Undergraduate Research at Jefferson Lab

Proton Beam Detection for Radiation Therapy

Student: Rachael Hall

School: Duquesne University

Mentored By: Eric Christy

The Radiation Detector and Imaging Group at Jefferson Lab is developing a device for proton Computed Tomography (pCT) utilizing a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) for proton energy measurement. Most prevalent CT machines used in proton treatment planning use photons which leads to uncertainties in treatment planning due to differences in the interactions. These can be reduced by using the proton for imaging. Focus has been placed on the analysis of cosmic ray data for characterizing the electrical and electron transport properties of the TPC, with first tests being performed on the Tagged Deep Inelastic Scattering (TDIS) TPC prototype. The drift velocity of electrons liberated by ionization of the gas by cosmic rays will be determined and the uniformity evaluated. This will allow reconstruction of ionization points in3-D space defining cosmic ray muon trajectories.