Performance of ZnSe(Te) as fiberoptic dosimetry detector

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiotherapy Technology
• Optical Sensing

Background:

• Fiberoptic dosimetry (FOD) offers in-vivo, real-time dose rate determination in radiotherapy.
• Cherenkov radiation in optical fibers interferes with accurate dose measurements.
• Reducing Cherenkov radiation is crucial for clinical FOD application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a red-emitting tellurium-doped zinc selenide crystal for FOD.
• To compare its performance against a standard ion chamber.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a red-emitting tellurium-doped zinc selenide crystal coupled to an optical fiber.
• Measured radioluminescence intensity under ionizing radiation.
• Compared FOD measurements with ion chamber readings.

Main Results:

• The red-emitting scintillator effectively minimized Cherenkov radiation.
• The FOD system demonstrated comparable performance to an ion chamber.
• Optical filtering enhanced signal-to-noise ratio by reducing short-wavelength Cherenkov light.

Conclusions:

• Red-emitting tellurium-doped zinc selenide is a promising material for clinical FOD.
• This approach offers a viable method to mitigate Cherenkov interference in radiotherapy dosimetry.
• Further development could lead to more accurate real-time dose monitoring.