  • the distortion will start to be noticeable, and at a 10° angle the distortion will definitely be noticeable. Therefore at the 10-20° angles for the images in Figs. 6, 23 and 24, the discussed elli ⁇ soids might actually be circles but only appear to be elli ⁇ soidal due to this distortion.
  • the beam motion will further distort the shape of the image in the propagation direction (see Figs. 23 and 24).
  • Fig. 25 illustrates a four plate light baffle 2500 for air circulation within a light-tight enclosure by natural convection in accordance to embodiments.
  • a more efficient light-tight air circulation arrangement by means of forced convection can be realized by the addition of one or more miniature fans.
  • Fig. 26 is a photograph of a 25 ⁇ 25 cm rectilinear image taken at 45° tilt angle in accordance to embodiments.
  • Fig. 26 shows perspective distortion, also known as the keystone effect (e.g., image foreshortening caused by the angle-of-tilt with respect to the lens orientation).
  • the angular distortion disclosed above caused by the angle of tilt, as shown in Fig. 26, is known as a perspective distortion, but also called tilt distortion, the keystone effect, keystone distortion, or simply keystoning.
  • tilt distortion the keystone effect
  • keystone distortion or simply keystoning.
  • a familiar example occurs when taking a picture of a tall building from the ground, with the building looking more and more trapezoidal the taller it is and the greater the camera angle of tilt. None of the images presented herein have been corrected for this distortion, but it is easily corrected in real-time with modern image editing software.
  • the greater the angle of camera lens tilt the greater the distortion, and the greater the difference in image resolution at the image top edge as compared to the bottom edge.
  • the described embodiments are also of interest to particle research accelerators.
  • the particle beams used for such research include everything from electron and muon beams, to rare isotope and exotic heavy-ion and radioactive ion beams such as highly charged uranium ions beams (e.g., U-238 with a net charge of +92).
  • highly charged uranium ions beams e.g., U-238 with a net charge of +92.
  • Embodiments can also be used for external beam radiation therapy (“EBRT”) based on high energy photon beams (e.g., MeV gammas and/or X-rays).
  • EBRT external beam radiation therapy
  • high energy photon beams e.g., MeV gammas and/or X-rays.
  • Embodiments disclosed herein, such as those in Figs. 8 and 14-22, have advantages over the known ionization chamber beam monitors that find wide application in photon EBRT, with even more advantages for FLASH therapy. These advantages over ionization chambers include up to two orders-of-magnitude faster beam profile imaging time (e.g., ⁇ 10 ⁇ s vs. 1000 ⁇ s), at least one order-of- magnitude better intrinsic 2D position resolution (e.g., ⁇ 0.03 mm vs.
  • Figs. 8 and 14-22 are rectangular in shape, this is not a requirement or a limitation, and thus other shaped enclosures can be employed such as cylindrical shaped beam monitor enclosures.
  • the thickness of the above referenced ionization chambers and the scintillator based UFT beam monitor can be almost the same, depending upon specifications.
  • the maximum power consumption for such cameras could be on the order of >10 watts per camera, although the standby power when the camera isn't running would likely be much less depending upon the camera.
  • the average power consumption was only ⁇ 2 watts. Nevertheless, for the case of higher power consumption cameras operating in a sealed enclosure, heat generation followed by heat build-up could potentially be a problem if not adequately addressed.
  • 25 (Side View) drawing uses dashed arrows to illustrate the air flow through the staggered holes of the light baffle vent from entrance 2501 to exit 2502.
  • the purpose of the light baffle is to facilitate continuous circulation and exchange of cool ambient air flow through the scintillator box enclosure, or of cold gas such as cryogenically cooled nitrogen, or of oxygen enriched air, or even pure oxygen circulation through the scintillator box enclosure, while preventing or minimizing light leakage.
  • the motivation for oxygen circulation in the scintillator box enclosure is that oxygen diffusion into the scintillator can potentially minimize scintillator radiation damage by facilitating partial recovery or repair of scintillator damage by oxygen scavenging of radiation damaging free- radicals created in the scintillator by the incident ionizing radiation beam.
  • the light-tight enclosures can be sealed around the camera lenses, with the camera body protruding out of the light-tight enclosures and thereby venting the camera heat to the external ambient open-air environment.
  • a custom short nipple can be made with a light-tight seal (e.g., double O-ring) to the camera lens, thus leaving the camera body protruding outside and beyond the nipple flange to the external atmosphere.
  • a light-tight seal e.g., double O-ring
  • active cooling of the camera or silicon image sensor, or even cryogenic cooling as some cameras are sold with thermoelectric cooled sensors.
  • each camera and/or sensor could be calibrated for their signal response or drift as a function of temperature, and then the temperature of the camera or sensor in its enclosure monitored and its signal response automatically corrected by software.
  • the two most obvious locations for a neutron beam monitoring system might be: (1) immediately after the Li target, but before the moderator, where mostly slow neutrons but perha ⁇ s some fast neutrons (e.g.
  • ⁇ 0.8 to 1 MeV are typically generated by a ⁇ 2.6 MeV proton beam, and (2) at a location after the moderator where the neutron energy is degraded for many boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) treatment regimens to the epithermal energy range but more broadly across the range from thermal to slow or even fast neutrons. If only one neutron beam monitor is to be employed, the most important location would be right after the moderator and in front of the patient. Recent trials in Finland suggest that 1-30 keV “slow” neutrons constitute a practical energy range for BNCT treatment.
  • BNCT boron neutron capture therapy
  • the added moderator plus energy filtering greatly reduces the number of epithermal neutrons by at least several orders-of-magnitude, which are significantly more difficult to detect anyway due to their lower energy than the more energetic “slow” neutrons in location (1).
  • B 10 or another high neutron cross-section isotope (e.g., Li 6 or Gd) loaded scintillator is required to increase the deposited energy in the scintillating host.
  • Such scintillators are available in plastic sheets and can be incorporated in the scintillator-frame embodiments disclosed above and shown in Figs. 11-22.
  • the patient's head is typically positioned very close to the neutron beam exit nozzle, and therefore the thinnest profile beam monitors are required corresponding to the largest camera-lens angles with respect to the scintillator normal (e.g., 60°-70°).
  • Modified versions of Figs. 14-19 with camera angles of >60° have been designed for such applications with total beam monitor thicknesses of ⁇ 6 cm to 8 cm (i.e. , from entrance to exit window), which is almost the same thickness as an ionization chamber.
