Advancing Charged Particles Cancer Treatment by Real-Time Measurement on FPGA

Charged particle therapy offers significant advantages in cancer treatment due to its ability to deliver highly localized doses to tumors. However, the effectiveness and safety of this treatment rely critically on precise control and real-time monitoring of beam parameters. One of the key parameters is the particle Time-of-Flight (ToF), which directly informs about the energy and range of the particles within the patient. Accurate ToF measurement requires the integration of particle detectors with high-resolution Time-to-Digital Converters (TDCs) with picosecond-level precision. In this work, we present a compact FPGA-based TDC implementation, designed for seamless integration with the ESA-ABACUS oncology particle sensor. By combining calibration with place & route optimization, our TDC achieves 6.2 ps standard deviation, outperforming the current state-of-the-art. The in-laboratory characterization was successfully validated through beam tests conducted at sub-clinical dose rates.