GEMTEQ: GEMPix detector for microdosimetry with tissue-equivalent gas

Microdosimetry is the study of the temporal and spatial distributions of absorbed energy in biological matter and is crucial for the understanding of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of radiation on human tissue, for example of a carbon ion beam used in cancer treatments. During the ATTRACT GEMTEQ project we introduced a new technology – the combination of Gas Electron Multipliers and a highly pixelated readout – to the field of microdosimetry. Prototypes of the GEMTEQ detector were built and their performance tested in various radiation fields, paving the path to track-structure microdosimetry and application to clinical ion beams.