title: Simulations, Optimizations, and Microdosimetric Measurements of Beam Quality for Heavy-Ion Tumor Therapy. A charged (particle) issue.
creator: Sellner, Stefan
subject: ddc-500
subject: 500 Natural sciences and mathematics
subject: ddc-530
subject: 530 Physics
subject: ddc-600
subject: 600 Technology (Applied sciences)
description: Tumor radiotherapy with charged particles offers superior properties in covering the tumor with radiation dose, while sparing the surrounding, healthy tissue better than standard X-rays. Thus, the success of the therapy is potentially increased. However, the application of this technique necessitates not only profound knowledge about its physical aspects, such as the uncertainties in the range of the particles which need to be taken into account in the therapy planning stage. In addition to the physical aspects, the biological effectiveness of particle radiation needs to be thoroughly understood. The effectiveness depends on many physical as well as biological quantities and is determined involving complicated models. Though, there is a close relation with the linear energy transfer (LET), i.e. the measure of the local concentration of energy deposition along a particle’s track. The higher the LET (up to a certain limit), the higher the biological effect. Furthermore, radiation resistant cells, e.g. due to a lack of oxygenation, can be effectively killed with radiation that has a high LET. The LET itself depends on the kinetic energy of the particle, just like the dose, which makes a simultaneous optimization of dose and LET possible only under some circumstances. However, this work presents a method that makes use of the dose ramp concept to beneficially re-distribute areas with high LET using protons, carbon ions and antiprotons, respectively, without notably influencing the dose distribution.  In the experimental part of this work, a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) is used to measure microscopic dose distributions in lineal energy, i.e. fluctuations of the energy concentration on sub-cellular length scales. The extent of these fluctuations as well as the magnitude of the energy concentration have, like the LET, an influence on the biological effect. In the measurements presented here it is assessed if there is a significant change in the dose distributions in lineal energy when comparing two methods of particle beam application to determine a potential impact on the biological effect.
date: 2013
type: Dissertation
type: info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserverhttps://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/16014/1/Dissertation-Stefan-Sellner.pdf
identifier: DOI:10.11588/heidok.00016014
identifier: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-160143
identifier:   Sellner, Stefan  (2013) Simulations, Optimizations, and Microdosimetric Measurements of Beam Quality for Heavy-Ion Tumor Therapy. A charged (particle) issue.  [Dissertation]     
relation: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/16014/
rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/help/license_urhg.html
language: eng