Monte Carlo Study on the Method of Rapid Range Verification of Carbon Ion Beam

The depth dose distribution of an ion beam (protons and heavy ions) in the longitudinal direction can be converted into a lateral dose profile via wedge devices for rapid measurement and verification on the range of the ion beam. In this work, the GEANT4 kernel-based GATE Monte Carlo simulation platform was used to calculate the depth dose distributions of various energy carbon-ion beams in materials of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which are usually applied to make wedge devices. The relationships between the beam energy and corresponding penetration depth of the Bragg peak position for the carbon ion beams in the various materials were obtained. The lateral dose profiles of carbon ion beams with different energies passing through a single wedge plate, a double wedge plate, and a large and small combined wedge plate were simulated and calculated under different configurations. Therefore, the relationships between the position of the peak of lateral dose and the beam range for the various energy carbon ion beams were acquired. Thus, our Monte Carlo simulations provided a substantial basis for further development of rapid range verification methods and devices in heavy ion therapy.