A depth-dose measuring device using a multichannel scintillating fiber array for electron beam therapy.
The development of a new depth-dose measuring device for electron beam therapy is described. The device employs plastic scintillating fiber detectors inserted in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantom in line along an incident electron beam. Output photons from a fiber, the number of which is proportional to the absorbed dose at each depth of the phantom, were converted to an electric signal with a photodiode. Each signal from the photodiode was transmitted to a personal computer through a multichannel analog-digital converter, and was processed to draw a depth-dose curve on the computer display. A depth-dose curve could be obtained in a measuring time of 5 s for each incident electron beam with an energy range between 4 and 21 MeV. The mean electron energies estimated using the curves and the depth-scaling factor for PMMA were consistent with those obtained from conventional depth-dose measurements using an ion chamber and a water phantom. The newly developed system, being simple and not time consuming, could be used routinely for quality assurance purposes in electron beam therapy.
Aoyama
T
T
Nagoya University College of Medical Technology, Daikominami, Japan.
Koyama
S
S
Tsuzaka
M
M
Maekoshi
H
H
D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D004582:Electronics, Medical / Q000295:instrumentation; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008768:Methylmethacrylates; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011786:Quality Control; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D008768:Methylmethacrylates