Radio-fluorogenic nanoclay gel dosimeters with reduced linear energy transfer dependence for carbon-ion beam radiotherapy

A phantom to simulate organ motion and its effect on dose distribution in carbon ion therapy for pancreatic cancer

Objective. Carbon ion radiotherapy is a promising radiation technique for malignancies like pancreatic cancer. However, organs' motion imposes challenges for achieving homogeneous dose delivery. In this study, an anthropomorphicPancreasPhantom forIon-beamTherapy (PPIeT) was developed to simulate breathing and gastrointestinal motion during radiotherapy.Approach. The developed phantom contains a pancreas, two kidneys, a duodenum, a spine and a spinal cord. The shell of the organs was 3D printed and filled with agarose-based mixtures. Hounsfield Units (HU) of PPIeTs' organs were measured by CT. The pancreas motion amplitude in cranial-caudal (CC) direction was evaluated from patients' 4D CT data. Motions within the obtained range were simulated and analyzed in PPIeT using MRI. Additionally, GI motion was mimicked by changing the volume of the duodenum and quantified by MRI. A patient-like treatment plan was calculated for carbon ions, and the phantom was irradiated in a static and moving condition. Dose measurements in the organs were performed using an ionization chamber and dosimetric films.Main results. PPIeT presented tissue equivalent HU and reproducible breathing-induced CC displacements of the pancreas between (3.98 ± 0.36) mm and a maximum of (18.19 ± 0.44) mm. The observed maximum change in distance of (14.28 ± 0.12) mm between pancreas and duodenum was consistent with findings in patients. Carbon ion irradiation revealed homogenous coverage of the virtual tumor at the pancreas in static condition with a 1% deviation from the treatment plan. Instead, the dose delivery during motion with the maximum amplitude yielded an underdosage of 21% at the target and an increased uncertainty by two orders of magnitude.Significance. A dedicated phantom was designed and developed for breathing motion assessment of dose deposition during carbon ion radiotherapy. PPIeT is a unique tool for dose verification in the pancreas and its organs at risk during end-to-end tests.

Development of a silicone-based radio-fluorogenic dosimeter using dihydrorhodamine 6G

A silicon-based three-dimensional dosimeter can be formed in a free shape without a container and deformed because of its flexibility. Several studies have focused on enhancing its radiological characteristics and assessing its applicability as a quality assurance tool for image-guided and adaptive radiation therapy, considering motion and deformation. Here, we applied a fluorescence probe (dihydrorhodamine 6G, DHR6G) to a silicon elastomer as a new radiosensitive compound that converts nonfluorescent into fluorescent dyes using irradiation, and its fluorescence intensity increases linearly with the absorbed dose. In this study, we demonstrated a cost-effective synthesis method and optimized the composition conditions. The results showed that the DHR6G-SE prepared from 2.2 × 10-3 wt% DHR6G, 0.024 wt% pyridine, and a silicone elastomer (SE) (SILPOT TM 184, base/curing agent = 10/1) exhibited a linear increase in fluorescence with radiation exposure within a dose range of 0-8 Gy and a highly stable sensitivity for as long as 64 h. To demonstrate its container-less characteristics, the possibility of dosimetry for low-energy X-rays using DHR6G-SE was investigated.