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An experiment investigating gamma emission in hadron therapy was performed at Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB), Cracow, Poland, using two different phantom materials—carbon and poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA. The measurements were carried out at 70 MeV proton beam energy and the gamma quanta were registered with the use of HP Ge detector with scintillation anti-Compton shielding. Although the primary aim was to establish a solid experimental data base for future applications in prompt gamma imaging, the data have also been analyzed with regards to the position and shape of the spectral line stemming from deexcitation of the carbon excited state 4.44 MeV. Measurements potentially useful to determine the cross section were performed only at 90° laboratory polar angle. However, benefiting from the very good energy resolution it turned out possible to extract information on angular distribution of the C* (4.44 MeV) deexcitation by analyzing the associated line shape. This paper presents the scheme of model calculations assuming the whole process can be divided into two stages: excitation of carbon nuclei by impinging protons and deexcitation of the C* (4.44 MeV) state.

Acta physica Polonica / B 46(3), 753- (2015). doi:10.5506/APhysPolB.46.753, Published by Inst. of Physics, Jagellonian Univ., Cracow

The Gamma-CCB experiment is focused on investigation of gamma emission in experiments modeling the course of hadron therapy. The main goal is to search for manifestation of the Bragg peak in the prompt gamma spectra. Experimental program comprises a series of measurements at different proton beam energies and for various phantom materials. In the two beam times performed by the group so far in CCB Cracow and HIT Heidelberg, data were taken with proton beam energy of 70 and 130 MeV and with three phantom materials: graphite, poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA and polyoxymethylene POM, in order to study effects from different elements forming human tissue. Two different measurement modes were tested. In the first mode the gamma spectrum integrated over the whole beam penetration path in the phantom was registered, in the other mode only the gamma quanta originating in a phantom slice at a certain depth. In both measurement modes we observe strong correlation of the intensity of the carbon and oxygen excitation lines (4.44 and 6.13 MeV, respectively) with the Bragg peak position. Moreover, the correlation was found to be far more pronounced at backward angles than at the 90° polar angle studied so far.

Acta physica Polonica / B 48(3), 675-678 (2017). doi:10.5506/APhysPolB.48.675, Published by Inst. of Physics, Jagellonian Univ., Cracow