  • These embodiments look similar to Figs. 14-19, just thinner due to the more severe average camera-lens angle of ⁇ 60°-70° as compared to the ⁇ 45° angle in Figs. 14-19.
  • neutron cross-section isotope loaded scintillators are available, such as Eljen EJ-254 or Saint-Gobain BC-454 which are both B 10 loaded plastic PVT-based scintillators, or cerium activated Li 6 doped silicate glass scintillators from Saint-Gobain, although Li 6 doped plastics have also been fabricated.
  • NCT neutron capture therapy
  • the neutron beams employed span the energy range from thermal-NCT to fast-NCT (also called FNT), but most NCT programs appear to be based on epithermal-NCT.
  • One method to prolong the useful lifetime of the boron doped scintillator, and therefore not have to replace it as often, is to integrate a motorized X-Y translation stage into the beam monitor enclosure structure and thereby translate the entire system in the X-Y plane in relatively small ste ⁇ s as required, thus moving it around the isocenter and lengthening the period between scintillator replacement - this strategy is conceptually similar to moving the scintillator-frame in small ste ⁇ s in the 6-way-cross via the previously described push-pull linear positioners.
  • a general complication associated with scintillators for neutron detection is that most neutron sources also generate gammas, and scintillators that detect neutrons will therefore also detect gammas.
  • the disclosed beam monitor embodiments in Figs. 18 and 19 can effectively provide such discrimination for NCT applications such as BNCT and GdNCT, as well as for other applications such as homeland security.
  • the method by which this can be achieved is to use two different scintillators, as configured in Figs.
  • the scintillator on one side e.g., entrance window
  • the scintillator on the opposite side e.g., exit window
  • the scintillator on the opposite side e.g., exit window
  • a neutron sensitive scintillator such as the boron loaded EJ-254 based PVT ( ⁇ 5% natural boron) or BC-454 based PVT ( ⁇ 5% natural boron, although 10% natural boron is also available).
  • the method to separate the neutron generated image/signal from that produced by gammas is to digitally subtract the image/signal generated by the 1862 or 1962 scintillator from that generated by the 1860 or 1960 scintillator. Such a design will mimic or behave as though it has a high level of gamma to neutron discrimination.
  • p-type silicon can also be produced by doping with gallium (“Ga”) instead of boron, and in this way fabricate radiation-hardened silicon devices.
  • Ga gallium
  • Both radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant semiconductors, including CMOS image sensors and cameras are available from several sources, as such sensors and cameras are required for a number of applications including military, aerospace, scientific, and nuclear energy.
  • CMOS image sensors and cameras are available from several sources, as such sensors and cameras are required for a number of applications including military, aerospace, scientific, and nuclear energy.
  • the primary camera visual damage due to neutrons is the creation mostly of “bright” pixels in the silicon image sensor.
  • the “bright” pixels caused by rad-damage are high dark-current pixels or “hot- pixels”.
  • Partial neutron shielding of the cameras can be achieved by several means, including the use of boron doped transparent plastics in front of the camera body and lens, similar to commercially available 5% boron doped PVT plastic scintillators but without the addition of a fluor dopant.
  • the entire light-tight camera box enclosure can be fabricated out of a neutron shielding metal sheet such as a boron-aluminum alloy like BorAluminum from Ceradyne ( ⁇ 4.5% to 8% by weight of B-10 isotope) or AluBor (10% by weight of natural boron) from S-DH, or a boron clad aluminum such as BORAL or BORTEC.
  • a neutron shielding metal sheet such as a boron-aluminum alloy like BorAluminum from Ceradyne ( ⁇ 4.5% to 8% by weight of B-10 isotope) or AluBor (10% by weight of natural boron) from S-DH, or a boron clad aluminum such as BORAL or BORTEC.
  • boron composite plates made with boron fiber can be used.
  • a number of small shielding plates can be strategically placed around each camera body.
  • Another solution for shielding the front of the camera from neutrons is to use a thick, high boron content transparent borosilicate glass (e.g., 3-5% boron) in front of the camera lens, and maybe in front of the entire camera body.
  • borosilicate optical glasses There are many borosilicate optical glasses, but Schott N-ZK7 (15% B2O3 by wt.), N-BK10 (13% B2O3 by wt.) and N-BK7 (10% B2O3 by wt., also referenced as Borkron) with 4.7%, 4.0% and 3.1 % boron respectively (by weight), or Schott BOROFLOAT-33 with 4.0% boron (i.e., 13% B2O3) are all readily available as is Coming 7740 glass (Pyrex) which is 12.6% B2O3.
  • BOROFLOAT-33 being much more economical than other borated glasses is sold for neutron shielding in thicknesses up to ⁇ 25 mm. It is noted that extremely high B2O3 and Gd2Os glasses have been described in the patent literature such as Application PCT/JP2013/069578 which potentially would be more effective. Also a source of heavily doped boron and lithium polyethylene sheets, bricks and rods/cylinders is Shieldwerx (a division of Bladewerx LLC), which sells a 30% natural boron doped polyethylene product called SWX-210 (i.e., contains 1 .87 ⁇ 10 22 boron atoms per cm 3 ) as well as a 7.5% natural lithium doped polyethylene product SWX-215.
  • Shieldwerx a division of Bladewerx LLC
  • boron doped neutron shielding materials each neutron captured by boron generates a 0.42 MeV gamma ray; however, lithium doped shielding materials do not produce any neutron capture gammas.
  • the lower neutron capture cross-section of Li 6 compared to B 10 means that a greater thickness of lithium doped material is required than similarly doped borated material.
  • Relay lenses are made to extend the viewing distance for remote viewing and operate by producing intermediate planes of focus. Collecting and dispensing optical images is done with focusing lenses which transport the light pattern via a relay lens or train of relay lenses. Some examples include periscopes, endoscopes, remote inspection and surveillance. A wide selection of relay lenses are commercially available.
  • Embodiments are directed to external beam radiation therapy (“EBRT”) related applications for both particle and photon radiation.
  • EBRT external beam radiation therapy
  • the embodiments are directed towards beam monitoring systems designed for use in either of two locations: (1) internal beam monitors located within the accelerator beam delivery system and therefore prior to the beam exiting the system nozzle or snout or collimator, or (2) external beam monitors located outside the accelerator beam delivery system after exiting the system nozzle or snout or collimator and thus positioned after the delivery system exit and in front of the patient.
