Upper bound dose values for meson radiation in heavy-ion therapy

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Nuclear Physics

Background:

• Cancer treatment increasingly utilizes particle beams like proton and heavy-ion therapy.
• Concerns exist regarding patient radiation doses and occupational radiological protection with these advanced techniques.
• Secondary particle radiation, including mesons, is generated from beam interactions within human tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the upper bound of meson radiation dose in organic tissues during heavy-ion therapy.
• To model and quantify the contribution of secondary meson radiation to the total dose.
• To enhance understanding of radiation physics in particle therapy for improved safety.

Main Methods:

• An intranuclear collision model was employed to simulate nuclear reactions and meson yield over time.
• Calculated meson (pion) multiplicity, energy spectra, and angular distributions.
• Transport Monte Carlo simulations were used to estimate energy deposition in a cylindrical phantom.

Main Results:

• The study provides the first upper bound for secondary meson radiation dose in organic tissues.
• Secondary mesons were found to contribute at most 0.1% to the total prescribed dose in heavy-ion therapy scenarios.
• Detailed calculations covered pion production, decay, and subsequent energy deposition.

Conclusions:

• Secondary meson radiation poses a minimal dose contribution (≤0.1%) in heavy-ion therapy.
• The developed model accurately simulates secondary particle production and dose deposition.
• Findings support the safety profile of heavy-ion therapy concerning secondary meson radiation.