Development of human hand phantom containing radiophotoluminescence material

A radiophotoluminescence (RPL) material with high radiation sensitivity was made of polyurethane resin, silver-activated metaphosphate glass particles, and hollow glass microspheres. The density was adjusted to be 1.1 g/cm³ by controlling the amount of hollow glass microspheres. The response to high-energy photons over 100 keV was similar to that of the tissue-equivalent material (polymethylmethacrylate) because the two electron densities were similar. The RPL response had satisfactory linearity in the dose range from 10 to 6 × 10⁴ mGy.An RPL scanner for three-dimensional (3-D) dose measurement was composed of an XYZθ motorized stage, a UV pulse laser, a gated photomultiplier tube (PMT), a red-laser displacement sensor, and an integrating ammeter. The surface profile was measured by the red-laser-displacement sensor. The UV laser was used as an excitation source, and the RPL responses were effectively detected with the gated PMT.An RPL material hand phantom was fabricated to understand the extremity dosimetry of a radiation worker's hand. The hand phantom was exposed to X-rays, and its surface dose profile was obtained by the RPL scanner. Subsequently, the hand phantom was sliced into dozens of square plates using a diamond wire saw. Each inner dose profile was obtained with the RPL scanner. The inner dose profiles were roughly consistent with the computational simulation results. These results indicated that RPL imaging of the hand phantom was useful to understand extremity dosimetry.     

Development of radiophotoluminescence glass dosimeter usable in high temperature environment

A new radiophotoluminescence (RPL) glass dosimeter was developed for use in high temperature conditions such as nuclear emergencies. Its glass material was successfully made by a melting method from reagent grade powder of Ca(H₂PO₄)₂, NaPO₃ and AgCl. The new RPL glass dosimeter expectedly emitted orange photons for exposure to UV light after gamma-ray irradiation. It was confirmed that its RPL intensity was proportional to absorbed dose in the range from 10 to 10⁴ mGy. As for its temperature-proof performance, it was found that the RPL sensitivity hardly changed at 573 K for 3 h but gradually went down 25% for 50 h.     

Flexible sheet with radiophotoluminescence glass beads for remotely monitoring high beta-surface-contamination

A flexible sheet was made with radiophotoluminescence (RPL) glass beads on an experimental basis for visualization of high beta-surface-contamination. A simple RPL observation system for remote contamination monitoring was constructed with a homemade UV floodlight and a commercially available digital camera with supplementary optical lenses and filters. In preliminary experiments, RPL images were well observed with the digital camera of the present system. Their precise RPL intensity was determined after the correction of nonlinear response of the camera. It was expected from experiments that RPL images of beta-surface-contamination could be quantitatively evaluated through calibration, i.e., the conversion of camera images to dose data on the sheet-type glass dosimeter.     

Radio-photoluminescence of highly irradiated Lif:Mg,Ti and Lif:Mg,Cu,P detectors

The radio-photoluminescent (RPL) characteristics of LiF:Mg,Ti (MTS) and LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP) thermoluminescent detectors, routinely used in radiation protection dosimetry, were investigated after irradiation with ultra-high electron doses ranging up to 1 MGy. The photoluminescence of both types of LiF detectors was stimulated by a blue light (460 nm) and measured within a spectral window around 530 nm. The RPL dose response was found to be linear up to 50 kGy and sublinear in the range of 50 kGy to 1 MGy for MCP detectors and linear up to 3 kGy and next sublinear in the range from 5 kGy to 1 MGy for MTS detectors. For both type of LiF detectors RPL signal is saturated for doses higher than 100 kGy. The observed differences between MCP and MTS may suggest, that the RPL effect in LiF is not entirely governed by intrinsic defects (F₂ and F₃⁺ centers), but dopants may also have a significant influence. Due to the non-destructive character of the RPL measurement, it is suggested to apply combined RPL/TL readouts, what should improve accuracy of high-dose dosimetry.     

Radiophotoluminescence properties of Ag-doped phosphate glasses

The radiophotoluminescence (RPL) of Ag-doped phosphate glass has been used for personal dosimetry for a long time. In this study, we investigated the optical properties of Ag-doped various phosphate glasses. It is revealed that alkali metals in the phosphate are required to achieve the RPL, and that the alkali metals content has an influence on the RPL properties. Also, the ESR signal corresponding to the valence change of Ag was observed only for the phosphate glasses containing alkali metals. These results indicate that the RPL occurs based on the change in Ag valence state, which is consistent with commercial phosphate glasses used for dosimetry. In addition, the decay-time constants of the RPL were on the order of microseconds. Furthermore, initialization of the RPL was observed after heating at 473 K, which indicates that these glasses can be used repeatedly.     