  • Embodiments can further be used for a variety of industrial and scientific beam monitoring applications such as ion implantation accelerators (e.g., depending on ion, typically >0.3 MeV), and nuclear physics particle accelerators.
  • ion beam implantation will have the most stringent detector/monitor design requirements with regard to beam transparency, as the ion particle energies are frequently below 1 MeV and the particles themselves are typically highly ionized, heavy nuclei.
  • Many accelerators used for nuclear physics also operate at relatively low to medium ion energies, so the same beam monitor concept in accordance to embodiments can be used for both applications.
  • Some additional advantages of the described embodiments include the relative low cost of the beam monitor critical hardware, and the low cost lifetime operational/maintenance expense which includes the minimal overhead expense associated with the ultra-fast internal calibration system, as compared with the time consuming calibration cost for conventional systems. This benefit is also important for scientific applications (e.g., nuclear physics) that subject other detectors/monitors to costly maintenance and radiation damage replacement expenses.
  • UFT beam monitors are particularly useful with “FLASH” irradiation therapy in which short pulses ( ⁇ 0.5 second) of radiation are delivered at u Itrahigh dose rates of >40 Gy/s (i.e. , FLASH) compared to conventional dose rates of ⁇ 0.03 Gy/s in single doses over a period of ⁇ 60 seconds.
  • FLASH radiotherapy may well result in a paradigm shift in the treatment of cancer as u Itrahigh dose rates appear to increase the differential response between normal and tumor tissue, thus increasing the lethality to malignant cells while not significantly increasing damage to healthy cells.
  • Figs. 28A-C illustrate a system that includes a scintillator-frame beam monitor holding three separate scintillator films in a 6-way- cross vacuum chamber with a camera in an attached 4-way-cross open system capable of actively or passively cooling the camera in accordance with embodiments.
  • Figs. 28A-C illustrate a system 2800 that includes a segmented ladder type of scintillator film holder 2844 in Fig.
  • the segmented ladder scintillator film holder embodiment shown in Figs. 28A-C holds three scintillator frames, but in other embodiments can hold more if each scintillator frame is either smaller as in Fig. 29A, or if the nipple length is longer and can accommodate a larger size segmented ladder.
  • the embodiment shown in Figs. 28A-C includes a larger tube diameter 4-way-cross 2815 attached to the vacuum viewport assembly at the top of the smaller tube diameter 6-way-cross.
  • Fig. 28B is a perspective view of system 2800, in which the camera body 2804 is attached to heat sinks on four sides for passive cooling of the camera body.
  • Fig. 28B shows two of the flanges 2817 and 2818 left open of the 4- way-cross with top flange 2816 also left open for natural passive convective air cooling over the cooling fins of the camera heat sinks.
  • the larger tube diameter 4-way-cross of Figs. 28A-C is designed so that it has enough room to accommodate an active cooling system such as a Peltier TE (i.e. , thermoelectric) cooling assembly.
  • a Peltier TE i.e. , thermoelectric
  • the 4-way-cross 2815 can accommodate two fans (not shown) attached to the side flanges 2817 and 2818, with a larger size, third fan (not shown) mounted to the top flange 2816. These fans can operate either in the blower or exhaust modes and most likely will be some combination of both with cool air being blown in and hot air being exhausted out.
  • a test camera sensor board temperature was reduced by ⁇ 25°C which is important to reducing sensor noise when taking long camera exposures.
  • FIG. 28B provides a good view of the 6- way-cross 2801 entrance flange through which the particle beam enters as it passes through the center scintillator frame.
  • the camera light-blocking disk/plate 2808 located between the camera body 2804 and camera lens 2806, which blocks light that can enter the 4-way-cross through the open flanges 2816-2818 from finding its way into the camera though the lens 2806.
  • the UV-light generated from a UV-source such as a UV-LED attached to the support ring 2809 can be blocked from reaching the camera sensor by a UV-blocking and visible transmitting filter (not shown) attached to the camera lens 2806.
  • a UV-photosensor (not shown) such as a UV- photodiode for each UV-source for monitoring and/or calibrating the UV-source intensity.
  • Fig. 28C provides a frontal perspective view at a different angle of the 4- way-cross 2815 that encloses the camera assembly.
  • Figs. 29A-B illustrate a system that includes a scintillator-frame beam monitor holding six separate scintillator films in a 6-way-cube vacuum chamber with a camera in an attached 4-way-cross open system capable of actively or passively cooling the camera in accordance with embodiments.
  • the embodiment shown in Figs. 29A-B illustrates a system 2900 that is similar to that described for Figs. 28A-C, and shares most all of the same component/element features, but with the following differences. Instead of system 2900 being based on the 6-way-cross 2801 in Fig. 28, it is based on a 6-way-cube 2901 . Further, the segmented ladder type of scintillator film holder 2944 in Figs.
  • 29A-B is shown to hold six different scintillator frames with each scintillator frame 2940 having a smaller scintillator area as can be seen in comparing the scintillator frame area in Fig. 29A to that in Fig. 28A. Otherwise the component descriptions for system 2800 apply to system 2900.
  • the primary advantage of the 6-way-cube structure is that four of the six sides provide closer access to the center of the beamline than in the 6-way-cross and therefore results in a more compact structure that can potentially be an advantage in allowing closer placement of the camera and PMT to the scintillator.
  • the cube based structure can also be a disadvantage in terms of a somewhat shorter length for the segmented ladder scintillator film holder and the fact that there can be no rotatable flanges built into the 6-way-cube, whereas the 6-way- cross can have one or two rotatable flanges on each axis.
  • the camera used for the photograph of Fig. 26 was a Basler Ace acA2040-120um with 8.9 mm diagonal (i.e., 7.1 mm ⁇ 5.3 mm) 3.1 MP resolution CMOS image sensor, corresponding to a 1/1.8” image circle.
  • the lens used was relatively inexpensive $75 lens (i.e., not a macro lens) having a matching 1/1.8” image circle with an aperture of F/2 and a focal length of 4 mm.
  • the lens front optical element was ⁇ 110 mm from the target center (i.e. working distance) on exactly a 45° line. However, the horizontal line of the 10 cm outlined square at the bottom of Fig.
  • the maximum size scintillator film 2840 in Fig. 28A that can be viewed through the 8.9 cm diameter viewport window of the 6-way-cross 4” tube O.D. in Figs. 28 and 29 is ⁇ 7.6 cm ⁇ 8.2 cm. Given the excellent depth-of-field at this close working distance, which is compatible with the embodiments illustrated in Figs.
