Experimental assessment of novel PET detector components for online imaging of radioactive ion beams.

This work aims to evaluate the ability of novel detector components to measure with submillimeter resolution in beam positron emission tomography (PET) signals produced by10C and11C radioactive ion beams stopped in PMMA targets and to validate a simulation toolkit for reproducing beam physics and PET detector responses within the framework of the BARB project. Approach: The PET system response was assessed by visualizing the radioactive distributions of the beams stopped in tissue surrogate phantoms, and the capacity of the simulation toolkit was evaluated by comparing the experimental results with simulations, both for the depth-dose distribution and PET imaging. Main results: The detector assembly accurately visualized the PET signal with submillimeter resolution, achieving the objective of measuring the difference in the positron range between10C and11C. The simulation toolkit effectively reproduced the beam characteristics and detector responses, showing a high degree of agreement between the simulated and experimental PET profiles under different beam delivery conditions. Significance: These findings demonstrate the precision and reliability of the novel in-beam PET detector technology and simulation toolkit for small animals, establishing a solid foundation for the second phase of the BARB project, which involves preclinical irradiation of living mice.