• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.189-195
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• 2017

Gel dosimeters have unique advantages in comparison with other dosimeters. Until now, these gels have been used in different radiotherapy techniques as a reliable dosimetric tool. Because dose distribution measurement is an important factor for appropriate treatment planning in different radiotherapy techniques, in this study, we evaluated the ability of the N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel to record the dose distribution resulting from the mixed neutron-gamma field of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). In this regard, a head phantom containing NIPAM gel was irradiated using the Tehran Research Reactor BNCT beam line, and then by a magnetic resonance scanner. Eventually, the $R_2$ maps were obtained in different slices of the phantom by analyzing T2-weighted images. The results show that NIPAM gel has a suitable potential for recording three-dimensional dose distribution in mixed neutron-gamma field dosimetry.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.264-273
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• 2002

Purpose : Three-dimensional radiation dosimetry using magnetic resonance imaging of polymer gel was recently introduced. This dosimetry system is based on radiation induced chain polymerization of acrylic monomers in a muscle equivalent gel and provide accurate 3 dimensional dose distribution. We planned this study to evaluate the clinical value of this 3-dimensional dosimetry. Materials and Methods: The polymer gel poured into a cylindrical glass flask and a spherical glass flask. The cylindrical test tubes were for dose response evaluation and the spherical flasks, which is comparable to the human head, were for isodose curves. T2 maps from MR images were calculated using software, IDL. Dose distributions have been displayed for dosimetry. The same spherical flask of gel and the same irradiation technique was used for film and TLD dosimetry and compared with each other. Results : The R2 of the gel respond linearly with radiation doses in the range of 2 to 15 Gy. The repeated dosimetry of spherical gel showed the same isodose curves. These isodose curves were identical to dose distributions from treatment planning system especially high dose range. In addition, the gel dosimetry system showed comparable or superior results with the film and TLD dosimetry. Conclusion : The 3-dimensional dosimetry for conformal radiation therapy using MRI of polymer gal showed stable and accurate results. Although more studies are needed for convenient clinical application, it appears to be a useful tool for conformal radiation therapy.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.107-118
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• 2011

Conventional (SRS) and fractionated (FSRS) stereotactic radiosurgery necessarily require stringent overall target point accuracy and precision. We determine three-dimensional intracranial target point deviations (TPDs) in a whole treatment procedure using magnetic resonance image (MRI)-based polymer-gel dosimetry, and suggest a technique for overall system tests. TPDs were measured using a custom-made head phantom and gel dosimetry. We calculated TPDs using a treatment planning system. Then, we compared TPDs using mid bi-plane and three-dimensional volume methods with spherical and elliptical targets to determine their inherent analysis errors; finally, we analyzed regional TPDs using the latter method. Average and maximum additive errors for ellipses were 0.62 and 0.69 mm, respectively. Total displacements were 0.92 ${\pm}$ 0.25 and 0.77 ${\pm}$ 0.15 mm for virtual SRS and FSRS, respectively. Average TPDtotal at peripheral regions was greater than that at central regions for both. Overall system accuracy was similar to that reported previously. Our technique could be used as an overall system accuracy test that considers the real radiation field shape.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.54-61
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• 2012

A polymer gel dosimeter was fabricated. A 3-dimensional dosimetry experiment was performed in the small field of the photon of the cyberknife. The dosimeter was installed in a head and neck phantom. It was manufactured from the acrylic and it was used in dosimetry. By using the head and neck CT protocol of the CyberKnife system, CT images of the head and neck phantom were obtained and delivered to the treatment planning system. The irradiation to the dosimeter in the treatment planning was performed, and then, the image was obtained by using 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after 24 hours. The dose distribution of the phantom was analyzed by using MATLAB. The results of this measurement were compared to the results of calculation in the treatment planning. In the isodose curve on the axial direction, the dose distribution coincided with the high dose area, 0.76mm difference on 80%, rather than the low dose area, 1.29 mm difference on 40%. In this research, the fact that the polymer gel dosimeter and MRI can be applied for analyzing a small field in a 3 dimensional dosimetry was confirmed. Moreover, the feasibility of using these for the therapeutic radiation quality control was also confirmed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.399-400
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• 1999

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.72-78
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• 2016

A CCD camera and an LED light source were combined to fabricate a compact optical CT scanner for the therapeutic radiation dose evaluation of a polymer gel dosimeter. After the collimated beam emitted by the LED passed through aquarium, gel phantom, and telecentric lens, an image was collected by the CCD camera and reconstructed using MATLAB. By using a stepping motor and LabVIEW, the gel dosimeter was rotated at every $0.72^{\circ}$, and the time for collecting 500 slice images per a revolution was within 20 min. At a spatial frequency of 4.5 lp/mm of the optical CT scanner, the modulation transfer function value was 72%. The linear correlation coefficient of the optical CT scanner for the polymer gel dosimeter was 0.987.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.99-106
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• 2021