  • a 7.6 cm ⁇ 8.2 cm rectangular area would fit roughly midway between the 5 cm and 10 cm outlined squares and would therefore fall well within the field-of-view and the depth-of-field focus of the described camera-lens system.
  • a higher resolution camera than used for Fig. 26 could be employed.
  • An example of one such camera is the 12.2 MP Basler acA4024-29um combined with an 8 mm focal length lens at a working distance of 100 mm, which could achieve a full pixel FOV of ⁇ 21 ⁇ m.
  • Fig. 32 is a reconstructed image showing the beam position, shape and intensity profile of a circularly orbiting electron beam photographed off of an oscilloscope scintillator screen and captured in 21 ⁇ s to minimize the beam image blur caused by the circular beam movement in accordance to embodiments.
  • FIG. 32 is captured in 21 ⁇ s off an oscilloscope screen using the same 3.1 MP camera as in FIG. 26 with a 2048 ⁇ 1536 pixel CMOS sensor and an image intensity profile covering 3 orders-of- magnitude.
  • the full pixel field-of-view is ⁇ 30 ⁇ m
  • with an estimated image and position accuracy of ⁇ 15 ⁇ m and a 2-3 ⁇ m spatial resolution.
  • the 3D image in Fig. 32 employed the same 3.1 MP machine vision camera (i.e., 2048 x 1536 pixel CMOS sensor) as used in Fig.
  • Fig. 32 An analysis of Fig. 32 indicates that the image position accuracy is ⁇ 15 ⁇ m corresponding to one- half the full pixel FOV.
  • the FWHM for this figure is ⁇ 10 pixels corresponding to ⁇ 300 ⁇ m.
  • the beam position is defined in Fig.
  • the beam centroid center-of-gravity position was determined to have about a 2-3 ⁇ m spatial resolution and with a higher pixel resolution camera the reconstructed image position and width uncertainty can likely be reduced to within ⁇ 1 ⁇ m.
  • Figs. 26 and 32 provide visual confirmation that the transmissive ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system embodiments described herein for EBRT applications, such as those illustrated in Fig. 14-22 and Fig. 30, are optically capable of generating high resolution beam images. Given the same size camera CMOS image circle of 1/1.8”, but at the longer average working distance of ⁇ 170 mm for the folded optical path of each camera in Fig. 30 as compared to the 110 mm in Fig. 26 that was used to replicate the approximate working distance in the 6-way-crosses shown in Figs.
  • the field-of-view will be proportionately larger and will more than cover the larger scintillator areas in the aforementioned EBRT figures and embodiments such as in Fig. 30.
  • a reasonable full-size scintillator area for the EBRT applications could be on the order of about 26 cm ⁇ 30 cm, but if covered by four cameras each focused on one quadrant as in Figs. 17, 19, 20 and 30, the minimum field-of-view for each camera would be 13 cm ⁇ 15 cm which can be seen as partially covered in Fig. 26 at a working distance of just 110 mm.
  • the longer average working distance of 170 mm in the referenced figures will allow the same camera-lens setup to more than cover this larger scintillator area even when taking into account that the closest distance from the camera lens to the top scintillator horizontal edge will be ⁇ 130 mm.
  • the optics work out that a somewhat longer focal length lens with a higher pixelated camera CMOS sensor could be used to realize better pixel resolution than for the previously referenced 4 mm focal length lens.
  • Figs. 30A-C illustrate a system that includes an eight camera, full-size double window/scintillator sliding-frame module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 30A-C, which illustrates system 3000, is similar to that for system 1900 as shown in Figs. 19A-B and shares most all of the same features, but with a few important differences.
  • Both systems 1900 and 3000 illustrate an eight camera, full-size double window/scintillator frame module beam monitor in a light-tight slim enclosure in accordance with embodiments.
  • both systems employ four cameras per scintillator, with one mirror 3030 and 3032 in close proximity to each camera lens 3040 and 3042 as shown respectively in Figs. 30A and 30C, and with all eight mirrors located out of the incident ionizing radiation beam path and obliquely facing both the lens and the scintillator at an angle.
  • each machine vision camera-lens unit and its associated close proximity mirror comprises a folded optical system configuration with respect to its view of one section or quadrant of the scintillator surface to reduce a thickness or depth of the light-tight enclosure with a projection of its optical axis oriented at an angle of incidence of 45° ⁇ 35° to a surface of the scintillator.
  • both systems are designed so that they can accommodate one or more UV-sources (e.g., UV-LEDs) 3050 and 3051 in Fig. 30A and one or more UV-photosensors (e.g., UV-photodiodes) 3052 and 3053 in Fig. 30A for internal system calibration which includes monitoring each scintillator for radiation damage.
  • UV-sources e.g., UV-LEDs
  • UV-photosensors e.g., UV-photodiodes
  • system 1900 the two window/scintillator modules 1962 and 1960 can be replaced from outside the light-tight enclosure as illustrated in detail in the embodiment shown in Figs. 14B. More specifically, the outer retaining frame 1410 is first removed and then the window/scintillator replacement module 1460 is dropped into the recessed frame of the cover plate 1414 with the outer retaining frame 1410 then replaced.
  • the window/scintillator replacement module 1460 is dropped into the recessed frame of the cover plate 1414 with the outer retaining frame 1410 then replaced.
  • the window/scintillator module 3023 is attached to the sliding plate frame 3025 and then the combined window/scintillator plate assembly is slid into a track or channel in the top cover plate 3010 as shown by the dotted arrow in Fig. 30B and viewed in Figs. 30A and 30C.
  • the same design for replacement of the window/scintillator in the bottom cover plate 3020 is also shown in Fig. 30A in which window/scintillator module 3022 is attached to the sliding plate frame 3024.
  • the described embodiments identified as systems 1800, 1900 and 3000 therefore each constitute an integrated system with built-in internal redundancy. However, if so desired the data from the two independent beam monitoring detection units could be combined (i.e.
  • Fig. 31 illustrates a method to avoid loss of data during the readout dead-time in a dual-scintillator multiple machine vision camera system by introducing a time-delay in the camera sensor readout sequence between the two scintillator camera systems in which the two sets of cameras are time-shifted in their shutter exposures by approximately one-half of a time-frame so that one set of cameras is always collecting data during the dead-time readout period of the other set of cameras in accordance with one embodiment.
