title: Scintillation dosimeter arrays using air core light guides: simulation and experiment.
abstract: The performance of a scintillation dosimeter that uses a silvered air core light guide is examined by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and by experiment to determine its suitability for array dosimetry in external beam radiotherapy. The air core light guide avoids the generation of the Cerenkov background that is produced in a conventional optical fibre. MC simulations using a 6 MV photon beam showed that silver thicknesses of less than 1 microm compensated for the effects of the other material components, to give the dosimeter water equivalence within 0.5%. A second dosimeter located adjacent to the primary dosimeter in any direction affected the dose measurement by less than 1.5%, when the centre-to-centre spacing was 1.3 mm or greater. When the dosimeter array is located perpendicular to the beam central axis, with a spacing of 2.5 mm, the calculated deviation from the dose deposited in water was less than 2%. When the dosimeter array is located parallel to the beam central axis with a spacing of 10 mm, the calculated dose readings deviated from water by less than 2.5%. The simulation results were confirmed with experiment for two neighbouring dosimeters and a small densely packed array. No proximity effects were measured within the experimental error of +/-1.5%. These results confirm the dosimetric accuracy of the air core dosimeter design without the need for correction factors. The dosimeter has excellent potential for use in arrays.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, University of Sydney, Applied Physics, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. p.naseri@physics.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Pourandokht
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Naseri
authors.forename: Natalka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suchowerska
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: McKenzie
mesh_terms: D000388:Air; D008027:Light; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*