Fiber-optic sensor system for measuring relative dose of therapeutic proton beam by measuring cerenkov radiation and method of measuring using the same
The present invention relates to a fiber-optic sensor system for measuring the relative dose of a therapeutic proton beam by measuring Cerenkov radiation and a method of measuring using the same, and more particularly to a fiber-optic sensor system for precisely and economically measuring a proton beam by measuring the Cerenkov radiation generated from a fiber-optic sensor and a method of measuring using the same. The present invention comprises a proton beam source, a fiber-optic sensor for measuring the Bragg peak of the proton beam and SOBP, an optical detector for measuring the Cerenkov radiation, and a pair of optical fibers connecting the fiber-optic sensor and the optical detector, wherein the fiber-optic sensor being irradiated with a proton beam, the Cerenkov radiation generated in the optical fibers themselves is delivered through the optical detector to an amplifier system, and the resulting signal is transferred to a computer.
1. A fiber-optic radiation sensor system comprising:
a proton beam source emitting a high-energy therapeutic proton beam;
a pair of optical fibers for being emitted by the proton beam, wherein the pair of optical fibers have different lengths at one ends of the pair of optical fibers;
a fiber-optic radiation sensor for generating Cerenkov radiation by the emitted proton beam, wherein the one ends of the pair of optical fibers are fixed inside the fiber-optic radiation sensor; and
a light measuring device for detecting the Cerenkov radiation to measure a Bragg peak and a spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) of the proton beam, wherein the other ends of the pair of optical fibers are connected to the light measuring device.
2. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the optical fibers are glass or plastic optical fibers and are configured to generate the Cerenkov radiation when a high-energy charged particle is emitted.
3. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the light measuring device is any one of a charge-coupled device (CCD), a photodiode, and a photomultiplier tube (PMT).
4. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor system further comprises:
an amplifier system for generating a final signal by amplifying a signal of the light measuring device generated by the Cerenkov radiation; and
a computer for measuring a relative dose of the proton beam based on the final signal.
5. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the different lengths at the one ends of the pair of optical fibers in the fiber-optic radiation sensor are fixed using a subtraction scheme based on a reference optical fiber.
6. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 5 , wherein the one ends of the pair of optical fibers in the fiber-optic radiation sensor are composed of the reference optical fiber and an optical fiber which is about 5cm longer than the reference optical fiber.
7. The fiber-optic radiation sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the Bragg peak and the SOBP are measured by measuring the Cerenkov radiation depending on a depth of a water phantom.
8. A method for measuring Cerenkov radiation, comprising:
(a) emitting a high-energy therapeutic proton beam to a pair of optical fibers having different lengths at one ends of the pair of optical fibers with a proton beam source;
(b) generating Cerenkov radiation by the emitted proton beam with a fiber-optic radiation sensor which the one ends of the pair of optical fibers are fixed inside the fiber-optic radiation sensor; and
(c) detecting measuring the Cerenkov radiation to measure a Bragg peak and a spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) of the proton beam with a light measuring device which the other ends of the pair of optical fibers are connected to the light measuring device.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the optical fibers are glass or plastic optical fibers and are configured to generate the Cerenkov radiation when a high-energy charged particle is emitted.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the light measuring device is any one of a charge-coupled device (CCD), a photodiode, and a photomultiplier tube (PMT).
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises:
(d) generating a final signal by amplifying a signal of the light measuring device generated by the Cerenkov radiation with an amplifier system; and
(e) measuring a relative dose of the proton beam based on the final signal with a computer.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the different lengths at the one ends of the pair of optical fibers in the fiber-optic radiation sensor are fixed using a subtraction scheme based on a reference optical fiber.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one ends of the pair of optical fibers in the fiber optic radiation sensor are composed of the reference optical fiber and an optical fiber which is about 5 cm longer than the reference optical fiber.
14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the Bragg peak and the SOBP are measured by measuring the Cerenkov radiation depending on a depth of a water phantom.