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Eirik Malinen
Fluence: =
dN da
Energy Fluence: =
KERMA
A photon field with total energy Rin,u enters a volume, while Rout,u-rl is the energy leaving the volume:
Rin,u
V
Components of KERMA
Kerma includes all kinetic energy given to secondary electrons, and this energy may be lost by:
Rout,u-rl Collisions Radiative losses
Kerma may be divided into two components: K=Kc+Kr Kc: collision Kerma; provides a measure of the energy loss per unit mass from photons resulting in collisional losses for secondary electrons!
Energy transferred:
tr = R in , u R out , u rl + Q
KERMA (kinetic energy release per mass):
K= d tr = tr dm
Collision Kerma
Is defined by: d n K c = tr dm n Net energy transfer tr : total kinetic energy of secondary electrons which is not lost as brehmsstrahlung May take radiative losses into account by defining the qantity g; the fraction of kinetic energi lost as brehmsstrahlung K c = K(1 g) = tr (1 g) en Definition: tr (1 g) en/: mass energy absorption coefficient
Absorbed dose
Look at all energy transport (both charged and uncharged particles) through the volume of interest:
Rin,u+Rin,c Rout,u+Rout,c
= R in ,u + R in ,c R out ,u R out ,c + Q
Absorbed dose:
D=
d dm
TCPE
Transient Charged Particle Equilibrium: electrons originating from upstream contributes to the dose, while the photon contribution (Rin,u-Rout,u) is given by the collision Kerma Assumption: absorbed dose propotional to Kc
TCPE
D = K c (1 + f TCPE ) f TCPE 0
D=
= = K c = en m m
CPE
n tr
Exposure
Exposure, X : number of charges Q (either positive or negative) prodused in a gass of mass m:
Scol D =
X=
dQ dm
The quantity relating X to Dair is the mean energy per ion pair:
W/e =
E N
D air =
QW W = X m e air e air
cav wall
Thus, by measuring the number of charges produced per mass unit of air, Dair may be determined indepedent of the radiation quality ( W / e is close to being constant for all electron- and photon energies)
cav
B-G conditions: 1. Charged particle fluence is not perturbed by cavity 2. Absorbed dose entirely due to charged particles
Applied BG theory
Estimate dose to medium from measurements of ionizations in air:
W med med D med = D air Sair = X Sair e air
Ionization chamber
Ionometry: the art of measuring ionizations Number of ionizations proportional to dose Air filled ionization chamber (thimble):
~ 300 V
Dosimeter calibration
For a given dose to water, Dw, an ion chamber reading M is obtained. Thus:
electrometer
, e-
Ion chamber
Thus, the dose may be determined without using W/e, en/ etc
H2O
Dosimeter calibration
Calibration factor is dependent on radiation type and energy Usually, the chamber is calibrated in a well defined field, e.g. 60Co -rays (average energy 1.25 MeV) Corrections of the calibration factor, kQ, is thus introduced for other energies (radiation qualities, e.g. 15 MV X-rays)
Film dosimeters
Radiographic film: Ionization of AgBr in the grains forms the latent image in the film Light transmission is a function of the film opacity and can be measured in terms of optical density (OD) with densitometers
Film dosimeters
Radiochromic film: special dye gets polymerized upon exposure to radiation. The polymer absorbs light and the transmission of light through the film can be measured with a suitable densitometer
Thermoluminescence dosimetry
Thermoluminescence (TL): thermally activated luminescence Measures the amount of visible light emitted from a crystal when heated
Thermoluminescence dosimetry
Glow curve
Thermoluminescence dosimetry
Supralinear dose response
Thermoluminescence dosimetry
Energy dependence
Diode dosimetry
Radiation produces electron-hole (e-h) pairs. The charges (minority carriers) produced in the dosimeter are swept across the depletion region under the action of the electric field. In this way a current is generated in the reverse direction in the diode.
spherical
droplet
Diode dosimetry
Detector temperature after placing on patient Sensitivity dependence
Diode dosimetry
Dependence on accumulated dose
Diode dosimetry
Field size dependence
In vivo dosimetry
In vivo: In the living Verification of delivered dose to individual patients Radiotherapy requires accurate dose delivery
Probalility
error
Prescribed dose
Dose characteristics
Measurement issues
Point detector
beam
2D detector array
wedge
Entrance dose:
Output, SSD
Patient curvature
Wedge, curvature
Exit dose:
Thickness, density
Calibration
Under reference conditions:
D = RN D Ci
i
beam
dosimeter
Rcal
water phantom
ND =
Dcal Rcal
Clinical example
r = 1.008
= 1.2%
Distribution of measurements