title: Micrometer-resolved film dosimetry using a microscope in microbeam radiation therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is a still preclinical tumor therapy approach that uses arrays of a few tens of micrometer wide parallel beams separated by a few 100 μm. The production, measurement, and planning of such radiation fields are a challenge up to now. Here, the authors investigate the feasibility of radiochromic film dosimetry in combination with a microscopic readout as a tool to validate peak and valley doses in MRT, which is an important requirement for a future clinical application of the therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gafchromic(®) HD-810 and HD-V2 films are exposed to MRT fields at the biomedical beamline ID17 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and are afterward scanned with a microscope. The measured dose is compared with Monte Carlo calculations. Image analysis tools and film handling protocols are developed that allow accurate and reproducible dosimetry. The performance of HD-810 and HD-V2 films is compared and a detailed analysis of the resolution, noise, and energy dependence is carried out. Measurement uncertainties are identified and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The dose was measured with a resolution of 5 × 1000 μm(2) and an accuracy of 5% in the peak and between 10% and 15% in the valley region. As main causes for dosimetry uncertainties, statistical noise, film inhomogeneities, and calibration errors were identified. Calibration errors strongly increase at low doses and exceeded 3% for doses below 50 and 70 Gy for HD-V2 and HD-810 films, respectively. While the grain size of both film types is approximately 2 μm, the statistical noise in HD-V2 is much higher than in HD-810 films. However, HD-810 films show a higher energy dependence at low photon energies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both film types are appropriate for dosimetry in MRT and the microscope is superior to the microdensitometer used before at the ESRF with respect to resolution and reproducibility. However, a very careful analysis of the image data is required. Dosimetry at low photon energies should be performed with great caution due to the energy sensitivity of the films. In this respect, HD-V2 films showed to have an advantage over HD-810 films. However, HD-810 films have a lower statistical noise level. When a higher resolution is required, e.g., for the dosimetry of pencil beam irradiations, noise may render HD-V2 films inapplicable.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Road, Sutton SM2 5NG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bartzsch
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lott
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Welsch
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, Grenoble Cedex 9 38043, France.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bräuer-Krisch
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Road, Sutton SM2 5NG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Oelfke
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005373:Film Dosimetry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D035501:Uncertainty; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water