Design of a Compton camera for 3D prompt-γ imaging during ion beam therapy

We investigate, by means of Geant4 simulations, a real-time method to control the position of the Bragg peak during ion therapy, based on a Compton camera in combination with a beam tagging device (hodoscope) in order to detect the prompt gamma emitted during nuclear fragmentation. The proposed set-up consists of a stack of 2mm thick silicon strip detectors and a LYSO absorber detector. The γ emission points are reconstructed analytically by intersecting the ion trajectories given by the beam hodoscope and the Compton cones given by the camera. The camera response to a polychromatic point source in air is analyzed with regard to both spatial resolution and detection efficiency. Various geometrical configurations of the camera have been tested. In the proposed configuration, for a typical polychromatic photon point source, the spatial resolution of the camera is about 8.3mm FWHM and the detection efficiency 2.5×10−4 (reconstructable photons/emitted photons in 4π). Finally, the clinical applicability of our system is considered and possible starting points for further developments of a prototype are discussed.