Magnetic resonance (MR)-based polymer gel dosimetry using normoxic polymer gels, represents a new dosimetric method specially suited for high-resolution three-dimensional dosimetric problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the dose response with regard to stability, accuracy, reproducibility, and the dose rate dependence. Tetrakis-hydroxy-methyl-phosphonium chloride (THPC) is used as an oxygen scavenger, and methacrylic acid as a monomer. Accuracy, reproducibility, and dose resolution were determined for MR protocols at low spatial resolution (typical for clinical scanners), medium, and microimaging-resolution protocols at three different dose levels. The dose-response stability and preirradiation-induced variations in R2, related to the time interval between preparation and irradiation of the polymer gel, were investigated. Also postirradiation stability of the polymer gel was considered. These experiments were performed using a 60Co beam (E = 1.2 MV) in a water phantom. Moreover, we investigated the dose rate dependence in the low, medium, and saturation dose region of the normoxic polymer gel using a linear accelerator at photon energy of 25 MV. MR scanning was performed on a 3 T whole body scanner (MEDSPEC 30/80, BRUKER BIOSPIN, Ettlingen, Germany) using several coils and different gradient systems adapted to the acquired spatial resolution investigated. For T2-parameter selective imaging and determination of the relaxation rate R2 = 1/T2, a multiple spin echo sequence with 20 equidistant echoes was used. With regard to preirradiation induced variations R2 increases significantly with the increasing time interval between the polymer gel preparation and irradiation. Only a slight increase in R2 can be observed for varying the postirradiation-time solely. The dose reproducibility at voxel volumes of about 1.4 x 1.4 x 2 mm3 is better than 2%. The accuracy strongly depends on the calibration curve. THPC represents a very effective oxygen scavenger in methacrylic acid and gelatin. Polymer gels containing THPC offer high sensitivity to dose but their dose response also strongly depends on dose rate in the medium and high dose region.
The verification of dose distributions with high dose gradients as appearing in brachytherapy or stereotactic radiotherapy for example, calls for dosimetric methods with sufficiently high spatial resolution. Polymer gels in combination with a MR or optical scanner as a readout device have the potential of performing the verification of a three-dimensional dose distribution within a single measurement. The purpose of this work is to investigate the spatial resolution achievable in MR-based polymer gel dosimetry. The authors show that dosimetry on a very small spatial scale (voxel size: 94 x 94 x 1000 microm3) can be performed with normoxic polymer gels using parameter selective T2 imaging. In order to prove the spatial resolution obtained we are relying on the dose-modulation transfer function (DMTF) concept based on very fine dose modulations at half periods of 200 microm. Very fine periodic dose modulations of a 60Co photon field were achieved by means of an absorption grid made of tungsten-carbide, specifically designed for quality control. The dose modulation in the polymer gel is compared with that of film dosimetry in one plane via the DMTF concept for general access to the spatial resolution of a dose imaging system. Additionally Monte Carlo simulations were performed and used for the calculation of the DMTF of both, the polymer gel and film dosimetry. The results obtained by film dosimetry agree well with those of Monte Carlo simulations, whereas polymer gel dosimetry overestimates the amplitude value of the fine dose modulations. The authors discuss possible reasons. The in-plane resolution achieved in this work competes with the spatial resolution of standard clinical film-scanner systems.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.