Recovering laboratory doses using fine-grained quartz from Chinese loess

Here we report the results of dose recovery experiments carried out on fine-grained quartz from a Holocene sample in Chinese loess. Optical bleaching prior to giving a 9.35 Gy dose in the laboratory was carried out using artificial light sources, namely blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a solar simulator, followed by more than 24 h storage at room temperature. Stimulating the quartz with blue LEDs at room temperature resulted in overestimation of the recovered dose, whereas using the same stimulation time at temperatures above 150 °C resulted in the correct value for the recovered dose. Exposure to the solar simulator for times less than 200 min resulted in overestimation of the dose, whereas progressive underestimation was found for longer bleaching times. When doses of up 5333 Gy were given ahead of a 200 min exposure to the solar simulator, the dose recovered depended upon the magnitude of the previous dose, thus questioning the general application of a simple dose recovery experiment.     

Accumulation features and TL of TLD-500 detectors in a wide temperature range at pulsed and continuous high-dose irradiation

The results of a comparative research of thermoluminescence (TL) of TLD-500 detectors based on anion-defective corundum irradiated with continuous and pulsed X-ray and pulsed electron beams in a range of doses of 0.3 ÷ 10⁷ Gy, dose rates of 0.02–2.6·10¹¹ Gy/s, and in a temperature range of 300–950 K are presented. It is found that, in contrast to continuous irradiation, upon pulsed irradiation with a duration of 10 ns and dose rate of P_P ≥ 5·10⁶ Gy/s, the first linear region of dose dependences for TL peaks at 450, 580 and 830 K is, instead of saturation, followed by a second one with a smaller slope at doses near 2, 200 and 10³ Gy. Moreover, the slope of the second region increases with growing P_P. It was also found that dose dependence for the peak at 830 K in the area of the first linear region at 10–10³ Gy remains invariable at P_P ≤ 10¹⁰ Gy/s. It is shown that the upper limit of doses registered by TLD-500 detectors can be increased to 2·10³ and 6·10⁶ Gy for continuous and pulsed irradiation, respectively. New broadband UV luminescence with a maximum hν = 4.1 eV and half width H = 0.85 eV was registered within the TL peak spectrum at 830 K. Besides, the optical depletion spectrum in which a single band with hν = 5.2 eV and H = 1.6 eV is observed was investigated for a trap causing a peak at 830 K.     

High-dose characterization of different LiF phosphors

The dose response of three LiF TLDs: standard LiF:Mg,Ti (denoted MTS), high-sensitive LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP) and a recently developed in Kraków version of LiF:Mg,Ti with modified activator composition (MTT) and increased high-LET response was measured. The TLDs have been exposed to ⁶⁰Co gamma-rays, up to dose of 10 000 Gy, i.e. beyond saturation dose of the main dosimetric peaks, which corresponds to ca. 1000 Gy. The measured glow-curves were deconvolved into separate peaks with first order kinetic function (using self-developed GlowFit software). The dose response of the main peaks was found to be supralinear for MTS and sublinear for MCP detectors, as expected. The dose response of MTT was found to be even more supralinear than that of MTS. An interesting effect has been observed with regard to glow-curve shape of MCP detectors. Up to a dose of 1 kGy it remains practically unchanged, while for higher doses a strong growth of high-temperature peaks is observed. In the same dose region a decrease of the main peak of MCP with increasing dose is observed, unlike LiF:Mg,Ti detectors.     

A novel disk-type X-ray area imaging detector using radiophotoluminescence in silver-activated phosphate glass

We report a novel two- and three-dimensional (2-D, 3-D) imaging detector based on the radiophotoluminescence (RPL) phenomenon in silver-activated phosphate glass (PG:Ag) and evaluate its dosimetric characteristics. A compact disk-type PG:Ag detector with a diameter of 80 mm was rotated at a rate of 400 rpm to read out the accumulated dose information and then remove the images for reuse. After X-ray exposure, three RPL dosimeter processes, i.e., preheating, reading, and erasing, were carried out with only a UV laser at 375 nm by adjusting the stepwise output levels. The 3-D images and dose distributions were rapidly reconstructed with a high spatial resolution of 1 μm and a sensitivity of 1 mGy.     

