Dose imaging with gel-dosemeter layers: optical analysis and dedicated software

Area of Science:

• Medical physics
• Radiation dosimetry
• Nuclear medicine

Background:

• Accurate dose distribution is crucial for effective radiotherapy, especially with thermal and epithermal neutrons.
• Separating secondary radiation components is essential for precise dose assessment.
• Fricke-Xylenol-Orange gel dosemeters offer a promising solution due to their layered geometry and isotopic modification capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically re-examine and improve a dosimetry method for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT).
• To enhance the suitability of Fricke-Xylenol-Orange gel dosemeters for BNCT requirements.
• To optimize measurement protocols, analysis, sensitivity, and linearity of the dosemeters.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing layered Fricke-Xylenol-Orange gel dosemeters for dose distribution measurements.
• Modifying the gel matrix with isotopes to fine-tune neutron transport properties.
• Developing and studying specialized software for automated image analysis and dose component separation.

Main Results:

• The layered gel dosemeter approach allows for the separation of dose contributions from different secondary radiation components.
• The re-examined dosimetry method shows improved suitability for BNCT applications.
• Developed software enables automatic image acquisition and analysis of dose components.

Conclusions:

• Fricke-Xylenol-Orange gel dosemeters are effective for determining dose distributions in neutron radiotherapy.
• The optimized method enhances accuracy and applicability for boron neutron capture therapy.
• Automated software significantly streamlines the analysis of complex dose components.