The Italian project for a proton imaging device

Proton Computed Tomography (or pCT) is a new imaging technique based on the use of high energy proton beams (200-250 MeV) replacing of the commonly adopted X-rays CT. pCT that was firstly proposed in the 1960s but only nowadays, with the continued establishing of new proton therapy centers around the world, the interest in it is growing. The use of protons for tomographic images can represent, in fact, a big enhancement in the quality of a proton therapy treatment either in the patient positioning as well as in the accuracy of the dose calculation for the treatment planning phase. In this paper, after a brief introduction on pCT principles, the main hardware and software characteristics of a first pCT prototype in development by our group (the Italian PRIMA collaboration) will be presented. The role of Monte Carlo simulation in developing will be also emphasized, using the GEANT4 simulation toolkit. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.