A micro-pattern gaseous detector for beam monitoring in ion-therapy

A micro-pattern gaseous detector based on gas electron multiplier technology (GEM detector) was developed as a new transmission beam monitor for charged-particle therapy to obtain real-time information about the parameters of a therapeutic beam. Feasibility tests for the GEM detector were performed using an 80-MeV proton beam to evaluate the lateral intensity distributions of a pencil beam and the dose delivered to a target. The beam intensity distributions measured with the GEM detector were in good agreement with those measured with an imaging plate while the charge output from the GEM detector was in proportion to that of a reference dose monitor of an ionization chamber design. These experimental results showed that the GEM detector can be used not only as a beam monitor for the position and two-dimensional intensity distribution but also as a dose monitor. Thus, it is possible to simultaneously measure these beam parameters for beam control in charged-particle therapy using a single GEM-based transmission monitor.