  • Fig. 31 illustrates a timing diagram illustrating three sequential camera frames, from two different camera-scintillator systems, each frame of 100 ⁇ s duration (i.e. equivalent to 10,000 fps), with 90 ⁇ s exposure time (i.e.
  • Fig. 31 shows one such example with each scintillator-camera system operating at a frame rate of 10,000 fps (i.e., frames per second), corresponding to 100 ⁇ s per frame and consisting of a 90 ⁇ s exposure window (i.e.
  • the entrance and/or exit ultra-thin windows of the beam monitor enclosure can be dark colored or black to minimize internal photon reflections from the emitting scintillator materials and/or UV-LEDs, but can also be a dull or even shiny reflective ultra-thin, low density, low-Z metal such as an aluminum or titanium foil if the internal beam monitor reflectivity is properly calibrated and/or taken into account.
  • window and scintillator might best be assembled as a single window/scintillator frame module as previously described in which both components (i.e. , window and scintillator) can be conveniently replaced at the same time.
  • the beam monitor material thickness and density should be as low as possible.
  • ultra-thin aluminum foils are an excellent choice although titanium foils might be superior because they are stronger and in thicknesses of 0.0005” are essentially defect and wrinkle free which is not true for aluminum foil in this thickness.
  • a thin-film metal coating (e.g., ⁇ 0.1-0.2 ⁇ m) on a polymer film base could be even better, especially if also coated black or coupled to an ultra-thin black polymer film.
  • Metallized polymer films with the polymer base being as thin as ⁇ 1-2 ⁇ m are available in large size continuous rolls with widths on the order of 1 meter, as are black polymer films as thin as ⁇ 5 ⁇ m, thus a layered composite window of ultra-thin black polymer coupled to a metallized polymer could have a total thickness of ⁇ 7 ⁇ m, while ultra-thin aluminum foils are commercially available in continuous lengths in roll widths of ⁇ 48” to 60” and in thicknesses as small as 6 ⁇ m.
  • Black coated aluminum foils are available in thickness of ⁇ 14 ⁇ m (i.e., with the foil being ⁇ 12.7 ⁇ m and the matt black coating being ⁇ 1-2 ⁇ m).
  • scintillator films such as BoPEN (biaxially- oriented polyethylene naphthalate) as thin as 3 ⁇ m, which have been tested and found to be both satisfactory and highly radiation damage resistant as seen in Fig. 3, the total material thickness of the described embodiments could be sufficiently small so that to first order it could be almost ignored with respect to the beam monitor material contribution to electron beam scattering, beam energy loss and intensity loss for electron based EBRT modalities such as eFLASH.
  • the beam energy loss and electron scattering will be practically negligible in comparison to the energy loss and scattering of the electron beam in passing through 1 meter of air.
  • the energy loss for a 20 MeV electron beam in passing through a 35 ⁇ m thickness of aluminum foil will be ⁇ 22 keV (i.e. , 0.11 % loss), as compared to an energy loss of ⁇ 305 keV for the same beam passing through 1 meter of air (density of 0.0012 g/cm 3 for dry air at 20°C at sea level).
  • the energy loss through two aluminum foil windows and a few microns of scintillator film will be just 7.2% of the energy loss for the same beam in passing through 1 meter of air.
  • the energy loss through the beam monitor will be ⁇ 15 keV (i.e., 0.38% loss), as compared to a 222 keV energy loss through 1 meter of air, which corresponds to the beam monitor energy loss being just 6.8% of the energy loss through 1 meter of air.
  • High energy electron beams generated by linear accelerators have been used for almost 50 years to treat cancer by EBRT.
  • the clinical linacs used for electron RT (radiation therapy) generally cover the energy range of 4-20 MeV.
  • the distal depth of 90% maximal dose (d90) for electron-RT corresponding to the 4 MeV to 20 MeV energy range is 1 .5 cm and 6.1 cm respectively.
  • clinical electron linacs with energies >25 MeV are required but have not been developed for clinical use (e.g. energies of ⁇ 100 MeV might be needed for deep-seated, large, dense tumors in the abdomen and pelvis).
  • Novel EBRT modalities continue to be conceived, researched and evaluated for clinical translation and human trials. Therefore, besides the various EBRT modalities discussed above and listed in the “Background Information” section, several novel spatial-temporal modalities including some that can exploit the FLASH effect to some degree with spatial grid separation are being investigated and could benefit by the inventions and embodiments described herein, including GRID, LATTICE, minibeam and microbeam radiotherapy (“RT”) in addition to FLASH-RT which has been previously described.
  • GRID GRID
  • LATTICE minibeam
  • minibeam minibeam
  • RT microbeam radiotherapy
  • MRT microbeam-RT
  • the ionizing beam used in animal studies has typically had a half-bandwidth on the order of ⁇ 25-50 ⁇ m with about a 200-400 ⁇ m pitch or spacing between adjacent peak centers.
  • the ionizing-radiation has been almost exclusively high energy X-ray photons from one of only a few such capable synchrotron sources in the world. Therefore, for a practical system in a clinical setting a compact, high flux, photon source is needed than can deliver dose rates on the order of 50-100 Gy/s or greater.
  • Several companies and academic grou ⁇ s are pursuing this challenge, but it is still many years in the future and for this reason, protons and heavier ions such as helium and even carbon are being evaluated for MRT because such sources could be easier to develop and have the additional advantage over photons of maximum energy deposition at the Bragg peak with a sharp intensity fall-off thereafter.
  • proton minibeam-RT As a more practical alternative to MRT, proton minibeam-RT (pMBRT) has been demonstrated using typical beam widths in the range of 0.4 mm to 0.7 mm with very favorable results such that preparations for the first clinical trials are now being made in Europe and with heavier-ions also under consideration.
  • One problem with the lightest particles such as electrons and protons for MRT is that they are the most prone to scattering and if having to traverse deep into the body they would scatter or smear so much as to significantly lose their microbeam spatial integrity.
  • the beam source is generally positioned as close to the patient as possible. This means that for high spatial resolution multibeam modalities there is likely not enough space to place the previously described beam monitors between the radiation source/collimator and the patient.
  • the light-tight enclosed beam monitors previously described can be configured for use in patient treatment planning, diagnostics, analysis, dosimetry and quality assurance (QA).
  • QA quality assurance
  • 33A and 33B describe two versions of system 3300 that can be used with appropriate phantoms to measure beam shape, intensity profile, fluence and dosimetry, as well as loss in beam definition due to scattering and absorption as the beam of ionizing-radiation passes through a patient phantom.
