Development of a 2D scintillating fiber detector for proton radiography

Proton therapy offers the advantages of a superior target dose conformality and lower integral dose over the conventional photon therapy. However, range uncertainties associated with dose calculation approximations, tumor motion, setup variations, etc., present a major concern in proton therapy. In order to address this issue, we are developing a 2 mm resolution scintillating fiber detector with fibers arranged such that they form a 2D matrix that allows the determination of x- and y-position of the proton. By implementing a scheme consisting only of one detector positioned in front of the patient and another detector behind the patient, we can potentially realize a real-time measurement of proton position, direction, and range/energy simultaneously to reconstruct proton radiographs, also eliminating the need to use an additional bulky range telescope or calorimeter which is not appropriate for in vivo clinical use.