Non-maximal entanglement of photons from positron-electron annihilation demonstrated using a novel plastic PET scanner
P. Moskal, D. Kumar, S. Sharma, E.Y. Beyene, N. Chug, A. Coussat, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwinski, M. Das, K. Dulski, M. Gorgol, B. Jasinska, K. Kacprzak, T. Kaplanoglu, L. Kaplon, K. Klimaszewski, T. Kozik, E. Lisowski, F. Lisowski, W. Mryka, S. Niedzwiecki, S. Parzych, E.P. del Rio, L. Raczynski, M. Radler, R.Y. Shopa, M. Skurzok, E. L. Stepien, P. Tanty, K. Tayefi Ardebili, K. Valsan Eliyan, W. Wislicki
abstract
In the state-of-the-art Positron Emission Tomography (PET), information about the polarization of annihilation photons is not available. Current PET systems track molecules labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes by detecting the propagation direction of two photons from positron-electron annihilation. However, annihilation photons carry more information than just the site where they originated. Here we present a novel J-PET scanner built from plastic scintillators, in which annihilation photons interact predominantly via the Compton effect, providing information about photon polarization in addition to information on photon direction of propagation. Theoretically, photons from the decay of positronium in a vacuum are maximally entangled in polarization. However, in matter, when the positron from positronium annihilates with the electron bound to the atom, the question arises whether the photons from such annihilation are maximally entangled. In this work, we determine the distribution of the relative angle between polarization orientations of two photons from positron-electron annihilation in a porous polymer. Contrary to prior results for positron annihilation in aluminum and copper, where the strength of observed correlations is as expected for maximally entangled photons, our results show a significant deviation. We demonstrate that in porous polymer, photon polarization correlation is weaker than for maximally entangled photons but stronger than for separable photons. The data indicate that more than 40% of annihilations in Amberlite resin lead to a non-maximally entangled state. Our result indicates the degree of correlation depends on the annihilation mechanism and the molecular arrangement. We anticipate that the introduced Compton interaction-based PET system opens a promising perspective for exploring polarization correlations in PET as a novel diagnostic indicator.
Positronium image of the human brain in vivo
P. Moskal, J. Baran, S. Bass, J. Choiński, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, M. Das, K. Dulski, K.V. Eliyan, K. Fronczewska, A. Gajos, K. Kacprzak, M. Kajetanowicz, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, M. Kobylecka, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, K. Kubat, D. Kumar, J. Kunikowska, J. Mączewska, W. Migdał, G. Moskal, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, S. Parzych, E. Perez del Rio, L. Raczyński, S. Sharma, Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, M. Silarski, M. Skurzok, F. Tayefi, K. Tayefi, P. Tanty, W. Wiślicki, L. Królicki, E. Ł. Stępień
abstract
Positronium is abundantly produced within the molecular voids of a patient?s body during positron emission tomography (PET). Its properties dynamically respond to the submolecular architecture of the tissue and the partial pressure of oxygen. Current PET systems record only two annihilation photons and cannot provide information about the positronium lifetime. This study presents the in vivo images of positronium lifetime in a human, for a patient with a glioblastoma brain tumor, by using the dedicated Jagiellonian PET system enabling simultaneous detection of annihilation photons and prompt gamma emitted by a radionuclide. The prompt gamma provides information on the time of positronium formation. The photons from positronium annihilation are used to reconstruct the place and time of its decay. In the presented case study, the determined positron and positronium lifetimes in glioblastoma cells are shorter than those in salivary glands and those in healthy brain tissues, indicating that positronium imaging could be used to diagnose disease in vivo.