On the effect of FineView,mean energy and anti-scatter grid on the DQE of a mammography system

The GE Senographe DS digital mammography system includes a preprocessing algorithm called FineView designed to improve spatial resolution. The effect of FineView on modulation transfer function MTF, normalized noise power spectrum NNPS, and detective quantum efficiency DQE has been measured by some authors under different experimental conditions and their results do not always agree. We have evaluated the effect of FineView on these functions under rigorous standard conditions, following the 2007 IEC guidelines for DQE measurement in digital mammography detectors. We have also investigated the impact on DQE of the use of different beam spectra and the presence of the anti-scatter grid. Measurements were made with Mo/Mo, 28 kV operating voltage, and 2 mm Al at tube exit. MTF was obtained with the edge method, detector air-kerma DAK levels ranged from 60 to 272 μGy, and the grid was set in or out, depending on the measurement. DQE values showed a dependence on DAK but were not significantly affected by FineView. The effect of the grid on DQE was of the order of 2% average difference and considered nonsignificant, while no effect of beam quality on DQE was observed at 200 μGy, and 6% average difference was observed between 18.5 and 19.4 keV mean energies at 60 μGy, also considered nonsignificant.     

Survey meter combining CVD diamond and silicon detectors for wide range of dose rates and high accumulated doses

We have developed a prototype of a survey meter combining a CVD diamond detector and silicon detectors to appropriately take temporal measurements of γ-ray radiations over a wide range of the dose rates and to measure high accumulated doses of γ-ray radiations. In order to carry out this, at first, we have studied the radiation hardness of diamond detectors suitably fabricated with high-quality single-crystalline CVD diamond films to confirm that such CVD diamond detectors have greatly superior radiation hardness, compared with commercially available silicon detectors. It is evidenced that the performance of the CVD diamond detector did not significantly change even after heavy γ-ray irradiation of 0.7 MGy while the silicon detectors have a remarkable increase in the dark current, a detection peak shift to the low energy side, and a decrease in detection counts for 5.486-MeV α particles. Due to a size limitation of the CVD diamond detector, such a CVD diamond detector was combined with six commercially available silicon detectors to fabricate a survey meter which can appropriately work under severe irradiation conditions, or, at accumulated doses larger than at least 0.5 MGy and which can cover a wide range of the dose rates from 1 μGy/h to at least 1 kGy/h. The prototype survey meter had a practically useful linearity in this dose rate range. Thus, we have confirmed that such a diamond-Si combined survey meter can be put into practical use.     

The BeOmax system – Dosimetry using OSL of BeO for several applications

The BeOmax-system uses the OSL of BeO for dose measurement. The OSL-Material is Thermalox 995™ from Materion Ceramics^® in quadratic or cylindrical form. For an easy handling complete dosimeters with encapsulated quadratic detectors and identification code for automatic evaluation are also available. Stimulation of detectors is performed with a blue LED (455 nm), OSL signal (UV-region) is detected with a Hamamatsu photo sensor module (PSM) from the opposite detector side. Several filters to avoid stimulation light reaching the PSM are necessary. An electronic and special software offers an easy evaluation of the PSM-signals and to specify dose. The dose characteristic is linear from 10 μGy up to 10 Gy. Then supralinearity connected with a change of the shape of the decay curve starts. The saturation begins with some hundred grays. The variation coefficient of dose measurements is below 2% for dose higher than 0.1 mGy. The energy dependence shows an underestimation of low energy photons. The BeOmax-System can be used in medicine, for industrial applications and for scientific research. Two examples will be shown.     

Studying the potential of point detectors in time-resolved dose verification of dynamic radiotherapy

Modern megavoltage x-ray radiotherapy with high spatial and temporal dose gradients puts high demands on the entire delivery system, including not just the linear accelerator and the multi-leaf collimator, but also algorithms used for optimization and dose calculations, and detectors used for quality assurance and dose verification. In this context, traceable in-phantom dosimetry using a well-characterized point detector is often an important supplement to 2D-based quality assurance methods based on radiochromic film or detector arrays. In this study, an in-house developed dosimetry system based on fiber-coupled plastic scintillator detectors was evaluated and compared with a Farmer-type ionization chamber and a small-volume ionization chamber. An important feature of scintillator detectors is that the sensitive volume of the detector can easily be scaled, and five scintillator detectors of different scintillator length were thus employed to quantify volume averaging effects by direct measurement. The dosimetric evaluation comprised several complex-shape static fields as well as simplified dynamic deliveries using RapidArc, a volumetric-modulated arc therapy modality often used at the participating clinic. The static field experiments showed that the smallest scintillator detectors were in the best agreement with dose calculations, while needing the smallest volume averaging corrections. Concerning total dose measured during RapidArc, all detectors agreed with dose calculations within 1.1 ± 0.7% when positioned in regions of high homogenous dose. Larger differences were observed for high dose gradient and organ at risk locations, were differences between measured and calculated dose were as large as 8.0 ± 5.5%. The smallest differences were generally seen for the small-volume ionization chamber and the smallest scintillators. The time-resolved RapidArc dose profiles revealed volume-dependent discrepancies between scintillator and ionization chamber response, which confirmed that correction factors for ionization chambers in high temporal and spatial dose gradients are dominated by the volume averaging effect. The unique scaling of the scintillator volumes indicated how such time-dependent volume averaging corrections could be quantified. The time-resolved measurements further supported the claim that small-volume water equivalent detectors are most likely to accurately detect changes in dose delivery, although exact positioning of detectors remains critical.     

