title: Lithium formate EPR dosimetry for verifications of planned dose distributions prior to intensity-modulated radiation therapy.
abstract: The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate lithium formate electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry for measurement of dose distributions in phantoms prior to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Lithium formate monohydrate tablets were carefully prepared, and blind tests were performed in clinically relevant situations in order to determine the precision and accuracy of the method. Further experiments confirmed that within the accuracy of the current method, the dosimeter response was independent of beam energies and dose rates used for IMRT treatments. The method was applied to IMRT treatment plans, and the dose determinations were compared to ionization chamber measurements. The experiments showed that absorbed doses above 3 Gy could be measured with an uncertainty of less than 2.5% of the dose (coverage factor kappa = 1.96). Measurement time was about 15 min using a well-calibrated dosimeter batch. The conclusion drawn from the investigation was that lithium formate EPR dosimetry is a promising new tool for absorbed dose measurements in external beam radiation therapy, especially for doses above 3 Gy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Radiation Physics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden. hakgu@imv.liu.se
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Olsson
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005561:Formates / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions; D015233:Models, Statistical; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D005561:Formates; D007477:Ions; C030544:formic acid