3D printed 2D range modulators preserve radiation quality on a microdosimetric scale in proton and carbon ion beams

Particle therapy using pencil beam scanning (PBS) faces large uncertain- ties related to ranges and target motion. One possibility to improve existing mitigation strategies is a 2D range modulator (2DRM). A 2DRM offers faster irradiation times by reducing the number of layers and spots needed to create a spread-out Bragg peak. We have investigated the impact of 2DRM on microdosimetric spectra measured in proton and carbon ion beams.

Two 2DRMs were designed and 3D printed, one for. 124.7 MeV protons and one for 238.6 MeV/u carbon ions. Their dosimetric validation was performed using Roos and PinPoint ionization chamber and EBT3 films. Monte Carlo simulations were done using GATE. A silicon-based solid-state microdosimeter was used to collect pulse-height spectra along three depths for two irradiation modalities, PBS and a single central beam.

For both particle types, the original pin design had to be optimized via GATE simulations. The difference between the R80 of the simulated and measured depth dose curve was 0.1 mm. The microdosimetric spectra collected with the two irradiation modalities overlap well. Their mean lineal energy values differ over all positions by 5.2 % for the proton 2DRM and 2.1 % for the carbon ion 2DRM.

Radiation quality in terms of lineal energy was independent of the irradiation method. This supports the current approach in reference dosimetry, where the residual range is chosen as a beam quality index to select stopping power ratios.