  • the described method and system for treatment planning and patient QA can be used with essentially all EBRT modalities, including the temporal and spatial modalities described above of FLASH RT, LATTICE-RT, GRID-RT, minibeam-RT and microbeam-RT, with photons, electrons, protons and ions, and for streaming images at rates of 10,000 fps (i.e. 100 ⁇ s per frame) and beam widths as narrow as 25-50 ⁇ m.
  • Figs. 33A-B illustrate a system and method in which an ionizing- radiation beam source with two separated ultra-thin scintillator based multi-camera beam monitors can be used with a patient phantom or material cross-sectional phantom placed between them for patient treatment planning, analysis and quality assurance including 2D measurement of beam scattering, loss of beam quality/sharpness, and beam fluence as the beam penetrates the phantom for both single beam and grid separated multibeam high spatial resolution radiotherapies (RT) such as minibeam-RT and microbeam-RT in accordance to embodiments.
  • RT high spatial resolution radiotherapies
  • 33A and 33B are both based on the use of two highly transmissive beam monitors 3310 and 3320 separated by an adjustable air volume/gap as indicated by the two narrow dotted arrows going through the beam monitor 3320 indicating that the beam monitor can be slid back and forth as required on the open frame track/channel structure 3330 and 3340 which also serves to keep the two beam monitors aligned with respect to one another.
  • the space between the two beam monitors is to allow insertion of either a patient specific phantom such as 3350 in Fig. 33A or an adjustable thickness and density phantom 3370 as shown in Fig. 33B that includes one or more material plates that can be of different densities and thicknesses as indicated by plates 3371- 3375.
  • the volume of air between the two beam monitors is minimized by positioning the phantom 3350 or 3370 as close as practical to beam monitor 3310 and then sliding beam monitor 3320 close up to the phantom on the opposite side.
  • the beam of ionizing-radiation enters beam monitor 3310 through ultra-thin window 3311 and exits through the scintillator/window module 3312, then passes through the phantom media before entering beam monitor 3320 through the window/scintillator 3322 and exiting through the ultra-thin window 3321 as indicated by the lighter-gray short and wide dotted-arrow 3390.
  • Photons generated by the ionizing-radiation beam 3380 passing through the beam scintillator 3312 are collected and imaged by one or more cameras, such as 3315, viewing the scintillator through a close proximity mirror 3316 at an oblique angle that constitutes a folded optical system located outside of the beam path and with a projection of the camera system optical axis oriented at an angle of incidence of 45° ⁇ 35° to a surface of the scintillator.
  • the same scintillator and folded optics camera system arrangement is employed for the ionizing-radiation beam as it passes through the exit beam scintillator 3322.
  • the beam monitors themselves can be essentially any of the light-tight enclosure beam monitor embodiments previously described including both single and dual scintillator systems, although for most patient planning, analysis and QA applications the single scintillator embodiments 3310 and 3320 would likely be the most appropriate.
  • This method of analysis in tracking beam degradation through an adjustable plate phantom could prove to be especially useful for patient planning and QA with high spatial resolution ionizing-radiation beam modalities involving both single beams as well as a grid of multiple beams such as employed with minibeam-RT and microbeam-RT.
  • the range of appropriate material densities for use as the adjustable plate phantom 3370 in Fig. 33B to simulate a patient's body/organs being exposed to an incident ionizing-radiation beam can be realized using a variety of polymers/plastics and even metal plates.
  • the materials used do not have to be optically transparent since the cameras view the scintillators obliquely from the sides.
  • plastics/polymers are available in a wide range of densities that cover the human body from fat to bones, for example from 0.9 g/cm 3 using polypropylene, to 1.8 g/cm 3 using PVDF (i.e. polyvinylidene fluoride or Kynar-740).
  • a magnesium (Mg) plate has about the same density as PVDF ( ⁇ 1.8 g/cm 3 ) which is close in density to that of the human skull and bones, but with Mg having the benefit of being a metal in the same Periodic Table Group as Ca, with a higher average-Z (i.e. atomic number) than PVDF and a lower-Z than Ca, although a good match to what might be considered the average-Z of the chemical composition of the skull and bones.
  • some of the advantages of the novel beam monitoring system technology and embodiments disclosed herein include: (1) a very small monitor thickness in the beam path that combined with its low-Z material and essentially perfect uniformity provide practically negligible interference with the beam and minimal stray radiation in contrast with the existing devices; (2) a large dynamic range or bandwidth of 2D beam fluence/dose measurements that allows for precise beam intensity measurements and dosimetry for low, standard and very high beam rates (a la FLASH); (3) an ultra-fast true 2D beam profile imaging capability with ⁇ 5 ⁇ m spatial resolution and ⁇ 50 to 100 ⁇ s timing resolution which is greatly superior in comparison to existing beam monitors based on ionization chamber arrays and impossible with strip/wire ionization chambers.
  • the beam monitor system 2800 in Figs. 28A- C includes a camera 2804 mounted in a 4-way-cross open chamber 2815 attached to the 6-way-cross of system 2800.
  • the 4-way-cross chamber 2815 is open to the air and capable of actively or passively cooling the camera 2804 in accordance with embodiments. Because the camera chamber is open to the air, it does not need to be in a vacuum chamber enclosure.
  • Embodiments include the camera mounted in any type or shape structure or enclosure, including a plastic or metal box, a modified cylinder, a circular truncated cone, etc. or even a 3D printed plastic enclosure of irregular shape.
  • the black oxide process is a wet chemical bath process resulting in a uniform coating on all surfaces exposed to the bath.
  • the black oxide is actually magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) and is chemically formed on the metal surface by chemical reaction with the iron in the stainless steel.
  • the iron black oxide is subject to chemical reaction with air and moisture, but is protected in a vacuum environment.
  • the black oxide is typically protected with a very thin layer of oil which is not compatible with vacuum operation.
  • Parylene is considered a very high performance conformal coating and has been approved by NASA for space applications. It has also been shown to be thermally stable under continuous exposure for 10 years at 220°C, so can definitely survive a typical bakeout process at 150-200°C to eliminate any outgassing of which there would be very little.
  • CMOS or CCD silicon photosensors are most sensitive to visible photons, although their spectral sensitivity typically extends from the near- infrared to the near-ultraviolet.
