Feasibility Study of Source Position Verification in HDR Brachytherapy Using Scintillating Fiber

Sun Young Moon; EunHee Jeong; Young Kyung Lim; Weon Kyu Chung; Hyun Do Huh; Dong Wook Kim; Myonggeun Yoon

doi:10.14316/pmp.2016.27.4.213

Journal List > Prog Med Phys > v.27(4) > 1098555

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Moon, Jeong, Lim, Chung, Huh, Kim, and Yoon: Feasibility Study of Source Position Verification in HDR Brachytherapy Using Scintillating Fiber

Original Article

Progress in Medical Physics 2016;27(4):213-219.

Published online: 17 December 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14316/pmp.2016.27.4.213

Feasibility Study of Source Position Verification in HDR Brachytherapy Using Scintillating Fiber

Sun Young Moon^∗, EunHee Jeong^‡, Young Kyung Lim^‡, Weon Kyu Chung^†, Hyun Do Huh^§, Dong Wook Kim^†, Myonggeun Yoon^∗,

^∗Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

^†Department of Radiation Oncology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea

^‡Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea

^§Department of Radiation Oncology, Inha Univeristy Hospital, Incheon, Korea

Correspondence: Myonggeun Yoon (radioyoon@korea.ac.kr) Tel: 82-2-940-2752, Fax: 82-2-921-6434

Received 22 November 201619 December 2016 Accepted 20 December 2016

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The position verification of the radiation source utilized in brachytherapy forms a critical factor in determining the therapeutic efficiency. Currently, films are used to verify the source position; however, this method is encumbered by the lengthy time interval required from film scanning to analysis, which makes real-time position verification difficult. In general, the source position accuracy is usually tested in a monthly quality assurance check. In this context, this study investigates the feasibility of the real-time position verification of the radiation source in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy with the use of scintillating fibers. To this end, we construct a system consisting of scintillating fibers and a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), optimize the dosimetric software setup and radiation system characteristics to obtain maximum measurement accuracy, and determine the relative ratio of the measured signals dependent upon the position of the scintillating fiber. According to the dosimetric results based on a treatment plan, in which the dwell time is set at 30 and 60 s at two dwell positions, the number of signals is 31.5 and 83, respectively. In other words, the signal rate roughly doubles in proportion to the dwell time. The source position can also be confirmed at the same time. With further improvements in the spatial resolution and scintillating fiber array, the source position can be verified in real-time in clinical settings with the use of a scintillating fiber-based system.

Keywords: Brachytherapy, Dwell position, Scintillating fiber, SiPM

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