Feasibility of the J-PET to monitor range oftherapeutic proton beams
J. Baran, D. Borys, K. Brzeziński, J. Gajewski, M. Silarski, N. Chug, A. Coussat, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, K.V. Eliyan, A. Gajos, K. Kacprzak, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, P. Konieczka, R. Kopeć, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, A.J. Lomax, K. McNamara, S. Niedźwiecki, P. Olko, D. Panek, S. Parzych, E. Perez del Rio, L. Raczyński, M. Simbarashe, S. Sharma, Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, T. Skóra, M. Skurzok, P. Stasica, E.Ł. Stępień, K. Tayefi, F. Tayefi, D.C. Weber, C. Winterhalter, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal, A. Ruciński
abstract
Objective: The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of the JagiellonianPositron Emission Tomography (J-PET) scanner for intra-treatment proton beamrange monitoring. Approach: The Monte Carlo simulation studies with GATE and PET imagereconstruction with CASToR were performed in order to compare six J-PET scannergeometries (three dual-heads and three cylindrical). We simulated proton irradiationof a PMMA phantom with a Single Pencil Beam (SPB) and Spread-Out BraggPeak (SOBP) of various ranges. The sensitivity and precision of each scanner werecalculated, and considering the setup?s cost-effectiveness, we indicated potentiallyoptimal geometries for the J-PET scanner prototype dedicated to the proton beamrange assessment. Main results: The investigations indicate that the double-layer cylindrical andtriple-layer double-head configurations are the most promising for clinical application.We found that the scanner sensitivity is of the order of 10?5coincidences per primaryproton, while the precision of the range assessment for both SPB and SOBP irradiationplans was found below 1 mm. Among the scanners with the same number of detectormodules, the best results are found for the triple-layer dual-head geometry. Significance: We performed simulation studies demonstrating that the feasibilityof the J-PET detector for PET-based proton beam therapy range monitoring ispossible with reasonable sensitivity and precision enabling its pre-clinical tests in theclinical proton therapy environment. Considering the sensitivity, precision and cost-effectiveness, the double-layer cylindrical and triple-layer dual-head J-PET geometryconfigurations seem promising for the future clinical application. Experimental testsare needed to confirm these findings.
First positronium image of the human brain in vivo
P. Moskal, J. Baran, S. Bass, J. Choiński, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, M. Das, K. Dulski, K.V. Eliyan, K. Fronczewska, A. Gajos, K. Kacprzak, M. Kajetanowicz, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, M. Kobylecka, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, K. Kubat, D. Kumar, J. Kunikowska, J. Mączewska, W. Migdał, G. Moskal, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, S. Parzych, E. Perez del Rio, L. Raczyński, S. Sharma, Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, M. Silarski, M. Skurzok, F. Tayefi, K. Tayefi, P. Tanty, W. Wiślicki, L. Królicki, E. Ł. Stępień
abstract
Positronium, an unstable atom consisting of an electron and a positron, is abundantly produced within the molecular voids of a patient?s body during positron emission tomography (PET) diagnosis. Its properties, such as its average lifetime between formation and annihilation into photons, dynamically respond to the submolecular architecture of the tissue and the partial pressure of oxygen molecules. However, the diagnostic information that positronium may deliver about early molecular alterations remains unavailable in clinics with state-of-the-art PET scanners.
This study presents the first in vivo images of positronium lifetime in humans. We developed a dedicated J-PET system with multiphoton detection capability for imaging. The measurements of positronium lifetime were performed on a patient with a glioblastoma tumor in the brain. The patient was injected intratumorally with the 68Ga radionuclide attached to Substance-P, which accumulates in glioma cells, and intravenously with 68Ga attached to the PSMA-11 ligand, which is selective to glioma cells and salivary glands. The 68Ga radionuclide is routinely used in PET for detecting radiopharmaceutical accumulation and was applied for positronium imaging because it can emit an additional prompt gamma. The prompt gamma enables the determination of the time of positronium formation, while the photons from positronium annihilation were used to reconstruct the place and time of its decay. The determined positronium mean lifetime in glioblastoma cells is shorter than in salivary glands, which in turn is shorter than in healthy brain tissues, demonstrating for the first time that positronium imaging can be used to diagnose disease in vivo. This study also demonstrates that if current total-body PET systems were equipped with multiphoton detection capability and the 44Sc radionuclide was applied, it would be possible to perform positronium imaging at 6500 times greater sensitivity than achieved in this research. Therefore, it is anticipated that positronium imaging has the potential to bring a new quality of cancer diagnosis in clinics.
