Dosimetric Analysis of Rhizophora-based Phantom Material in Radiation Therapy Applications Using Monte Carlo GATE...

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiotherapy Dosimetry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Developing accurate phantom materials is crucial for radiotherapy quality assurance.
• Traditional water phantoms have limitations in practical application.
• Exploring alternative materials like particleboard offers potential for improved phantom design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the percentage depth dose (PDD) of a soy-lignin bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboard phantom.
• To evaluate the suitability of this novel phantom material for radiotherapy applications using Monte Carlo simulations.
• To compare simulated results with experimental data for validation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Rhizophora spp. particleboard with a target density of 1.0 g·cm^-3.
• Monte Carlo simulation using Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) with an Elekta Synergy linac model.
• Comparison of simulated PDD, beam flatness, and beam symmetry with experimental data for both Rhizophora and water phantoms.

Main Results:

• Simulated PDD for the Rhizophora phantom showed good agreement with experimental water phantom data (0%–8.7% discrepancy).
• All simulated points met the clinical 3%/3 mm criterion, with final percentages of 2.34% for Rhizophora and 2.49% for water.
• Beam symmetry measurements for both phantoms were well within acceptable limits (0.58% for water, 0.28% for Rhizophora).

Conclusions:

• The Rhizophora spp. particleboard phantom demonstrates high accuracy and reliability for radiotherapy dosimetry.
• The findings support the confident use of this particleboard phantom in radiotherapy treatment planning.
• This study lays the groundwork for utilizing sustainable, engineered materials in radiation therapy phantoms.