Production of the PET isotope 11 C in hadron therapy via neutron knockout.

Purpose: Positron emitting isotopes such as ¹¹ C and ¹⁰ C can be used for vital dose verification in hadron therapy. These isotopes are produced when the high energy ¹² C primary beam particles undergo nuclear reactions within the patient.
Methods: We discuss a model for calculating cross sections for the production ¹¹ C in ¹² C+ ¹² C collisions, applicable at hadron therapy energies.
Results: Good agreement with the available cross section measurements is found for ¹² C(-1n), though more detailed, systematic measurements would be very valuable.
Conclusions: Nuclear structure plays a crucial role in the reactions of light nuclei, particularly when those reactions are peripheral and involve only a few nucleons. For such reactions, nuclear structure has a strong influence on the energy and angular distribution of the cross section, and is an important consideration for reliable dose verification using ¹¹ C in hadron therapy.
(Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)