SAAKYAN1

Calorimetry for proton cancer therapy

Type

Experimental

#students

1

Orientation

Proton therapy is a more advanced form of radiotherapy when it comes to treatment of more complex types of cancer.  To ensure safe and effective treatment, accurate measurements of the proton beam energy are crucial. The aim of the project is to develop a detector adapted for proton cancer therapy and proton imaging and capable of measuring the protonÕs energy with a sub-percent resolution. 

How

A calorimeter based on a plastic scintillator developed for the SuperNEMO neutrino experiment has been recently tested in a medical proton beam and showed promising results. The project will build on this early development to optimise the detector design using laboratory test stand and proton beam data.

What

The work will involve building and testing the detector, analysing the existing proton beam data and modelling protonÕs interactions in matter.  There is also a possibility to test the developed equipment at UKÕs so far only proton cancer therapy centre at Clatterbridge hospital near Liverpool. 

Special Knowlegde

Some programming experience will be beneficial.

Supervisor

Prof. Ruben Saakyan