Secondary radiation measurements for particle therapy applications: Nuclear fragmentation produced by 4He ion beams in a PMMA target
Nowadays there is a growing interest in particle therapy treatments exploiting
light ion beams against tumors due to their enhanced relative biological
effectiveness and high space selectivity. In particular promising results are
obtained by the use of 4He projectiles. Unlike the treatments performed
using protons, the beam ions can undergo a fragmentation process when
interacting with the atomic nuclei in the patient body. In this paper the results
of measurements performed at the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy center are