Polymer gel dosimetry on a multislice computed tomography scanner: Effect of changing parameters on CTDI (original) (raw)
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Medical Physics, 2005
Computer tomography dose index ͑CTDI͒ is a measurement undertaken during acceptance testing and subsequent quality assurance measurements of diagnostic x-ray CT scanners for the determination of patient dose. Normoxic polymer gel dosimeters have been used for the first time to measure dose and subsequently CTDI during acceptance testing of a CT scanner and compared with the conventional ionization chamber measurement for a range of imaging protocols. The normoxic polymer gel dosimeter was additionally used to simultaneously determine slice-width dose profiles and CTDI in the transaxial plane, the measurements of which are usually determined with thermoluminescent dosimetry or film. The resulting CTDI for all slice widths calculated from the normoxic polymer gel dosimeter were within corresponding ionization chamber CTDI values. Slice-width dose-profiles full-width half-maximum values from the normoxic polymer gel dosimeter were compared to the slice sensitivity profiles and were within the tolerances of the manufacturer. Normoxic polymer gel dosimeters have been shown to be a useful device for determining CTDI and dose distributions for CT equipment, and provide additional information not possible with just the use of an ionization chamber.
Incorporating multislice imaging into x-ray CT polymer gel dosimetry
Medical physics, 2015
To evaluate multislice computed tomography (CT) scanning for fast and reliable readout of radiation therapy (RT) dose distributions using CT polymer gel dosimetry (PGD) and to establish a baseline assessment of image noise and uniformity in an unirradiated gel dosimeter. A 16-slice CT scanner was used to acquire images through a 1 L cylinder filled with water. Additional images were collected using a single slice machine. The variability in CT number (NCT) associated with the anode heel effect was evaluated and used to define a new slice-by-slice background subtraction artifact removal technique for CT PGD. Image quality was assessed for the multislice system by evaluating image noise and uniformity. The agreement in NCT for slices acquired simultaneously using the multislice detector array was also examined. Further study was performed to assess the effects of increasing x-ray tube load on the constancy of measured NCT and overall scan time. In all cases, results were compared to t...
Dosimetric characteristics of a 16-slice computed tomography scanner
European Radiology, 2006
Standard CT dose measurements were performed on a Siemens Sensation 16 scanner. CT dose indices, free-in-air (CTDI F ) and weighted (CTDI W ), were measured in all available axial and helical beam collimations of the head and body scanning modes. The effect of tube current, high voltage, rotation time, beam collimation and pitch on the CT doses was investigated. CT doses increased as a power function of high voltage. The kVp exponent n varied with beam collimation from 2.7 to 3.1 for CTDI W , and from 2.4 to 2.6 for CTDI F . Automatic change of the focal spot size increased radiation doses up to a factor of 1.18. Measured smallfocus CTDI W values differed from those displayed at the console from -24 to 14%. Peripheral doses in the head phantom were higher compared to the body phantom by a factor of 1.5 to 2. Central doses are 2.7 to 4.1 times higher. Differences in beam collimation resulted in 50% variation in the CTDI W in the body phantom and 60% in the head phantom. In conclusion, our study has confirmed the great impact of technique factors and acquisition parameters on CT doses. The provided comprehensive dosimetric data will facilitate the dose-effective use of the scanner studied.
An x-ray CT polymer gel dosimetry prototype: II. Gel characterization and clinical application
Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2012
This article reports on the dosimetric properties of a new N-isopropylacrylamide, high %T, polymer gel formulation (19.5%T, 23%C), optimized for x-ray computed tomography (CT) polymer gel dosimetry (PGD). In addition, a new gel calibration technique is introduced together with an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment validation as an example of a clinical application of the new gel dosimeter. The dosimetric properties investigated include the temporal stability, spatial stability, batch reproducibility and dose rate dependence. The polymerization reaction is found to stabilize after 15 h post-irradiation. Spatial stability investigations reveal a small overshoot in response for gels imaged later than 36 h post-irradiation. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the new gel formulation be imaged between 15-36 h after irradiation. Intra-and inter-batch reproducibility are found to be excellent over the entire range of doses studied (0-28 Gy). A significant dose rate dependence is found for gels irradiated between 100-600 MU min −1 . Overall, the new gel is shown to have promising characteristics for CT PGD, however the implication of the observed dose rate dependence for some clinical applications remains to be determined. The new gel calibration method, based on pixel-by-pixel matching of dose and measured CT numbers, is found to be robust and to agree with the previously used region of interest technique. Pixel-by-pixel calibration is the new recommended standard for CT PGD. The dose resolution for the system was excellent, ranging from 0.2-0.5 Gy for doses between 0-20 Gy and 0.3-0.6 Gy for doses beyond 20 Gy. Comparison of the IMRT irradiation with planned doses yields excellent results: gamma pass rate (3%, 3 mm) of 99.3% at the isocentre slice and 93.4% over the entire treated volume.
Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2001
Changes in the linear attenuation coefficient of polymer gel dosimeters post-irradiation enable the imaging of dose distributions by x-ray computed tomography (CT). Various compositions of polymer gel dosimeters manufactured from acrylamide (AA), and N,N ′ -methylene-bis-acrylamide (BIS) comonomers and gelatin or agarose gelling agents were investigated. This work shows that increasing the comonomer concentration increases the CT-dose sensitivity of the polymer gel dosimeter. This can be further increased by replacing gelatin with agarose. Varying the gelatin concentration however does not significantly change the CT-dose sensitivity. Among the compositions studied, dose resolution D 95% was found to be optimal for polymer gel dosimeters comprising 5% gelatin, 3% AA, 3% BIS and 89% water.
Physica Medica, 2019
Polymer gel dosimeters provide three-dimensional absorbed dose information and have gradually become a popular tool for quality assurance in radiotherapy. This study aims to incorporate iodine into the MAGAT-based gel as radiation sensitizer and investigate whether it can be used to measure the radiation dose and slice thickness for CT scans. Methods: The nMAGAT(I) gel was doped with 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07-M iodine. The absorbed dose was delivered using a CT scanner (Alexion 16, Toshiba Medical Systems, Japan) with tube voltages of 80, 100, 120, and 135 kVp. The irradiated nMAGAT(I) gel was read using a cone beam optical CT scanner to produce dose-response curves. The nMAGAT(I) gel was used to obtain the slice sensitivity profile (SSP) and the CT dose index (CTDI) for quality assurance of CT scans. Results: The 0.07-M iodine-doped nMAGAT(I) gel exhibited maximum sensitivity with the dose enhancement ratio of 2.12. The gel was chemically stable 24 h after its preparation, and the polymerization process was completed 24-48 h after the irradiation. For CT quality assurance, the full width at half maximum measured by the nMAGAT(I) gel matched the nominal slice thickness of CT. The CTDI at center, CTDI at peripheral, and weighted CTDI obtained by the nMAGAT(I) gel differed from those obtained by the ionization chamber by −4.2%, 3.1%, and 0.7%, respectively. Conclusions: The nMAGAT(I) gel can be used to assess radiation doses and slice thickness in CT scans, thus rendering it a potential quality assurance tool for CT and other radiological diagnostic applications.