Streamlined open-source gel dosimetry analysis in 3D slicer.

Three dimensional dosimetry is being used in an increasingly wide variety of clinical applications as more gel and radiochromic plastic dosimeters become available. However, accessible 3D dosimetry analysis tools have not kept pace. 3D dosimetry data analysis is time consuming and laborious, creating a barrier to entry for busy clinical environments. To help in the adoption of 3D dosimetry, we have produced a streamlined, open-source dosimetry analysis system by developing a custom extension in 3D Slicer, called the Gel Dosimetry Analysis slicelet, which enables rapid and accurate data analysis. To assist those interested in adopting 3D dosimetry in their clinic or those unfamiliar with what is involved in a 3D dosimeter experiment, we first present the workflow of a typical gel dosimetry experiment. This is followed by the results of experiments used to validate, step-wise, each component of our software. Overall, our software has made a full 3D gel dosimeter analysis roughly 20 times faster than previous analysis systems.

Leuco-crystal-violet micelle gel dosimeters: II. Recipe optimization and testing.

In this study, recipe optimization of Leuco Crystal Violet (LCV) micelle gels made with the surfactant Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) and the chemical sensitizer 2,2,2-trichloroethanol (TCE) was aided by a two-level three-factor designed experiment. The optimized recipe contains 0.75 mM LCV, 17.0 mM CTAB, 120 mM TCE, 25.0 mM tri-chloro acetic acid (TCAA), 4 wt% gelatin and ~96 wt% water. Dose sensitivity of the optimized gel is 1.5 times higher than that of Jordan's standard LCV micelle gel. Spatial integrity of the 3D dose distribution information in 1L phantoms filled with this recipe is maintained for >120 d. Unfortunately, phantoms made using the optimized recipe showed dose-rate dependence (14% difference in optical attenuation at the peak dose using electron beam irradiations at 100 and 400 MU min(-1)). Further testing suggests that the surfactant CTAB is the cause of this dose rate behaviour.

Evaluation of the potential for diacetylenes as reporter molecules in 3D micelle gel dosimetry.

Radiochromic micelle gel dosimeters are promising for three-dimensional (3D) radiation dosimetry because they can be read out by optical CT techniques and they have superior spatial stability compared to polymer and Fricke gel dosimeters. This study evaluates the use of diacetylenes as reporter molecules in micelle gel dosimeters. Several gels containing pentacosa-10,12-diynoic acid (PCDA) emulsified using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) changed from colourless to blue upon irradiation. Unfortunately, all phantoms that experienced a colour change were turbid and would be unsuitable for 3D dosimetry. Two techniques (use of organic solvent and aqueous-phase additives) were successful in increasing colloidal stability to prevent the turbidity problem, but none of the resulting transparent gels changed colour in response to radiation. Transparent PCDA emulsions were prepared using NaOH solutions with no SDS or other emulsifier, but these transparent emulsions also did not change colour. Only turbid gels and emulsions with precipitated particles responded to radiation. These results indicate that the colour change was due to the oligomerization within precipitated PCDA crystals, and that liquid-phase emulsified PCDA did not undergo oligomerization. As a result, PCDA is not suitable for use in micelle gel dosimeters, and other radiochromic reporter molecules will need to be identified.

Poster - Thur Eve - 18: Characterization of a camera and LED lightbox imaging system for radiochromic film dosimetry.

Radiation therapy treatment modalities continue to develop and have become increasingly complex. With this, dose verification and quality assurance (QA) is of great importance to ensure that a prescribed dose is accurately and precisely delivered to a patient. Radiochromic film dosimetry has been adopted as a convenient option for QA, because it is relatively energy independent, is near tissue equivalent, and has high spatial resolution. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to use. In this study, preliminary work towards developing a novel method of imaging radiochromic film is presented. The setup consists of a camera mounted vertically above a lightbox containing red LEDs, interfaced with computer image acquisition software. Imaging results from this system will be compared with imaging performed using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner (a device in common clinical use). The lightbox imaging technique with camera readout is much faster relative to a flatbed scanner. The film measurements made using the camera are independent of film orientation, and show reduced artifacts, so that there are fewer corrections required compared to the use of flatbed scanners. Optical scatter also appears to be less of an issue with this design than with the flat bed scanner. While further work needs to be done to optimize the lightbox imaging system, the lightbox system shows great promise for a rapid, simple, and orientation independent setup, improving on existing film scanning systems.

Preliminary investigation of the NMR, optical and x-ray CT dose-response of polymer gel dosimeters incorporating cosolvents to improve dose sensitivity.

