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Review
. 2022 Sep 8;67(18):10.1088/1361-6560/ac8c83.
doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac8c83.

The OpenGATE ecosystem for Monte Carlo simulation in medical physics

David Sarrut  1 , Nicolas Arbor  2 , Thomas Baudier  1 , Damian Borys  3 , Ane Etxebeste  1 , Hermann Fuchs  4   5 , Jan Gajewski  6 , Loïc Grevillot  4 , Sébastien Jan  7 , George C Kagadis  8 , Han Gyu Kang  9 , Assen Kirov  10 , Olga Kochebina  7 , Wojciech Krzemien  11   12   13 , Antony Lomax  14   15 , Panagiotis Papadimitroulas  16 , Christian Pommranz  17   18 , Emilie Roncali  19 , Antoni Rucinski  6 , Carla Winterhalter  14   15 , Lydia Maigne  20
Affiliations
Review

The OpenGATE ecosystem for Monte Carlo simulation in medical physics

David Sarrut et al. Phys Med Biol. .

Abstract

This paper reviews the ecosystem of GATE, an open-source Monte Carlo toolkit for medical physics. Based on the shoulders of Geant4, the principal modules (geometry, physics, scorers) are described with brief descriptions of some key concepts (Volume, Actors, Digitizer). The main source code repositories are detailed together with the automated compilation and tests processes (Continuous Integration). We then described how the OpenGATE collaboration managed the collaborative development of about one hundred developers during almost 20 years. The impact of GATE on medical physics and cancer research is then summarized, and examples of a few key applications are given. Finally, future development perspectives are indicated.

Keywords: Gate; Geant4; Monte Carlo; simulation.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Main GATE classes architecture and link with Geant4 classes. Singleton classes are depicted with a small “1” icon.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Classes architecture of the GATE scorers and actors module.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A schematic of the GATE digitizer main workflow and elements: a) digitizer module within the GATE environment and its interaction with other modules; b) digitizer module. An example of a scintillation detector containing two scintillation crystals and a photocathode is illustrated.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Estimated number of publications of GATE from 2004 to 2021 regarding imaging, dosimetry and radiotherapy applications.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Main applications of GATE in medical physics.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
a) GATE Cerenkov luminescence imaging setup with optical imaging system and positron sources inside a water phantom, b) GATE Cerenkov luminescence imaging simulation geometry, c) the CCD image that collected Cerenkov luminescence light for 10 seconds.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
2D dose (left panel) and LETd of protons (middle panel) distributions in water for therapeutic pencil proton beam at 150 MeV and the corresponding LET spectrum (right panel) for the measurement point at the Bragg peak depth, 45 mm from the beam axis, indicated with red squares on left and middle panels. Proton, electron and photon contributions to the LET spectrum are calculated with GATE and compared to the measurement with a TimePix detector. Wide range of proton LET values is approximated by the averaged LETd given in the legend.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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