Radiotherapy Gel Dosimetry: Development and Application of Normoxic Polymer Gels

In many radiotherapy applications, true three-dimensional dosimetry with good spatial resolution that can be achieved in a single measurement would be of great value. Polymer gel dosimetry fulfils many of the demands on such a system. In this study, methods to facilitate the implementation of gel dosimetry have been investigated. A new type of polymer gel, for which the response to absorbed dose is not negatively affected even if manufacturing is undertaken at normal levels of oxygen, called normoxic gel, was studied.

The concept of percentage dose resolution was introduced to enable optimization of gel compositions for use in relative dosimetry applications. This concept was applied to demonstrate the effects of varying the gel composition on gel performance. Comparison between data obtained using magnetic resonance imaging and FT-Raman spectroscopy indicated that not all water protons attached to the polymer are accessible for exchange of magnetization with other proton groups.

Dose response characteristics were investigated for a polymer gel containing the antioxidant tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium. The transversal relaxation time (R2) versus dose response increased with increasing amounts of monomer, while no systematic dependence on antioxidant concentration was observed. The investigated normoxic gel exhibited a dependence on temperature during irradiation, leading to differences in absolute R2 as well as deviations in relative depth dose curves. It was suggested that the deviation in R2 can be attributed to structural differences in the polymer matrix, caused by varying polymerisation temperature. A linear relationship between absorbed dose and optical attenuation coefficient was observed, which demonstrates the potential for evaluation using light transmission measurements. Low-density gel was manufactured by mixing normal density normoxic gel with Styrofoamä spheres. A linear correlation between R2 and dose was observed for doses up to 15 Gy.

Possible dose response dependence on linear energy transfer (LET) was investigated using proton beam absorbed dose measurements. An increased LET with depth was closely followed by a decrease in relative detector sensitivity, indicating that the response of this type of gel detector is dependent on LET. No significant effects were observed for LET < 2.5 keV/mm, indicating that the detector response would not be altered in the range of LET values expected for photons or electrons in a clinical range of energies.

The feasibility of using normoxic gel for intensity-modulated radiation therapy verification was investigated. Good agreement between treatment planning system calculations and measured data was obtained. For the planning target volume, the calculated and the measured mean relative dose was 96.8±2.5% (±1 SD) and 98.6±2.2%, respectively. The results indicated great potential for intensity-modulated radiation therapy verification using normoxic polymer gel.