A GEANT4 web-based application to support Intra-Operative Electron Radiotherapy using the European grid infrastructure

摘要

Radiotherapy techniques deliver ionizing radiations (X-rays, photons, electrons, protons, etc.) insiderncancerous tissues to kill the abnormal cells. Radiotherapy-related activities such as the optimization of therntherapeutic radiation dose to patients, workers’ radioprotection, linear accelerator commissioning, qualityrnassurance processes and technical innovations of linear accelerators are strongly based on the ability tornpredict the dose distribution. Monte Carlo based simulations are so far the most accurate tool for therncalculation of dosimetric parameters, with the drawback of requiring extensive computing resources to achievernstatistically meaningful results in a reasonable time frame. In the last years, advanced cancer treatment clinicalrnand research communities have used e-Infrastructures to support their activities. The present paper reports onrnthe development of a computing facility for helping clinical researchers in using modern R&E networkingrnand distributed computing and storage resources for a new radiotherapy technique: the Intra-Operative ElectronrnRadiotherapy. The web application developed addresses some technical and clinical needs as the design ofrnlinear accelerators’ collimation systems and the optimization of the patient therapeutic dose distribution.