title: A method to correct for temperature dependence and measure simultaneously dose and temperature using a plastic scintillation detector.
abstract: Plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) work well for radiation dosimetry. However, they show some temperature dependence, and a priori knowledge of the temperature surrounding the PSD is required to correct for this dependence. We present a novel approach to correct PSD response values for temperature changes instantaneously and without the need for prior knowledge of the temperature value. In addition to rendering the detector temperature-independent, this approach allows for actual temperature measurement using solely the PSD apparatus. With a temperature-controlled water tank, the temperature was varied from room temperature to more than 40 °C and the PSD was used to measure the dose delivered from a cobalt-60 photon beam unit to within an average of 0.72% from the expected value. The temperature was measured during each acquisition with the PSD and a thermocouple and values were within 1 °C of each other. The depth-dose curve of a 6 MV photon beam was also measured under warm non-stable conditions and this curve agreed to within an average of  -0.98% from the curve obtained at room temperature. The feasibility of rendering PSDs temperature-independent was demonstrated with our approach, which also enabled simultaneous measurement of both dose and temperature. This novel approach improves both the robustness and versatility of PSDs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Therriault-Proulx
authors.forename: Landon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wootton
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beddar
mesh_terms: D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D017785:Photons; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes; D010969:Plastics; D014867:Water