A dead-time-free data acquisition system for prompt gamma-ray measurements during proton therapy treatments

In cancer patients undergoing proton therapy, a very intense secondary radiation is produced during the treatment, which lasts around one minute. About one billion prompt gamma-rays are emitted per second, and their detection with fast scintillation detectors is useful for monitoring a correct beam delivery. To cope with the expected count rate and pile-up, as well as the scarce statistics due to the short treatment duration, we developed an eidetic data acquisition system capable of continuously digitizing the detector signal with a high sampling rate and without any dead time. By streaming the fully unprocessed waveforms to the computer, complex pile-up decomposition algorithms can be applied and optimized offline. We describe the data acquisition architecture and the multiple experimental tests designed to verify the sustained data throughput speed and the absence of dead time. While the system is tailored for the proton therapy environment, the methodology can be deployed in any other field requiring the recording of raw waveforms at high sampling rates with zero dead time.