Dosimetry for 125I seed (model 6711) in eye plaques

The effect of eye plaque materials (gold backing and silastic seed-carrier insert) on the dose distribution around a single 125I seed has been measured, using cubic lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) 1 mm on an edge, in a solid water eye phantom embedded in a solid water head phantom. With an 125I seed (model 6711) positioned in the center slot of the silastic insert for a 20-mm plaque of the design used in the collaborative ocular melanoma study (COMS), dose was measured at 2-mm intervals along the plaque central axis (the seed's transverse axis) and at various off-axis points, both with and without the COMS gold backing placed over the insert. Monte Carlo calculations (MORSE code) were performed, as well, for these configurations and closely the same geometry but assuming a large natural water phantom. Additional Monte Carlo calculations treated the case, both for 20- and 12-mm gold plaques, where the silastic insert is replaced by natural water. Relative to previous measurements taken in homogeneous medium of the same material (without the eye plaque), the dose reduction found by both Monte Carlo and TLD methods was greater at points farther from the seed along the central axis and, for a given central-axis depth, at larger off-axis distances. Removal of the gold backing from the plaque did not make measurable difference in the dose reduction results (10% at 1 cm).