  • FPIs flat-panel imagers
  • FPIs employ an ionizing-radiation detecting conversion medium coupled to a pixelated flat-panel readout backplane of either active-matrix amorphous-silicon (a-Si) thin-film transistors (TFT) or silicon-CMOS.
  • a-Si active-matrix amorphous-silicon
  • TFT thin-film transistors
  • CMOS silicon-CMOS
  • the incident ionizing- radiation is typically converted into electrical signals via the addition of either a direct-conversion or indirect-conversion medium.
  • the silicon-based pixelated backplane array is transformed into an ionizing-radiation imaging device by adding a radiation detecting conversion media such as a relatively thin photoconductor (i.e., direct-conversion) or a phosphor/scintillator (i.e., indirect- conversion).
  • a radiation detecting conversion media such as a relatively thin photoconductor (i.e., direct-conversion) or a phosphor/scintillator (i.e., indirect- conversion).
  • a radiation detecting conversion media such as a relatively thin photoconductor (i.e., direct-conversion) or a phosphor/scintillator (i.e., indirect- conversion).
  • a radiation detecting conversion media such as a relatively thin photoconductor (i.e., direct-conversion) or a phosphor/
  • both crystalline and polycrystalline semiconductor materials are most often employed, some examples being: amorphous-selenium (a-Se), cadmium telluride (CdTe), cadmium zinc telluride sometimes referred to as CZT (Cd ZnTe), lead iodide (Pbl 2 ), mercuric iodide (Hgl 2 ), lead oxide (PbO), thallium bromide (TIBr), and various perovskites with some compositions designed for direct-conversion and other compositions used as scintillators for indirect-conversion. It is noted that for direct-conversion X-ray FPIs, the best materials are relatively high-bandgap (e.g., ⁇ 2 eV) semiconductors that contain elements of high-atomic-number.
  • CMOS or CCD based sensor cameras and flat-panel pixelated imaging systems there are a number of other types of pixelated imaging detectors and devices that can be configured as pixelated imaging systems or cameras. These include various types of multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) or pixelated solid state photomultipliers (SSPMs) such as pixelated silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) which are a high density matrix/array of Geiger-mode-operated avalanche photodiodes (APDs) also called single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPAD).
  • a relatively new type of pixelated imaging detector/counter is the quanta image sensor (QIS).
  • the highest gain ( ⁇ 10 6 ) pixelated imaging detectors are multianode photomultiplier tubes (i.e., pixelated PMTs) such as the ones from Hamamatsu available in either an 8 x 8 multianode matrix (64 pixels) or a 16 ⁇ 16 multianode matrix format (256 pixels).
  • any of the above pixelated imaging detectors can be optically coupled to a suitable imaging lens and with the addition of associated electronics can be used as the “camera” element, in conjunction with the scintillator screen, for the various transmission ionizing-radiation beam monitoring systems described herein.
  • all of the above imaging detectors could serve the same function as the CMOS or CCD silicon photosensor in a conventional camera. Therefore, when packaged in a light-tight enclosure with appropriate lens mount, lens, supporting electronics and software, the resulting pixelated imaging system would in essence constitute a novel camera system for which a number of embodiments and applications are possible - from medical imaging to non- destructive testing, nuclear physics, high-energy physics, astronomy, etc.
  • the Sigma-Aldrich materials science phosphor and luminescent materials online products pages list more than 300 inorganic phosphor hosts, dopants and products including not only bulk materials such as crystals and powders, but also nanoparticles and about a hundred phosphor dot products.
  • many inorganic scintillators are hydroscopic which makes them harder to work with when exposed to an ambient environment.
  • Csl(TI) One of the most widely used inorganic scintillators is Csl(TI), which is only slightly hydroscopic, but even in small sizes of 2 to 4 cm in diagonal the thinnest single crystal polished material available is ⁇ 1 mm thick, with larger sizes being considerably thicker.
  • these scintillators are deposited on a polymer, or glass, or metal substrate (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, etc.), and incorporate an ultra-thin protective film covering if hydroscopic, such as a polyester, acrylic, or an aromatic polymer (e.g., parylene) of less than 10 ⁇ m thickness.
  • a polymer, or glass, or metal substrate e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, etc.
  • an ultra-thin protective film covering if hydroscopic such as a polyester, acrylic, or an aromatic polymer (e.g., parylene) of less than 10 ⁇ m thickness.
  • the most common such scintillator substrate is a polyester sheet of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) of ⁇ 150 to 250 ⁇ m thickness.
  • the two most widely used scintillator materials for large-area X-ray FPIs are Csl(TI) or Csl(Na) with phosphor thicknesses from about 0.1 to 0.7 mm, and GOS(Tb) or GOS(Pr) with phosphor thicknesses from about 0.05 to 0.5 mm. It is noted that ZnS(Ag) is also commercially available from at least one vendor in a 0.05 mm phosphor layer thickness on a 250 ⁇ m thick polyester substrate.
  • the two most popular scintillator screen host materials are Csl and GOS, which are commercially available in sizes up to about 43 cm ⁇ 43 cm.
  • GOS is available in large sheets up to 1 .00 m ⁇ 1 .75 m.
  • Both the GOS and ZnS screens are actually a dispersion of very small phosphor crystals embedded in an organic binder/media (e.g., glue, epoxy, etc.). As a consequence, these types of phosphor layer coatings are sometimes called granular scintillator films.
  • any of the hundreds of inorganic phosphors can be fabricated in a similar fashion as the above described GOS scintillator screens in which small crystalline particles or nanoparticles are dispersed in an organic matrix (e.g., binder or glue layer) and coated on an appropriate thin substrate, with or without an ultra-thin protective layer.
  • organic matrix e.g., binder or glue layer
  • a few such possible scintillator materials (using their abbreviated name designations) activated by Ce include: LSO:Ce, LYSO:Ce, GSO:Ce, YAG:Ce, TAG:Ce, GAGG:Ce, GPS:Ce, etc.
  • GOS based scintillator screens can be used to advantage in a neutron beam monitoring system, as Gd has the highest neutron cross-section of any element on the periodic table.
  • GSO GPS and GAGG also contain Gd and could be potential candidate materials for this application.
  • boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and gadolinium neutron capture therapy (Gd-NCT) are being pursued worldwide for treating some of the most difficult types of cancer tumors by external beam radiation therapy, so use of Gd containing phosphors could prove important for monitoring the incident neutron beam.
