PRIMA: An apparatus for medical application

In this paper a proton Computed Radiography (pCR) apparatus for medical applications, realized by PRIMA (PRoton IMAging) Italian Collaboration, is described. The system is oriented to acquire tomography images and meets clinical demands for the use of protons in radiotherapy treatments. The approach proposed here is based on 'single proton tracking' method with Most Likely Path (MLP) reconstruction of the single particle. A pCR prototype, with a field of view of about 5 x 5 cm(2) and an acquisition time of the order of 10 s (10 kHz, 10(5) events), has been developed and tested with a 62 MeV proton beam at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS). The apparatus architecture will be described and first proton radiographies will be shown. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.