Gated Optical DetectorsDose Guided Radiotherapy

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A small electronics prototyping business has agreed to assist in the development of a second generation detector interface. Delivery of this device is scheduled for mid-September, 2010 due to problems with the high voltage circuits of the photon counting modules. It will be a self-gated system with 4 detection channels and all signal processing will be performed completely via hardware. Additionally, new fibers are being developed by NRL that will be more uniform in dose response and will be based on a 100 micron optical fiber rather than the current 400 micron model. The resulting system will undergo validation as a radiation dosimetry system and will be employed for non-routine clinical and research measurements involving small field and micro-field dosimetry for both megavoltage and kilovoltage x-ray and electron beams. There are 2 possible follow-on projects: (1) A three phase project to develop a detector array for dose-guided radiotherapy, or DGR. Phase I is to develop an array of fibers as either a rectangular or spiral grid and study the dose map generated during radiotherapy and the effect of small changes in organ or beam positioning. Phase II is to understand the meaning of signal change relative to the patient's anatomical position and to interrupt the treatment if detected signals differ from reference values by a predetermined tolerance margin. Phase III is to dynamically link the changes in grid signals to corrective changes in the radiation field for on-line, dynamic dose control of radiation treatments. (2) A separate project to develop a film-based OSL dosimeter as a replacement for photographic film for dosimetry measurements. Preliminary measurements using ground OSL glass dispersed on a film substrate with a binder were promising, but better methods must be found to produce OSL particles that are uniform in size. One possible approach is to employ nanoparticles incorporating OSL molecular chains, and we are currently partnering with an academic institution to explore this possibility.