Characterisation of radioluminesence based optical fibre dosimeter in radiotherapy beam applications

Author

Woulfe, Peter ; O´Keeffe, S. ; McCarthy, D. ; Grattan, M. ; Hounsell, A. ; Cronin, Joseph ; Lewis, Elfed

Author_Institution

Dept. of Radiotherapy Phys., Galway Clinic, Galway, Ireland

fYear

2013

fDate

3-6 Nov. 2013

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

4

Abstract

A PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) based plastic optical fibre is coated with radiation sensitive inorganic scintillators that fluoresce when exposed to ionising radiation. The emitted signal penetrates the fibre and propagates along the fibre where it is remotely monitored using a fluorescence spectrometer. The dosimeter is characterised for a range of parameters associated with radiotherapy treatment plans, including field size and dose rate. The results demonstrate good repeatability, with a maximum percentage error of 0.59% and the response is independent of dose rate.

Keywords

dosimeters; dosimetry; fluorescence; optical fibres; optical polymers; plastics; radiation therapy; scintillation; dose rate; field size; fluorescence spectrometer; ionising radiation; maximum percentage error; polymethyl methacrylate-based plastic optical fibre; radiation sensitive inorganic scintillators; radioluminesence based optical fibre dosimeter; radiotherapy beam applications; radiotherapy treatment plans; remote monitoring; signal emission; Materials; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical filters;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

SENSORS, 2013 IEEE

Conference_Location

Baltimore, MD

ISSN

1930-0395

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSENS.2013.6688478

Filename

6688478