Discrete symmetries tested at 10^-4 precision using linear polarization of photons from positronium annihilations
P. Moskal, E. Czerwiński, J. Raj, S. D. Bass, E. Beyene, N. Chug, A. Coussat, C. Curceanu, M. Dadgar, M. Das, K. Dulski, A. Gajos, M. Gorgol, B. C. Hiesmayr, B. Jasińska, K. Kacprzak, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, P. Konieczka, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, S. Moyo, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, S. Parzych, E. Pérez del Río, L. Raczyński, S. Sharma, S. Choudhary, R. Y. Shopa, M. Silarski, M. Skurzok, E. Ł. Stępień, P. Tanty, F. T. Ardebili, K. T. Ardebili, K. V. Eliyan, W. Wiślicki
abstract
Discrete symmetries play an important role in particle physics with violation of CP connected to the matter-antimatter imbalance in the Universe. We report the most precise test of P, T and CP invariance in decays of ortho-positronium, performed with methodology involving polarization of photons from these decays. Positronium, the simplest bound state of an electron and positron, is of recent interest with discrepancies reported between measured hyperfine energy structure and theory at the level of 10^-4 signaling a need for better understanding of the positronium system at this level. We test discrete symmetries using photon polarizations determined via Compton scattering in the dedicated J-PET tomograph on an event-by-event basis and without the need to control the spin of the positronium with an external magnetic field, in contrast to previous experiments. Our result is consistent with QED expectations at the level of 0.0007 and one standard deviation.
Detection of range shifts in proton beam therapy using the J-PET scanner: a patient simulation study
K. Brzeziński, J. Baran, D. Borys, J. Gajewski, N. Chug, A. Coussat, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, K.V. Eliyan, A. Gajos, K. Kacprzak, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, P. Konieczka, R. Kopeć, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, A.J. Lomax, K. McNamara, S. Niedźwiecki, P. Olko, D. Panek, S. Parzych, E. Perez del Rio, L. Raczyński, S. Sharma, Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, T. Skóra, M. Skurzok, P. Stasica, E.Ł. Stępień, K. Tayefi, F. Tayefi, D.C. Weber, C. Winterhalter, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal, A. Ruciński
abstract
Objective. The Jagiellonian positron emission tomography (J-PET) technology, based on plastic scintillators, has been proposed as a cost effective tool for detecting range deviations during proton therapy. This study investigates the feasibility of using J-PET for range monitoring by means of a detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of 95 patients who underwent proton therapy at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) in Krakow, Poland. Approach. Discrepancies between prescribed and delivered treatments were artificially introduced in the simulations by means of shifts in patient positioning and in the Hounsfield unit to the relative proton stopping power calibration curve. A dual-layer, cylindrical J-PET geometry was simulated in an in-room monitoring scenario and a triple-layer, dual-head geometry in an in-beam protocol. The distribution of range shifts in reconstructed PET activity was visualized in the beam's eye view. Linear prediction models were constructed from all patients in the cohort, using the mean shift in reconstructed PET activity as a predictor of the mean proton range deviation. Main results. Maps of deviations in the range of reconstructed PET distributions showed agreement with those of deviations in dose range in most patients. The linear prediction model showed a good fit, with coefficient of determination r2 = 0.84 (in-room) and 0.75 (in-beam). Residual standard error was below 1 mm: 0.33 mm (in-room) and 0.23 mm (in-beam). Significance. The precision of the proposed prediction models shows the sensitivity of the proposed J-PET scanners to shifts in proton range for a wide range of clinical treatment plans. Furthermore, it motivates the use of such models as a tool for predicting proton range deviations and opens up new prospects for investigations into the use of intra-treatment PET images for predicting clinical metrics that aid in the assessment of the quality of delivered treatment.
