Characterization of Plastic Scintillator Detector for In Vivo Dosimetry in Gynecologic Brachytherapy

Abstract

(1) Background: High dose gradients and manual steps in brachytherapy treatment procedures can lead to dose errors which make the use of in vivo dosimetry (IVD) highly recommended for verifying brachytherapy treatments. A new procedure was presented to obtain a calibration factor which allows fast and robust calibration of plastic scintillation detector (PSD) probes for the geometry of a compact phantom using Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, characterization of PSD energy, angular, and temperature dependences was performed. (2) Methods: PENELOPE/PenEasy code was used to obtain the calibration factor. To characterize the energy dependence of the PSD, the signal was measured at different radial and transversal distances. The sensitivity to the angular position was characterized in axial and azimuthal planes. (3) Results: The calibration factor obtained allows for an absorbed dose to water determination in full scatter conditions from ionization measured in a mini polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantom. The energy dependence of the PSD along the radial distances obtained was (2.3 ± 2.1)% (k = 1). The azimuthal angular dependence measured was (2.6 ± 3.4)% (k = 1). The PSD response decreased by (0.19 ± 0.02)%/°C with increasing detector probe temperature. (4) Conclusions: The energy, angular, and temperature dependence of a PSD is compatible with IVD.

Keywords

• brachytherapy
• in vivo dosimetry
• plastic scintillator dosimeter