Korean J Med Phys.  2009 Dec;20(4):225-234.

Precision Validation of Electromagnetic Physics in Geant4 Simulation for Proton Therapy

• Park SH
• Rah JE
• Shin JW
• Park S
• Yoon SC
• Jung WG
• Suh TS

Abstract

Geant4 (GEometry ANd Tracking) provides various packages specialized in modeling electromagnetic interactions. The validation of Geant4 physics models is a significant issue for the applications of Geant4 based simulation in medical physics. The purpose of this study is to evaluate accuracy of Geant4 electromagnetic physics for proton therapy. The validation was performed both the Continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA) range and the stopping power. In each test, the reliability of the electromagnetic models in a selected group of materials was evaluated such as water, bone, adipose tissue and various atomic elements. Results of Geant4 simulation were compared with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference data. As results of comparison about water, bone and adipose tissue, average percent difference of CSDA range were presented 1.0%, 1.4% and 1.4%, respectively. Average percent difference of stopping power were presented 0.7%, 1.0% and 1.3%, respectively. The data were analyzed through the kolmogorov-smirnov Goodness-of-Fit statistical analysis test. All the results from electromagnetic models showed a good agreement with the reference data, where all the corresponding p-values are higher than the confidence level alpha=0.05 set.

Keyword

Proton therapy; Geant4; Electromagnetic physics; Kolmogorov-smirnov; Validatio

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Magnets
Proton Therapy
Protons
Water
Protons
Water