Gafchromic EBT2 film dosimetry in reflection mode with a novel plan-based calibration method

A dosimetric system formed by Gafchromic EBT2 radiochromic film and Epson Expression 10000XL flatbed scanner was commissioned for dosimetry. In this paper, several open questions concerning the commissioning of radiochromic films for dosimetry were addressed: (a) is it possible to employ this dosimetric system in reflection mode; (b) if so, can the methods used in transmission mode also be used in reflection mode; (c) is it possible to obtain accurate absolute dose measurements with Gafchromic EBT2 films; (d) which calibration method should be followed; (e) which calibration models should be used; and (f) does three-color channel dosimetry offer a significant improvement over single channel dosimetry. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify these questions.

In this study, films were scanned in reflection mode, the effect of surrounding film was evaluated and the feasibility of EBT2 film dosimetry in reflection mode was studied. EBT2's response homogeneity has been reported to lead to excessive dose uncertainties. To overcome this problem, a new plan-based calibration method was implemented. Plan-based calibration can use every pixel and each of the three color channels of the scanned film to obtain the parameters of the calibration model. A model selection analysis was conducted to select lateral correction and sensitometric curve models. The commonly used calibration with fragments was compared with red-channel plan-based calibration and with three-channel plan-based calibration.

No effect of surrounding film was found in this study. The film response inhomogeneity in EBT2 films was found to be important not only due to differences in the fog but also due to differences in sensitivity. The best results for lateral corrections were obtained using absolute corrections independent of the dose. With respect to the sensitometric curves, an empirical polynomial fit of order 4 was found to obtain results equivalent to a gamma-distributed single hit model based on physical assumptions. Three-channel dosimetry was found to be substantially superior to red-channel dosimetry.

Reflection mode with Gafchromic EBT2 radiochromic film was found to be a viable alternative to transmission mode. The same methods that are used in transmission mode can be followed in reflection mode. A novel plan-based method was developed for calibration and multichannel dosimetry. This novel method offers increased robustness against film response inhomogeneities and reduces considerably the time required for calibration.