  • Embodiments include an ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system that includes an enclosure structure with at least one ultra-thin window to an incident ionizing-radiation beam.
  • Embodiments include at least one scintillator within the enclosure structure that is substantially directly in an incident ionizing- radiation beam path, at least one ultraviolet (UV) illumination source within the enclosure structure and facing the scintillator, and at least one pixelated imaging system within the enclosure structure located out of an incident ionizing-radiation beam path and comprising at least one pixelated photosensor device optically coupled to an imaging lens.
  • UV ultraviolet
  • Embodiments further include at least one UV photosensor within the enclosure structure positioned to monitor the UV illumination source, a computing system that processes and analyzes image data streaming in real- time from the pixelated imaging system and a UV bandpass filter optically coupled in close proximity to each UV illumination source, the UV bandpass filter having maximum spectral transmission in a spectral region of maximum emission from the UV illumination source.
  • Embodiments further include a UV blocking and visible transmitting bandpass filter optically coupled to an imaging lens with the bandpass filter having high transmission in a visible spectral emission region of the scintillator, a plurality of pixelated imaging devices surrounding a scintillator area, each pixelated imaging device having its corresponding lens focused on and its field of view centered on one particular section of the scintillator area, and the thin or relatively thin scintillator based on a gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) phosphor material coated on a thin substrate.
  • GOS gadolinium oxysulfide
  • the thin or relatively thin scintillator is based on a micro-columnar Csl phosphor material coated on a thin substrate, or the thin or relatively thin scintillator is of an organic plastic material, and at least one of the pixelated imaging devices is a machine vision camera, or at least one of the pixelated imaging devices is a pixelated photomultipler (PMT).
  • PMT pixelated photomultipler
  • At least one of the pixelated imaging devices includes a pixelated photomultiplier (PMT), or at least one of the pixelated imaging devices includes a machine vision camera, and is configured as an image collection system having a projection of its optical axis oriented at an angle of incidence of 45 ⁇ 35 degrees to a surface of the scintillator, where the scintillator comprises an approximately 1 .5 mm or less thickness.
  • PMT pixelated photomultiplier
  • Embodiments further include an ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system that includes an enclosure structure with at least one ultra-thin window to an incident ionizing-radiation beam, wherein the ultra-thin window is highly transmissive to ionizing-radiation, at least one scintillator within the enclosure structure that is substantially directly in an incident ionizing-radiation beam path, at least one pixelated imaging system within the enclosure structure comprising at least one pixelated photosensor device optically coupled to an imaging lens located out of an incident ionizing-radiation beam path, and a mirror in close proximity to each imaging lens and located out of an incident ionizing-radiation beam path and obliquely facing both the lens of the pixelated imaging system and the scintillator at an angle, wherein each pixelated imaging system and its associated close proximity mirror comprises a folded optical system configuration with respect to its view of the scintillator surface to reduce a thickness or depth of the enclosure structure and having a projection of its optical axis oriented
  • the scintillator is of an organic plastic material, or the scintillator comprises an inorganic phosphor layer coated on a thin substrate.
  • Embodiments further include a plurality of pixelated imaging devices surrounding a scintillator area, each having a folded optical system configuration with its optical system focused on and its field of view centered on one particular section of the scintillator area.
  • the incident ionizing-radiation beam of particles or photons is employed for treating cancer by external beam radiation therapy including new modalities exploiting a FLASH effect using primarily electrons, protons, ions, neutrons and/or X-ray photons.
  • Embodiments further perform the monitoring of a beam of ionizing- radiation in real-time, including tracking of beam position, movement, intensity profile, beam fluence and external dosimetry.
  • the monitoring includes receiving the ionizing-radiation beam in a scintillator enclosed in a light-tight structure with an entrance and exit highly transmissive to the incident ionizing-radiation beam, a folded optical system comprising a mirror in close proximity to each imaging lens and located out of an incident ionizing-radiation beam path and obliquely facing both the lens of the image collection system and the scintillator at an angle, wherein each image collection system and its associated close proximity mirror comprises a folded optical system configuration with respect to its view of the scintillator surface, where a multitude of emitting photons are created by the ionizing-radiation beam passing through the scintillator, some of which emitted photons are captured by the pixelated photosensor device of each pixelated imaging system, and causing a train

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Radiation (AREA)
  • Radiation-Therapy Devices (AREA)

Abstract

Des modes de réalisation concernent généralement un système de surveillance de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant qui comprend une structure d'enceinte avec au moins une fenêtre ultra-mince à un faisceau de rayonnement ionisant incident. Des modes de réalisation comprennent en outre au moins un scintillateur à l'intérieur de la structure d'enceinte qui est sensiblement directement dans un trajet de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant incident et au moins une source d'éclairage ultraviolet à l'intérieur de la structure d'enceinte et faisant face au scintillateur. Au moins un système d'imagerie pixelisé à l'intérieur de la structure d'enceinte est situé à l'extérieur d'un trajet de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant incident et comprend au moins un dispositif de photocapteur pixelisé couplé optiquement à une lentille d'imagerie.
EP21890029.8A 2020-11-06 2021-11-04 Système de surveillance de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant Withdrawn EP4240481A4 (fr)

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US17/091,310 US11027152B1 (en) 2018-08-06 2020-11-06 Ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system
PCT/US2021/057979 WO2022098817A1 (fr) 2020-11-06 2021-11-04 Système de surveillance de faisceau de rayonnement ionisant

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US6031892A (en) * 1989-12-05 2000-02-29 University Of Massachusetts Medical Center System for quantitative radiographic imaging
US7352840B1 (en) * 2004-06-21 2008-04-01 Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. Micro CT scanners incorporating internal gain charge-coupled devices
WO2006005059A2 (fr) * 2004-06-30 2006-01-12 Lexitek, Inc. Moniteur de faisceau de protons haute resolution
KR101784118B1 (ko) * 2013-07-16 2017-10-10 도시바 덴시칸 디바이스 가부시키가이샤 방사선 검출기, 신틸레이터 패널, 및 그 제조 방법
US10525285B1 (en) * 2018-08-06 2020-01-07 Integrated Sensors, Llc Ionizing-radiation beam monitoring system
US11327185B2 (en) * 2019-02-20 2022-05-10 Photonis Scientific, Inc. Neutron imaging system having neutron shield
JP7265505B2 (ja) * 2020-06-15 2023-04-26 浜松ホトニクス株式会社 放射線画像取得システムおよび撮像ユニット

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