A student project on the origin of blue light in proton therapy

This June, physics and astronomy student Ellen de Mol successfully defended her Bachelor’s thesis, presenting her research at both the Leiden University Medical Center and HollandPTC. Her project combined hands-on experiments with theoretical modelling to explore a fascinating clinical mystery: is the blue light reported by patients during ocular proton therapy really caused by Cherenkov radiation?

Her measurements in water phantoms and porcine‐eye samples confirmed that, at the proton energies used clinically, Cherenkov emission cannot account for the perceptible glow, pointing instead toward alternative mechanisms.

Ellen’s internship offered a great mix of lab work, image analysis, and theoretical exploration — just the kind of challenge we love in the MReye group. We’re excited to see the results of her final experiments and look forward to welcoming a new Bachelor’s and Master’s students after the summer.

Interested in joining us? Send us a message.