Characterization of GafChromic EBT2 film dose measurements using a tissue-equivalent water phantom for a Theratron® Equinox Cobalt-60 teletherapy machine.

PURPOSE: In vivo dosimetry is a quality assurance tool that provides post-treatment measurement of the absorbed dose as delivered to the patient. This dosimetry compares the prescribed and measured dose delivered to the target volume. In this study, a tissue-equivalent water phantom provided the simulation of the human environment. The skin and entrance doses were measured using GafChromic EBT2 film for a Theratron® Equinox Cobalt-60 teletherapy machine. METHODS: We examined the behaviors of unencapsulated films and custom-made film encapsulation. Films were cut to 1 cm × 1 cm, calibrated, and used to assess skin dose depositions and entrance dose. We examined the response of the film for variations in field size, source to skin distance (SSD), gantry angle and wedge angle. RESULTS: The estimated uncertainty in EBT2 film for absorbed dose measurement in phantom was ±1.72%. Comparison of the measurements of the two film configurations for the various irradiation parameters were field size (p = 0.0193, α = 0.05, n = 11), gantry angle (p = 0.0018, α = 0.05, n = 24), SSD (p = 0.1802, α = 0.05, n = 11) and wedge angle (p = 0.6834, α = 0.05, n = 4). For a prescribed dose of 200 cGy and at reference conditions (open field 10 cm x 10 cm, SSD = 100 cm, and gantry angle = 0º), the measured skin dose using the encapsulation material was 70% while that measured with the unencapsulated film was 24%. At reference irradiation conditions, the measured skin dose using the unencapsulated film was higher for open field configurations (24%) than wedged field configurations (19%). Estimation of the entrance dose using the unencapsulated film was within 3% of the prescribed dose. CONCLUSIONS: GafChromic EBT2 film measurements were significantly affected at larger field sizes and gantry angles. Furthermore, we determined a high accuracy in entrance dose estimations using the film.

Effect of Radionuclide Activity Concentration on PET-CT Image Uniformity.

Assessment of radionuclide activity concentration on positron emission tomography-computedr tomography (PET-CT) image uniformity has been carried out quantitatively. Tomographic PET-CT images of cylindrical phantom containing F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) activity concentration was acquired and used for the assessment. Activity concentrations were varied and PET-CT images were acquired at the constant acquisition parameters of time, matrix size, and reconstruction algorithm, respectively. Using midtransaxial image slices, quantitative index of nonuniformity (NU), and coefficient of uniformity variation were estimated for the different activity concentrations. Maximum NUs of 17.6%, 26.3%, 32.7%, 36.2%, and 38.5% were estimated for activity concentrations of 16.87 kBq/mL, 14.06 kBq/mL, 11.25 kBq/mL, 8.43 kBq/mL, and 5.62 kBq/mL, respectively. The coefficient of uniformity variation established an inverse quadratic relationship with activity concentration. Activity concentrations of 16.87 kBq/mL, 14.06 kBq/mL, 11.25 kBq/mL, 8.43 kBq/mL, and 5.62 kBq/mL produced uniformity variations of 1.47%, 2.52%, 4.23%, 5.12%, and 4.98%, respectively. Increasing activity concentration resulted in decreasing coefficient of uniformity and hence, an increase in image uniformity. The uniformity estimates compared well with the standards set internationally.