A novel algorithm for tracing the interaction of a track with molecular targets – use of Delaunay triangulation

This paper describes an efficient method for tracing interactions between a radiation track and molecular targets in a cell or nucleus. The method is efficient because it ensures that a minimal subset of interactions in the track needs to be tested for each score. It is most useful for high-energy particles since the number of interactions and range of the tracks increase with particle energy. In this method, the set of interactions, i.e. the track, is considered as a collection of points in three-dimensional space. This set, together with the eight vertices of a bounding box, is discretised as a collection of tetrahedra, each of which satisfies the Delaunay criterion. Because of the geometric properties of these tetrahedra, only those points which are connected to vertices of tetrahedra through which the target passes need be tested for scoring. An efficient algorithm is used to follow the track through the cell or the nucleus. The main benefit of the method is that it eliminates the need to test those interactions which are geometrically distant from the target. In particular, in cases where there are no interactions in the target, very few interactions need to be checked.