Comparison of Geant4 version 9.3 simulations with experimental results from a prototype proton CT scanner

Abstract

Charged particle interactions with matter have been continuously studied by simulations based on the Monte Carlo method. In particular, the Geant4 toolkit allows to develop and test new technologies by computer simulations. A proton computed tomography (pCT) prototype has been developed at the Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC), California, in collaboration with Northern Illinois University and the UC Santa Cruz. In order to evaluate the performance of the Geant4 version 9.3 configured to simulate this prototype, two polyethylene phantoms (PEAD) with 150 mm diameter and acrylic core were constructed. Each phantom was imaged with 10 projections by rotating the phantom in steps of 36, using a 200 MeV proton cone beam. The characteristics of the prototype and phantoms were modeled in Geant4. A comparison of the experimental data and simulated projections were performed and will be presented. © 2012 IEEE.