[Gate-users] GDML files: Do or Don't?

[Kirchhof, Simon]

Dear Andreas, dear GATE-users (and developers),

I want to add some thoughts to your E-mail:

I've recently come across the same "problem", since I am in need of a Monte-Carlo application that can load (complex) hierchical tessellated geometries. As you've pointed out Geant4 is capable of that using GDML files for persistency. However, I don't think there is a particular reason that GATE does not use this Geant4 feature. GATE can load complex (anatomical) geometries as voxelized phantoms, which seems to be fine for most applications. Thus, I'm wondering whether the GATE users have been in need of a gdml loader so far.

For anyone, who wants to try to implement a simple gdml loader for GATE her-/himself. Just like someone has done it for "GateTesselated...", you would need to add a geometry inheriting from GateVVolume, i.e.:

sources/geometry/include/GateGDMLGeometry.hh
sources/geometry/include/GateGDMLGeometryMessenger.hh
sources/geometry/include/GateGDMLGeometry.cc
sources/geometry/include/GateGDMLGeometryMessenger.cc

On my local Gate fork I've already prototyped this feature and it seems to be working. 

My questions:
 - Has anyone else been implementing the same thing and made it available already? If not, I'll try to push my work to Github asap.
 - Does anyone else need/want to load complex tessellated geometries into his/her simulation?

Something more general:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like GATE (or Geant4 in this respect) is very slow and inefficient when tracking particles through tessellated geometries. Would there be a way of optimizing the tracking? If not, is there another Monte-Carlo Code out there, that is more recommendable for working with tessellated geometries?  

Best regards,
Simon

--
Simon Kirchhof
Master Student
Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology (E040)

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)
Foundation under Public Law
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
69120 Heidelberg
Germany
Phone: +49 6221 42-2438



________________________________________
Von: Gate-users <gate-users-bounces at lists.opengatecollaboration.org> im Auftrag von Andreas Menzel <am at crystal-photonics.com>
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 11. Mai 2017 15:27
An: Gate-users at lists.opengatecollaboration.org
Betreff: [Gate-users] GDML files: Do or Don't?

Dear GATE users,

before switching to GATE, I was using GAMOS and had to get familiar with
the Geant4 file type gdml to import geometries - actually, I modified a
Geant4 example to obtain a GDML plugin for GAMOS. I see that GATE
provides import of STL files, but I don't see any traces of an ability
to import GDML. Is there a particular reason for this? Or am I
overlooking something?

Thank you and best regards!

Andreas Menzel

--
Dr. Andreas Menzel

Crystal Photonics GmbH
Albert Einstein Straße 16
D - 12489 Berlin
Germany

FAX.: +49 (0) 30 34669299

am at crystal-photonics.com
www.crystal-photonics.com
-------------------------
Geschäftsführer: Klaus Schwenkenbecher
Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg HRB 99822B
Steuer-Nr.: 37/109/21041
VAT-No.: DE 814612031

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