DEMOTrack

Ionoacoustic detector for particle beam calibration.

When a particle beam interacts with an absorbing material, such as water, it loses energy, releasing it inside the material. This creates a pressure wave in the material around the beam, which can be detected with ultrasonic acoustic sensors; this effect is called ionoacoustic. The characteristics of the acoustic signal provide information about the beam that generated it.

Unlike currently used beam monitoring technologies, the ionoacoustic technique allows real-time measurements with high spatial resolution (below 1 mm) over a very large dynamic range, which also includes the high instantaneous doses typical of FLASH radiotherapy, where traditional detectors struggle.

The method can also be used with absorbent materials other than water.

This type of sensor can therefore be used to monitor beams, both in accelerators for scientific use and for therapeutic purposes, such as accelerators for hadron therapy or FLASH therapy, improving the calibration of the beam itself and therefore the effectiveness of the treatment on the patient.