[The verification of optimized 3D-dosage distributions with an MR Fricke gel]

Complex 3D treatment planning techniques require a dose verification throughout the irradiated volume. Conventional dosimetry techniques only unsatisfyingly serve these needs.

The chemical dosimeter FeSO4 solution can be used for measuring spatial dose distributions with the help of magnetic resonance imaging by fixing the iron ions in a gelatin matrix. A 3D dosimetry method was developed for 3D verification in an homogeneous, anthropomorphic phantom. The verification is achieved by juxtaposition or superposition of measured and calculated isodoses.

Different gel compositions were studied in view of their applicability as clinical 3D dosimeter concerning dose response, linearity and diffusion behaviour. A gel with 5% gelatin and 1 mM of ferrous ions proved to be the most suitable. The inverse spin-spin relaxation time T2(-1) is an indicator of the ferric ion concentration that showed to be linear with the dose in the range between 0 and 40 Gy (R2 = 0.996). The dose response was 0.057 per second and Gy. The observed diffusion of the iron ions was only influenced little by different gel compositions. To isolate the restrictions in the clinical application, measurements on the disturbing effects like, e.g. the inhomogeneous spatial response and the gel surface effects, were made and eliminated with the subtraction method. The clinical use of the method is demonstrated for the examples of the verification of calculated 3D dose distributions of a shielded 192Ir afterloading vaginal applicator and a head and neck 3-field plan with the use of asymmetric jaws and compensators.

The study demonstrates the clinical applicability of the method and shows its limitations.