ProTheRaMon - a GATE simulation framework for proton therapy range monitoring using PET imaging
D. Borys, J. Baran, K.W. Brzezinski, J. Gajewski, N. Chug, A. Coussat, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, K. Valsan Eliyan, A. Gajos, K. Kacprzak, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, P. Konieczka, R. Kopec, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, A. John Lomax, K. McNamara, S. Niedźwiecki, P. Olko, D. Panek, S. Parzych, E. Pérez del Río, L. Raczyński, S. Sharma, S. Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, T. Skóra, M. Skurzok, P. Stasica, E. Stępień, K. Tayefi Ardebili, F. Tayefi, D. Charles Weber, C. Winterhalter, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal, A. Rucinski
abstract
Objective: This paper reports on the implementation and shows examples of the use of the ProTheRaMon framework for simulating the delivery of proton therapy treatment plans and range monitoring using positron emission tomography (PET). ProTheRaMon offers complete processing of proton therapy treatment plans, patient CT geometries, and intra-treatment PET imaging, taking into account therapy and imaging coordinate systems and activity decay during the PET imaging protocol specific to a given proton therapy facility. We present the ProTheRaMon framework and illustrate its potential use case and data processing steps for a patient treated at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) proton therapy center in Krakow, Poland. Approach: The ProTheRaMon framework is based on GATE Monte Carlo software, the CASToR reconstruction package and in-house developed Python and bash scripts. The framework consists of five separated simulation and data processing steps, that can be further optimized according to the user's needs and specific settings of a given proton therapy facility and PET scanner design. Main results: ProTheRaMon is presented using example data from a patient treated at CCB and the J-PET scanner to demonstrate the application of the framework for proton therapy range monitoring. The output of each simulation and data processing stage is described and visualized. Significance: We demonstrate that the ProTheRaMon simulation platform is a high-performance tool, capable of running on a computational cluster and suitable for multi-parameter studies, with databases consisting of large number of patients, as well as different PET scanner geometries and settings for range monitoring in a clinical environment. Due to its modular structure, the ProTheRaMon framework can be adjusted for different proton therapy centers and/or different PET detector geometries. It is available to the community via github.
J-PET detector approach for testing CP symmetry in the ortho-positronium annihilation
K.V. Eliyan, M. Skurzok, P. Moskal
published in: Acta Phys. Pol. B Proc. Suppl. 17 (2024) 1-A1
Positronium is a suitable leptonic system to test Charge-Parity (CP) discrete symmetry involving the correlations of photons momenta originating from ortho-positronium (o-Ps) annihilation. The photon?photon interaction in the final state due to the vacuum polarization may mimic CP symmetry violation of the order of 10^?9, while weak interaction effects lead to a violation of the order of 10^?14 according to the Standard Model prediction. So far, the experimental limits on CP symmetry violation in the o-Ps decay are set at the level of 10^?4. One of the unique features of the J-PET detector is its ability to measure the polarization direction of the annihilation photons without the magnetic field. The J-PET detector can be used to explore discrete symmetry by looking for probable non-zero expectation values of the symmetry-odd operators, constructed from spin of ortho-Positronium and momentum, and polarization vectors of gamma quanta resulting from o-Ps annihilation. In this work, the J-PET detector experimental and analysis method to improve the sensitivity level at least by one order for CP discrete symmetry studies in the o-Ps decay via symmetry odd operator (e_i k_j), where e_i and k_j are reconstructed polarization and momentum vectors of photons from the o-Ps decays, respectively, will be presented.
Feasibility study of positronium imaging with Biograph Vision Quadra and Modular J-PET
S. Parzych, J. Baran, E. Yitayew Beyene, M. Conti, A. Coussat, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, K. Valsan Eliyan, A. Gajos, B. Hiesmayr, A. Jędruszczak, K. Kacprzak, M. Kajetanowicz, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, G. Łapkiewicz, L. Mercolli, W. Migdał, S. Moyo, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, E. Pérez Del Río, L. Raczyński, A. Rominger, H. Sari, S. Sharma, K. Shi, S. Shivani, R. Shopa, M. Skurzok, W.M. Steinberger, E. Stępień, P. Tanty, F. Tayefi, K. Tayefi Ardebili, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal
published in: 2023 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference and International Symposium on Room-Temperature Semiconductor Detectors
Positronium Imaging is gaining interest as a new promising method that may improve the diagnostic specificity of Positron Emission Tomography. Recently, the first ex-vivo and in-vivo positronium lifetime images were demonstrated by means of the dedicated multi-photon J-PET system. The latest upgrades of the Biograph Vision Quadra (Siemens Healthineers) to the singles mode acquisition open the possibility of multi-photon imaging. In this simulation-based work, sensitivity of both systems has been assessed as a function of the energy window applied for registration of the prompt photon. The research was conducted using four radioisotopes: 124 I, 68 Ga, 44 Sc, 22 Na, which were chosen due to their medical or laboratory utilization. Simulations were performed with the GATE software. The result indicates that Biograph Vision Quadra provides about 400 times higher sensitivity with respect to the modular J-PET prototype used to demonstrate the first positronium images, assuming full energy acquisition of the prompt photon.
