Water-equivalent fiber radiation dosimeter with two scintillating materials

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Materials Science
• Radiation Detection

Background:

• Ideal dosimeters for radiotherapy require water equivalence, energy independence, reproducibility, and dose linearity.
• Inorganic scintillating materials are promising for dosimetry but often lack water equivalence due to high effective atomic weight (Zeff).
• Limited research exists on the depth-dose characteristics of inorganic scintillating dosimeter materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an inorganic scintillating material plastic optical fiber (POF) dosimeter for radiotherapy applications.
• To overcome the non-water-equivalent nature of inorganic scintillating materials in dosimetry.
• To enable accurate measurement of water depth and absorbed dose in radiotherapy settings.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a parallel-paired fiber light guide structure.
• Embedded two different inorganic scintillating materials separately within the parallel-paired fiber.
• Utilized the distinct depth-dose properties of the embedded materials to extract measurement information.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a method to extract information on water depth and absorbed dose.
• The parallel-paired fiber structure effectively addresses the water equivalence issue.
• The dosimeter shows potential for clinical radiotherapy applications.

Conclusions:

• The developed inorganic scintillating material POF dosimeter with a parallel-paired fiber structure is a viable solution for radiotherapy dosimetry.
• This approach overcomes the limitations of non-water-equivalent materials.
• The dosimeter enables accurate determination of absorbed dose and water depth.