International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology 2007
DOI: 10.1051/ndata:07214

MCHIT - Monte Carlo model for proton and Heavy-Ion Therapy

Igor Pshenichnov^{1, 2}, Igor Mishustin^{1, 3} and Walter Greiner<sup>1

1</sup>  Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, J.-W. Goethe University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
²  Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Science, 117312 Moscow, Russia
³  Kurchatov Institute, Russian Research Center, 123182 Moscow, Russia

pshenich@fias.uni-frankfurt.de

Published online: 21 May 2008

Abstract
We study the propagation of nucleons and nuclei in tissue-like media within a Monte Carlo model for Heavy-Ion Therapy (MCHIT) based on the GEANT4 toolkit (version 8.2). The model takes into account the fragmentation of projectile nuclei and the secondary interactions of produced nuclear fragments. Model predictions are validated with available experimental data obtained for water and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantoms irradiated by monoenergetic carbon-ion beams. The MCHIT model describes well (1) the depth-dose distributions in water and PMMA, (2) the doses measured for fragments of certain charge, (3) the distributions of positron emitting nuclear fragments produced by carbon-ion beams, and (4) the energy spectra of secondary neutrons measured at different angles to the beam direction. Radial dose profiles for primary nuclei and for different projectile fragments are calculated and discussed as possible input for evaluation of biological dose distributions. It is shown that at the periphery of the transverse dose profile close to the Bragg peak the dose from secondary nuclear fragments is comparable to the dose from primary nuclei.

© CEA 2008