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to manufacture a patient-specific gel phantom combining three-dimensional (3D) printing and polymer gel and evaluate the radiation dose and dose profile using gel dosimetry. Methods: The patient-specific head phantom was manufactured based on the patient's computed tomography (CT) scan data to create an anatomically replicated phantom; this was then produced using a ColorJet 3D printer. A 3D polymer gel dosimeter called RTgel-100 is contained inside the 3D printing head phantom, and irradiation was performed using a 6 MV LINAC (Varian Clinac) X-ray beam, a linear accelerator for treatment. The irradiated phantom was scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (Siemens) with a magnetic field of 3 Tesla (3T) of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Medicine, and then compared the irradiated head phantom with the dose calculated by the patient's treatment planning system (TPS). Results: The comparison between the Hounsfield unit (HU) values of the CT image of the patient and those of the phantom revealed that they were almost similar. The electron density value of the patient's bone and brain was 996±167 HU and 58±15 HU, respectively, and that of the head phantom bone and brain material was 986±25 HU and 45±17 HU, respectively. The comparison of the data of TPS and 3D gel revealed that the difference in gamma index was 2%/2 mm and the passing rate was within 95%. Conclusions: 3D printing allows us to manufacture variable density phantoms for patient-specific dosimetric quality assurance (DQA), develop a customized body phantom of the patient in the future, and perform a patient-specific dosimetry with film, ion chamber, gel, and so on.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.7-17
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• 2007

Purpose: As increasing complexity of modern radiotherapy technique, more developing dosimetry is required. Polymer gel dosimeters offer a wide range of potential applications with high resolution and assured quality in the thee-dimensional verification of complex dose distribution such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The purpose of this study is to find the most sensitive and suitable gel as a dosimeter by varying its composition ratio and its condition such as temperature during manufacturing. Materials and Methods: Each polymer gel with various ratio of composition was irradiated with the same amount of photon beam accordingly. Various polymer gels were analyzed and compared using a dedicated software written in visual C++ which converts TE images to R2 map images. Their sensitivities to the photon beam depending on their composition ratio were investigated. Results: There is no dependence on beam energy nor dose rate, and calibration curve is linear. Conclusion: The polymer gel dosimeter developed by using anti-oxidant in this study proved to be suitable for dosimetry.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.207-215
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• 1998

There have been many radiation measurement methods so far among which film dosimetry, TLD, and ion chamber are the most frequently used methods. But this study describes a new radiation measurement method which uses polymer gel and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). The objective of this study is to fabricate a polymer gel sensitive to radiation and to generate a dose to MRI contrast relationship, and to apply this results to the radiation measurement for the brachytherapy. To do this, 12 cm diameter cylindrical gel phantom was made, and the phantom was irradiated using the 30 mm diameter circular collimator which was used for radiosurgery. And this irradiated phantom was scanned with MRI. To find out the relationship between the radiation dose and the transversal relaxation time, an image processing software(IDL) was used. From this study it is found out that the radiation dose showed linear relationship to the transversal relaxation time of the gel up to 17 Gy($R^2$=0.993) and they had a different relationship above 17 Gy. The dose distributions were calculated using these results for the Ir-192 sources, one for the HDR afterloading system and the other for a 2 mCi seed source. And these calculated dose distributions were compared to the ones from the treatment planning computers. From this study the dose to the irradiated gel's transversal relaxation time relationship was examined, and this result was tried for the measurement of the brachytherapy.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.233-241
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• 2014

The aim of this study is to develop a new software tool for 3D dose verification using $PRESAGE^{REU}$ Gel dosimeter. The tool included following functions: importing 3D doses from treatment planning systems (TPS), importing 3D optical density (OD), converting ODs to doses, 3D registration between two volumetric data by translational and rotational transformations, and evaluation with 3D gamma index. To acquire correlation between ODs and doses, CT images of a $PRESAGE^{REU}$ Gel with cylindrical shape was acquired, and a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plan was designed to give radiation doses from 1 Gy to 6 Gy to six disk-shaped virtual targets along z-axis. After the VMAT plan was delivered to the targets, 3D OD data were reconstructed from 512 projection data from $Vista^{TM}$ optical CT scanner (Modus Medical Devices Inc, Canada) per every 2 hours after irradiation. A curve for converting ODs to doses was derived by comparing TPS dose profile to OD profile along z-axis, and the 3D OD data were converted to the absorbed doses using the curve. Supra-linearity was observed between doses and ODs, and the ODs were decayed about 60% per 24 hours depending on their magnitudes. Measured doses from the $PRESAGE^{REU}$ Gel were well agreed with the TPS doses at central region, but large under-doses were observed at peripheral region at the cylindrical geometry. Gamma passing rate for 3D doses was 70.36% under the gamma criteria of 3% of dose difference and 3 mm of distance to agreement. The low passing rate was resulted from the mismatching of the refractive index between the PRESAGE gel and oil bath in the optical CT scanner. In conclusion, the developed software was useful for 3D dose verification from PRESAGE gel dosimetry, but further improvement of the Gel dosimetry system were required.