FragmentatiOn Of Target
| The main purpose of the FOOT experiment (FragmentatiOn Of Target) is to improve the tumor treatments in hadrontherapy by studying the behavior of the particle beams usually employed. These particles (mainly protons and carbon ions) interact with the nuclei constituting the human body, then leading to nuclear fragmentation. The nuclear fragments are an important source of biological damage, both for cancer cells and for nearby healthy tissues, and it is of fundamental importance to have a deep knowledge of this process in order to make the most effective and safe medical treatment. |
| FOOT will measure with great precision the nuclear fragmentation cross-section of medium-light ions such as those that abound most in our organism (Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen), for which experimental measurements are absent in the energy range used in hadrontherapy (100-300 MeV / nucleon). The accuracy of the theoretical models is not in fact sufficient by itself to guarantee a satisfactory accuracy during the treatment of the patients. |
| The final goal of the detector is to measure the heavy fragment (Z>3) cross section with maximum uncertainty of 5% and the fragment energy spectrum with an energy resolution of the order of 1-2 MeV/u. |
