Time-gated Cherenkov emission spectroscopy from linear accelerator irradiation of tissue phantoms

Abstract

External radiotherapy beams have been shown to be able to emit Cherenkov radiation. Traditionally, continuous wavelength (CW) acquisition method is adopted to measure the Cherenkov emission. In this work, a time-gated-acquisition method is introduced to measure the Cherenkov emission generated by external radiation beams from linear accelerator (LINAC) in a tissue mimic phantom. The results by the gating method are compared with the results by traditional continuous wavelength acquisition method. The presented time-gated-acquisition method is shown to be an effective way to enhance the intensity of the Cherenkov emission over the ambient light. The potential application of this acquisition method is discussed.