Normalization and scatter corrections for the J-PET scanner
A. Coussat, W. Krzemień, J. Baran, S. Parzych, L. Raczyński, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, J. Gajewski, B. Hiesmayr, K. Valsan Eliyan, A. Jędruszczak, K. Kacprzak, A. Gajos, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, T. Kozik, G. Łapkiewicz, G. Korcyl, S. Moyo, D. Kumar, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, S. Sharma, E. Pérez Del Río, S. Shivani, R. Shopa, P. Tanty, M. Skurzok, K. Tayefi, F. Tayefi, E. Stępień, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal
published in: 2023 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference and International Symposium on Room-Temperature Semiconductor Detectors
The Jagiellonian PET scanner is a cost-effective large axial FOV Positron Emission Tomography technology that enables multi-photon imaging and is currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. The current 50 cm prototype, named Modular J-PET, is being investigated for various applications. It is well known that PET data can be affected by several effects during acquisition, such as scattered gamma photons or variations in detection efficiency. Consequently, achieving the reconstruction of images of satisfactory quality requires a set of corrections to be applied to each line-of-response. This summary discusses the implementation and performance of scatter and normalization corrections for the Modular J-PET, and their extension prior to the assembly of a total-body Jagiellonian PET scanner. Normalization correction is achieved using component-based normalization, a method particularly suitable for large scanners with a high number of lines-of-response. Scatter correction is achieved using an extension of the single scatter simulation technique that incorporates time-of-flight information. Reconstruction of reference phantoms based on Monte Carlo simulations highlight improvements in image quality. The application of normalization reduces the non-uniformity in the reconstructed image by a factor of 10 in the axial direction and 2 in the radial direction.
Perspective of CP Violation Search by Modular J-PET Detector in the Ortho-Positronium Decay
K.V. Eliyan, M. Skurzok, P. Moskal
published in: Acta Phys. Polon. B Proc. Suppl. 15 (2022) 4-A10
The positronium atom, a bound state of electron and positron, is a suitable
leptonic test site for Charge-Parity (CP) discrete symmetry research.
According to the Standard Model, the photon?photon interaction in the
final state due to the vacuum polarization may mimic CP violation of the
order of 10^-9, while weak interaction effects lead to a violation of the order
of 10^-14. So far, the experimental limits on CP symmetry violation
in the decay of o-Ps are set at the level of 10^-3. The J-PET detector can
be used to explore discrete symmetries by looking for probable non-zero
expectation values of the symmetry-odd operators, constructed from spin
of ortho-Positronium (o-Ps) and momentum, and polarization vectors of
gamma quanta resulting from o-Ps annihilation. The upgraded version
of the J-PET detector, with an additional fourth layer of detection modules
increases signal acceptance, which allows to triple the efficiency of
quanta detection for CP discrete symmetry studies.
Feasibility study of positronium imaging with Biograph Vision Quadra and Modular J-PET
S. Parzych, J. Baran, E. Y. Beyene, M. Conti, A. Coussat, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, K. Dulski, K. Valsan Eliyan, A. Gajos, B. Hiesmayr, A. Jedruszczak, K. Kacprzak, M. Kajetanowicz, T. Kaplanoglu, Ł. Kapłon, K. Klimaszewski, G. Korcyl, T. Kozik, W. Krzemień, D. Kumar, G. Łapkiewicz, L. Mercolli, W. Migdał, S. Moyo, W. Mryka, S. Niedźwiecki, E. Perez del Rio, L. Raczyński, A. Rominger, H. Sari, S. Sharma, K. Shi, Shivani, R. Y. Shopa, M. Skurzok, W. M. Steinberger, E. Ł. Stępień, P. Tanty, F. Tayefi, K. Tayefi, W. Wiślicki, P. Moskal
2023 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference
CP discreet symmetry study in the decay of ortho-Positronium atom using the J-PET detector
K. Valsan Eliyan, J. Raj
4th Jagiellonian Symposium on Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine, Cracow, Poland, July 2022
