Monte Carlo modelling of a prototype small-body portable graphite calorimeter for ultra-high dose rate proton beams

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Accurate dosimetry in Ultra-High Dose Rate (UHDR) beams is challenging because high levels of ion recombination occur within ionisation chambers used as reference dosimeters. A Small-body Portable Graphite Calorimeter (SPGC) exhibiting a dose-rate independent response was built to offer reduced uncertainty on secondary standard dosimetry in UHDR regimes. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of the geometry and material properties of the device on the dose measurement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A detailed model of the SPGC was built in the Monte Carlo code TOPAS (v3.6.1) to derive the impurity and gap correction factors, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. A dose conversion factor, [Formula: see text] , was also calculated using FLUKA (v2021.2.0). These factors convert the average dose to its graphite core to the dose-to-water for a 249.7 MeV mono-energetic spot-scanned clinical proton beam. The effect of the surrounding Styrofoam on the dose measurement was examined in the simulations by substituting it for graphite. RESULTS: The [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] correction factors were 0.9993 ± 0.0002 and 1.0000 ± 0.0001, respectively when the Styrofoam was not substituted, and 1.0037 ± 0.0002 and 0.9999 ± 0.0001, respectively when substituted for graphite. The dose conversion factor was calculated to be 1.0806 ± 0.0001. All uncertainties are Type A. CONCLUSIONS: Impurity and gap correction factors, and the dose conversion factor were calculated for the SPGC in a FLASH proton beam. Separating out the effect of scatter from Styrofoam insulation showed this as the dominating correction factor, amounting to 1.0043 ± 0.0002.