Inorganic Scintillating Mixture and a Sensor Assembly for Charged Particle Dosimetry

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This invention discloses an inorganic scintillating mixture, primarily based on Gd2O2S:Tb (gadolinium oxysulfide doped with terbium) and (Zn,Cd)S:Ag (zinc-cadmium sulfide doped with silver), as well as an optional optical cement, intended for use in measuring the dose delivered by charged particle beams (such as protons and heavy ions) in medical and research settings. The mixture is designed to compensate for quenching effects at the Bragg peak, providing accurate measurements of radiation dose distribution. The patent also specifies a sensor assembly incorporating this mixture for precise dosimetry, especially in applications like proton therapy for cancer treatment.

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• Quality assurance and dose verification in proton therapy and heavy ion therapy for cancer patients.
• Construction of phantoms and dosimetry devices for planning and validating intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT).
• Calibration and testing of proton and heavy ion beam delivery systems.
• Use in phosphor screens for medical or industrial imaging, avoiding the need for complicated quenching corrections.
• Development of detectors that can be tailored to simulate biological response and not just physical dose, useful for advanced biological dosimetry and therapy planning.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Provides highly accurate measurement of depth-dose profiles even at the Bragg peak, avoiding errors caused by quenching effects.
• Enables precise three-dimensional mapping of radiation dose, supporting safer and more effective cancer therapies.
• Reduces or eliminates the need for background subtraction from optical fibers, improving signal quality and simplifying system design.
• The composition can be tuned to closely match either physical or biological dose models, supporting both physical dosimetry and biological effect estimation.
• Allows creation of compact, sensitive, and easily configurable sensor arrays for versatile dosimetry applications.
• Facilitates manufacturing of detectors that can mimic biological dose response without needing actual biological samples, streamlining clinical and research workflows.

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Patent Abstract

An inorganic scintillating mixture includes at least a first and a second component, each having a characteristic behavior in response to the irradiation with charged particles, such as protons and heavy ions, showing a typical Bragg peak with respect to a relative depth dose. The first component has a quenching characteristic in the Bragg peak region and the second component shows an increased efficiency in the Bragg peak region both related to a reference curve for the relative dose.