This study reports on efforts to increase the dose sensitivity of polymer gel dosimeters used in 3D radiation dosimetry. The potential of several different cosolvents is investigated, with the aim of increasing the solubility of N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide crosslinker in polymer gel dosimeters. Glycerol and isopropanol increase the limit for the crosslinker solubility from approximately 3% to 5% and 10% by weight, respectively. This enables the manufacture of polymer gel dosimeters with much higher levels of crosslinking than was previously possible. New dosimeter recipes containing up to 5 wt% N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide were subjected to spatially uniform radiation and were studied using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as well as x-ray and optical CT techniques. The resulting dosimeters exhibit dose sensitivities that are up to 2.7 times higher than measured for a typical dosimeters with 3% N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide without the addition of cosolvent. Two additional cosolvents (n-propanol and sec-butanol) were deemed unsuitable for practical dosimeters due to incompatibility with gelatin, cloudiness prior to irradiation, and immiscibility with water when large quantities of cosolvent were used. The dosimeters with high N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide content that used isopropanol or glycerol as cosolvents had high optical clarity prior to irradiation, but did not produce suitable optical CT results for non-uniformly irradiated gels due to polymer development outside of the high dose regions of the pencil beams and significant light scatter. Further experiments are required to determine whether cosolvents can be used to manufacture gels with sufficiently high dose sensitivity for readout using x-ray computed tomography.

Sci-Fri AM: YIS-04: Scatter correction of cone beam optical computed tomography for polymer gel dosimetry.

Optical computed tomography (OptCT) may become the preferred scanning method for gel dosimetry dose validations, due to its high sensitivity and relatively low cost. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) arrangements are advantageous because of reduced scan time. However, CBCT arrangements are more sensitive to errors associated with scatter than other CT configurations. Unfortunately in polymer gel dosimetry this problem is amplified as the primary mode of beam attenuation is through scatter. Thus, managing and reducing the effects of scatter remains an important challenge for cone beam OptCT. In this work we examine two schemes for reducing the effects of scatter in the Vista cone beam OptCT system. First, we employed a pair of anti-scatter polarizing planes to reduce the magnitude of stray light reaching the camera. Secondly, we implemented a beam stop array (BSA) sampling method -which has been successful in correcting for scatter in X-ray CBCT- to obtain scatter field measurements that are subtracted from CT projections removing veiling glare. While both implementations reduced scatter related artifacts, the BSA technique yielded greater improvement without obvious image degradation. Comparative studies between absorbing dye standards and colloidal scattering standards with the same spectrophotometric optical attenuation revealed that application of the BSA technique nullified OptCT measurement disagreements between scattering and absorbing systems. When the BSA scatter correction technique was applied to polymer gel dosimetry 3%3mm agreement rose from 79.2% to 99.82%. These findings underscore the strength of the BSA sampling technique and its utility in cone beam OptCT.

Poster - Thurs Eve-42: A revision of the γ-evaluation: Initial interpretation of dose disagreements on γ-vector fields.

Gamma evaluations are a common clinical tool used as a quantitative comparison between dose-distributions, combining both dose difference and distance to agreement criteria. Because gamma evaluations permit rapid analysis of agreement between complex dose distributions, they are often a preferred comparison method for assessing delivery of conformal radiotherapy distributions. Although the comparison provides a useful measure of agreement between distributions when the index is less than one, the scalar gamma value provides little information into the clinical significance or source of disagreements of failing gamma values (i.e., when γ>1). Previously, Stock et al., have presented the gamma angle as an indicator of the relative influence of the distance to agreement versus the dose difference on gamma. We present a modification to the gamma evaluation such that the complete 3D gamma vector information is considered. The predictive nature of each vector component was investigated by simulating various dose disagreements in test distributions. Misalignment tests revealed that the mean gamma vector components indicate the offset direction and relative magnitude for all test distributions. The mean dose component of the gamma vector was prognostic of double Gaussian overdoses and underdoses in a virtual conformal delivery. The response of the vector field depends on properties distinctive to each distribution, such as the local dose gradient. Understanding how these unique properties affect the vector field may permit better diagnosis of dose disagreement sources. Other vector field properties, such as curl and divergence, may yet provide more information for interpreting the cause and significance of γ>1.

Piezoelectric thick film ultrasonic transducers fabricated by a sol-gel spray technique.

Thick film broadband ultrasonic transducers (UTs) produced by a sol-gel spray technique and operated below 10 MHz are presented. These UTs are formed by dispersing PZT and LiTaO3 particles, respectively in Al2O3 and PZT sol-gel solution. The 50-100 microm thick films have been deposited on curved steel, flat steel and aluminum substrates and steel rods. Ultrasonic pulse-echo signals with a signal to noise ratio of more than 25 dB are experimentally obtained for the operating temperatures up to 250 degrees C.