title: Luminescence imaging of water during carbon-ion irradiation for range estimation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors previously reported successful luminescence imaging of water during proton irradiation and its application to range estimation. However, since the feasibility of this approach for carbon-ion irradiation remained unclear, the authors conducted luminescence imaging during carbon-ion irradiation and estimated the ranges.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors placed a pure-water phantom on the patient couch of a carbon-ion therapy system and measured the luminescence images with a high-sensitivity, cooled charge-coupled device camera during carbon-ion irradiation. The authors also carried out imaging of three types of phantoms (tap-water, an acrylic block, and a plastic scintillator) and compared their intensities and distributions with those of a phantom containing pure-water.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The luminescence images of pure-water phantoms during carbon-ion irradiation showed clear Bragg peaks, and the measured carbon-ion ranges from the images were almost the same as those obtained by simulation. The image of the tap-water phantom showed almost the same distribution as that of the pure-water phantom. The acrylic block phantom's luminescence image produced seven times higher luminescence and had a 13% shorter range than that of the water phantoms; the range with the acrylic phantom generally matched the calculated value. The plastic scintillator showed ∼15 000 times higher light than that of water.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Luminescence imaging during carbon-ion irradiation of water is not only possible but also a promising method for range estimation in carbon-ion therapy.
authors.affiliation: Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.affiliation: Hygo Ion Beam Medical Center, Hyogo 679-5165, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akagi
authors.affiliation: Hygo Ion Beam Medical Center, Hyogo 679-5165, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.affiliation: Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.affiliation: Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan.
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sekihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Proton Therapy Physics, Nagoya Proton Therapy Center, Nagoya City West Medical Center, Aichi 462-8508, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toshito
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D063193:Heavy Ion Radiotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D049449:Luminescence; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water