Detector

Beam (structure)

Statistics

Materials science

Computational physics

Proton

Nuclear physics

Tracking (education)

Scattering

Pedagogy

Range (aeronautics)

Computer science

Statistical physics

Geology

Oceanography

Physics

Psychology

Mathematics

Optics

Telescope

Focus (optics)

Particle (ecology)

Composite material

Monte Carlo method

Proton therapy

Nuclear Technology

The accuracy of proton therapy is partially limited by uncertainties that result from changing pathological conditions in the patient such as tumor motion and shrinkage. These uncertainties can be minimized with the help of a time-resolved range telescope. Monte Carlo methods can help improve the performance of range telescopes by tracking proton interactions on a particle-by-particle basis thus broadening our understanding on the behavior of protons within the patient and the detector. This paper compared the proton multiple coulomb scattering algorithms in the Monte Carlo codes MCNPX and Geant4 to well-established scattering theories. We focus only on beam energies associated with proton imaging. Despite slight discrepancies between scattering algorithms, both codes appear to be capable of providing useful particle-tracking information for applications such as the proton range telescope.

Comparison of Particle-Tracking Features in GEANT4 and MCNPX Codes for Applications in Mapping of Proton Range Uncertainty