Radionuclide production for dose verification in VHEE FLASH radiotherapy

This study explores the production of radionuclides in a PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) phantom irradiated with Very High Energy Electrons (VHEE) beams as a novel method for dose verification. In this work, Monte Carlo simulation studies using the Geant4 toolkit and experimental measurements with a VHEE beam produced by a laser-plasma accelerator were conducted. Specifically, the photonuclear production of ¹¹C, ¹⁵O and ¹³N is examined, with a detailed analysis of their spatial distribution, production yields and decay time.