The OpenGATE ecosystem for Monte Carlo simulation in medical physics

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

1 Imagerie Tomographique et Radiothérapie
2 IPHC - Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien
3 CREATIS - Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé
4 Silesian University of Technology
5 EBG MedAustron GmbH
6 Medizinische Universität Wien = Medical University of Vienna
7 PAN - Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences = Académie polonaise des sciences
8 Université Paris-Saclay
9 BIOMAPS - LaBoratoire d'Imagerie biOmédicale MultimodAle Paris-Saclay
10 University of Patras
11 QST - National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology
12 MSKCC - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
13 High Energy Physics Division
14 UJ - Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie = Jagiellonian University
15 Center for Proton Therapy
16 D-PHYS - Department of Physics = Departement Physik [ETH Zürich]
17 BIOEMTECH
18 Werner Siemens Imaging Center
19 UC Davis - University of California [Davis]
20 LPC - Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont

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.

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Analyse de données, Statistiques et Probabilités [physics.data-an]

David Sarrut, Nicolas Arbor, Thomas Baudier, Damian Borys, A. Etxebeste, et al.. The OpenGATE ecosystem for Monte Carlo simulation in medical physics. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2022, 67 (18), pp.184001. ⟨10.1088/1361-6560/ac8c83⟩. ⟨hal-03780307⟩