Functional characterisation of novel silicon beam monitors for the micro-beam radiation therapy

Among the new emerging cancer therapies, Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) is currently showing very promising results in terms of limiting or decreasing tumor growth while keeping the damage to healthy tissue to a minimum. The MRT is able to deliver unprecedented dose rates of up to 20 kGy/s, posing important questions in terms of treatment planning and patient safety during treatment. For this reason, a beam monitoring system must be built, in which a detector acquires the microbeam array profile in real-time. In case of anomalies detection, the detector signals the beam-line to close the shutter as an emergency safety measure. Many sensors technologies for beam monitoring are currently being considered and silicon strip detectors seem to be very promising candidates. In this study the characterisation in full MRT conditions of a novel silicon strip detector is reported explaining strengths and weaknesses of the devices. Modifications to the sensor layout are also suggested in this study.