The FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) experiment

Publication date: Available online 2 July 2019Source: Perspectives in ScienceAuthor(s): S.M. Valle, A. Alexandrov, G. Ambrosi, S. Argirò, G. Battistoni, N. Belcari, S. Biondi, M.G. Bisogni, G. Bruni, S. Brambilla, N. Camarlinghi, P. Cerello, E. Ciarrocchi, A. Clozza, G. De Lellis, A. Di Crescenzo, M. Durante, M. Emde, R. Faccini, V. FerreroAbstractParticle therapy uses proton or 12C beams to treat deep-seated solid tumors. Due to the advantageous characteristics of charged particles energy deposition in matter, the maximum of the dose is released to the tumor at the end of the beam range, in the Bragg peak region. However, the beam nuclear interactions with the patient tissues induces fragmentation both of projectile and target nuclei and needs to be carefully taken into account. In proton treatments, the target fragmentation produces low energy, short range fragments along all the beam range, that may deposit a non negligible dose in the entry channel. In 12C treatments the main concern is represented by long range fragments due to projectile fragmentation that release their dose in the healthy tissues surrounding the tumor. The FOOT experiment (FragmentatiOn Of Target) of INFN is designed to study these processes, in order to improve the nuclear interactions description in next generation Treatment Planning Systems software, and hence the treatment plans quality. Target (16O and 12C nuclei) fragmentation induced by 150-250 MeV proton beams will be studied via an inverse ki...

Source: Perspectives in Science - July 3, 2019 Category: Science Source Type: research