Conference paper
Fiber-coupled Luminescence Dosimetry in Therapeutic and Diagnostic Radiology
Radiation Physics, Radiation Research Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark1
Radiation Research Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark2
Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark3
Fiber-coupled luminescence dosimetry is an emerging technology with several potentially attractive features of relevance for uses in therapeutic and diagnostic radiology: direct water equivalence (i.e. no significant perturbation of the radiation field in a water phantom or a patient), sub-mm detector size, high dynamic range (below a mGy to several Gy), microsecond time resolution, and absence of electrical wires or other electronics in the dosimeter probe head.
Fiber-coupled luminescence dosimetry systems typically consist of one or more small samples of phosphor, e.g. a mg of plastic seintillator, attached to 10-20 m long optical fiber cables of plastic. During irradiation, each dosimeter probe spontaneously emits radioluminescence (RL) in proportion to the dose rate.
The luminescence intensity can be detected with photomultiplier tubes, CCD cameras or other highly sensitive photodetectors. Some crystalline phosphors, such as carbon-doped aluminium oxide (Al2O3:C) have the ability to store charge produced in the crystal during irradiation. The stored charge may later be released by fiber-guided laser light under emission of so-called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL).
The OSL signal therefore reflects the passively integrated dose. In contrast to thermoluminescence dosimetry, fiber-coupled OSL dosimetry may be performed in vivo while the dosimeter is still in the patient. Within the last few years, several improvements and new applications of these techniques have been published, and the objective of this review is to provide an introduction to this field and to outline some of these new results.
Emphasis will be given to applications in medical dosimetry such as in vivo real-time dose verification in brachytherapy and methods aimed for improved quality assurance of linear accelerators.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | American Institute of Physics |
Year: | 2011 |
Pages: | 100-119 |
Proceedings: | 16th International Conference on Solid State Dosimetry |
ISSN: | 15517616 and 0094243x |
Types: | Conference paper |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.3576161 |
ORCIDs: | Andersen, Claus Erik |