Review of plastic and liquid scintillation dosimetry for photon, electron, and proton therapy

Beaulieu, Luc; Beddar, Sam

doi:10.1088/0031-9155/61/20/r305

Cited by 145 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 150 publications

(212 reference statements)

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“…The spectral distribution of Cerenkov light is most intense in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This effect has a huge contribution on signal amplitude when using plastic scintillators and optical fibers . Thus, the Cerenkov effect in this case must be considered and removed from the total acquisition signal.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our case, the inorganic scintillator is grafted to a narrow silica fiber core, so that the Cerenkov effect is expected to be weak. Moreover, in order to minimize this effect, the size of the inorganic scintillating head has been reduced as much as possible . However, even if the contribution of the Cerenkov Effect is weak, it was systematically quantitated and removed from the measurements presented in this article.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High spatial resolution inorganic scintillator detector for high‐energy X‐ray beam at small field irradiation

et al. 2020

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Purpose Small field dosimetry for radiotherapy is one of the major challenges due to the size of most dosimeters, for example, sufficient spatial resolution, accurate dose distribution and energy dependency of the detector. In this context, the purpose of this research is to develop a small size scintillating detector targeting small field dosimetry and compare its performance with other commercial detectors. Method An inorganic scintillator detector (ISD) of about 200 µm outer diameter was developed and tested through different small field dosimetric characterizations under high‐energy photons (6 and 15 MV) delivered by an Elekta Linear Accelerator (LINAC). Percentage depth dose (PDD) and beam profile measurements were compared using dosimeters from PTW namely, microdiamond and PinPoint three‐dimensional (PP3D) detector. A background fiber method has been considered to quantitate and eliminate the minimal Cerenkov effect from the total optical signal magnitude. Measurements were performed inside a water phantom under IAEA Technical Reports Series recommendations (IAEA TRS 381 and TRS 483). Results Small fields ranging from 3 × 3 cm2, down to 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 were sequentially measured using the ISD and commercial dosimeters, and a good agreement was obtained among all measurements. The result also shows that, scintillating detector has good repeatability and reproducibility of the output signal with maximum deviation of 0.26% and 0.5% respectively. The Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) was measured 0.55 cm for the smallest available square size field of 0.5 × 0.5 cm2, where the discrepancy of 0.05 cm is due to the scattering effects inside the water and convolution effect between field and detector geometries. Percentage depth dose factor dependence variation with water depth exhibits nearly the same behavior for all tested detectors. The ISD allows to perform dose measurements at a very high accuracy from low (50 cGy/min) to high dose rates (800 cGy/min) and was found to be independent of dose rate variation. The detection system also showed an excellent linearity with dose; hence, calibration was easily achieved. Conclusions The developed detector can be used to accurately measure the delivered dose at small fields during the treatment of small volume tumors. The author's measurement shows that despite using a nonwater‐equivalent detector, the detector can be a powerful candidate for beam characterization and quality assurance in, for example, radiosurgery, Intensity‐Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), and brachytherapy. Our detector can provide real‐time dose measurement and good spatial resolution with immediate readout, simplicity, flexibility, and robustness.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High spatial resolution inorganic scintillator detector for high‐energy X‐ray beam at small field irradiation

et al. 2020

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“…However, the optical fiber guides within the radiation field are usually much longer than the scintillation probes, several centimeters vs a few millimeters at most for the scintillators. 30 Whether Cerenkov light requires removal in brachytherapy applications depends on the radioactive source used and the measurement geometry. In HDR brachytherapy with an 192 Ir source, Cerenkov radiation can cause large errors in dose reporting if it is not taken into account.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14,15 The production and removal of Cerenkov light in PSDs are widely discussed topics. 6,11,12,[19][20][21][22]30 In this study, the stem effect is accounted for.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of a multipoint plastic scintillator dosimeter for high dose rate brachytherapy

et al. 2019

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Purpose This study is devoted to optimizing and characterizing the response of a multipoint plastic scintillator detector (mPSD) for application to in vivo dosimetry in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Methods An exhaustive analysis was carried out in order to obtain an optimized mPSD design that maximizes the scintillation light collection produced by the interaction of ionizing photons. More than 20 prototypes of mPSD were built and tested in order to determine the appropriate order of scintillators relative to the photodetector (distal, center, or proximal) as well as their length as a function of the scintillation light emitted. The available detecting elements are the BCF‐60, BCF‐12, and BCF‐10 scintillators (Saint Gobain Crystals, Hiram, OH, USA), separated from each other by segments of Eska GH‐4001 clear optical fibers (Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The contribution of each scintillator to the total spectrum was determined by irradiations in the low energy range (<120 keV). For the best mPSD design, a numerical optimization was done in order to select the optical components [dichroic mirrors, filters, and photomultipliers tubes (PMTs)] that best match the light emission profile. Calculations were performed taking into account the measured scintillation spectrum and light yield, the manufacturer‐reported transmission and attenuation of the optical components, and the experimentally characterized PMT noise. The optimized dosimetric system was used for HDR brachytherapy measurements. The system was independently controlled from the 192Ir source via LabVIEW and read simultaneously using an NI‐DAQ board. Dose measurements as a function of distance from the source were carried out according to TG‐43U1 recommendations. The system performance was quantified in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and signal to background ratio (SBR). Results For best overall light‐yield emission, it was determined that BCF‐60 should be placed at the distal position, BCF‐12 in the center, and BCF‐10 at the proximal position with respect to the photodetector. This configuration allowed for optimized light transmission through the collecting fiber and avoided inter‐scintillator excitation and self‐absorption effects. The optimal scintillator length found was of 3, 6, and 7 mm for BCF‐10, BCF‐ 12, and BCF‐60, respectively. The optimized luminescence system allowed for signal deconvolution using a multispectral approach, extracting the dose to each element while taking into account the Cerenkov stem effect. Differences between the mPSD measurements and TG‐43U1 remain below 5% in the range of 0.5 to 6.5 cm from the source. The dosimetric system can properly differentiate the scintillation signal from the background for a wide range of dose rate conditions; the SNR was found to be above 5 for dose rates above 22 mGy/s while the minimum SBR measured was 1.8 at 6 mGy/s. Conclusion Based on the spectral response at different conditions, an mPSD was constructed and optimized for HDR brachytherapy dosimetry. It is sensitive e...

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“…In this context, it is important to have passive detection of ionizing rays at critical infrastructures (tolls, airports, etc.). In our case, we take interest in the development of polymeric materials, so‐called plastic scintillators, which allow the detection of these threats at low costs than inorganic‐based scintillating devices . In a few words, a plastic scintillator is composed of a polymer matrix embedding one or several fluorescent molecules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attempting to prepare a plastic scintillator from a biobased polymer

Lebouteiller¹

2019

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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A new plastic scintillator was prepared from a renewable polymer source. It is composed of the mighty 2,5‐diphenyloxazole and 1, 4‐bis(2‐methylstyryl)benzene molecules (PPO and bis‐MSB), acting as primary and secondary fluorophores, respectively, together dissolved in a polylactic acid matrix—PLA. This polymer is indeed considered as the biomass‐based equivalent of petroleum‐derived plastics in terms of mechanical and optical properties. Subsequent to the bis‐MSB emission, the emission wavelength is centered around 424 nm and the fluorescence decay time is in the nanosecond range. The material was fully characterized, and its scintillation performances were compared to a commercial PVT‐based plastic scintillator: EJ‐200. Like polystyrene‐ or polyvinyltoluene‐based scintillators, the material displayed a good response linearity with the energy of the incident gamma‐ray. However, the observed scintillation yield was rather modest, with a reported 500 ph/MeV value when excited with a gamma‐ray‐emitting 60Co source. This preliminary test could pave the way to new and renewable polymers for unexpected applications such as nuclear physics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48724.

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Review of plastic and liquid scintillation dosimetry for photon, electron, and proton therapy

Cited by 145 publications

References 150 publications

High spatial resolution inorganic scintillator detector for high‐energy X‐ray beam at small field irradiation

High spatial resolution inorganic scintillator detector for high‐energy X‐ray beam at small field irradiation

Optimization of a multipoint plastic scintillator dosimeter for high dose rate brachytherapy

Attempting to prepare a plastic scintillator from a biobased polymer

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