Real time dose rate measurements with fiber optic probes based on the RL and OSL of beryllium oxide

This work covers the examination of fiber optical probes based on the radioluminescence and real time optically stimulated luminescence of beryllium oxide. Experiments are carried out to determine the fundamental dosimetric and temporal properties of the system and evaluate its suitability for dose rate measurements in brachytherapy and other applications using non-pulsed radiation fields. For this purpose the responses of the radioluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence signal have been investigated in the dose rate range of 20 mGy/h to 3.6 Gy/h and for doses of 1 mGy up to 6 Gy. Furthermore, a new, efficient analysis procedure, the double phase reference summing, is introduced, leading to a real time optically stimulated luminescence signal. This method allows a complete compensation of the stem effect during the measurement. In contrast to previous works, the stimulation of the 1 mm cylindrical beryllium oxide detectors is performed with a symmetric function during irradiation. The investigated dose rates range from 0.3 to 3.6 Gy/h. The real time optically stimulated luminescence signal of beryllium oxide shows a dependency on both the dose rate and the applied dose. To overcome the problem of dose dependency, further experiments using higher stimulation intensities have to follow.     

A comparison of single and multiple aliquot TT-OSL data sets for sand-sized quartz from the Arabian Peninsula

The quartz OSL signal from dune sands from Saudi Arabia and Oman start to saturate at doses of about 100 Gy. In order to try to date dune sands with greater expected doses, a previously published, single-aliquot, regenerative-dose protocol (SAR) for thermally-transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) was tested. Dose recovery tests, recycling and recuperation ratios showed robust functioning and dose response curves demonstrated the potential to extend the dose range to beyond 600 Gy. Multiple aliquot additive dose (MAAD) TT-OSL protocols were used to test for sensitivity changes in the SAR TT-OSL protocol up to doses of 1200 Gy. A strong dose dependent deviation of the SAR TT-OSL relative to the MAAD TT-OSL dose response is observed. Comparison of the TT-OSL and OSL sensitivity data obtained from the MAAD and SAR data sets shows a lack of proportionality between TT-OSL and OSL for the SAR data which will result in a problem when SAR dose response curves are constructed using many regeneration points with doses above 300 Gy.     

Ionization density dependence of the curve shape and ratio of blue to UV emissions of Al2O3:C optically stimulated luminescence detectors exposed to 6-MV photon and therapeutic proton beams

In this work we characterized the dose and linear energy transfer (LET) (ionization density) dependence of commercial Al₂O₃:C optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) detectors (OSLDs) exposed to clinical photon and proton beams. We characterized the dose-dependence of the OSL signal, OSL curve shape, and the relative intensities of the blue and ultraviolet (UV) OSL emission bands using different readout protocols and beam qualities. We irradiated OSLDs with absorbed doses ranging from 0.1 Gy to 100 Gy in a 6-MV photon beam and from 0.1 Gy to 50 Gy in 140- and 250-MeV proton beams. Readouts were done with both continuous-wave (CWOSL) and pulsed (POSL) stimulation. The linearity of the OSLD dose–response depended on readout protocol and radiation type. Improved linearity was found for OSLDs irradiated with beams of increased LET, and for OSL signals containing only the blue emission band of Al₂O₃:C (which remained linear for doses up to 10 Gy for 140-MeV proton beam irradiations). The OSL curve shape did not vary with dose in the low-dose region (below 5 Gy depending on readout protocol), but beyond this, curves decayed more rapidly with increasing dose. Similarly, the ratio of blue to UV emission band intensities in the OSL signal did not vary with dose up to 5 Gy (depending on readout protocol), beyond which the ratio decreased with increasing dose. Because both the OSL curve shape and the ratio of blue to UV emission intensities have been investigated as potential parameters for measurements of LET, the constancy of these two quantities at doses relevant to radiotherapy is encouraging for the potential development of novel OSL methods to measure LET. Our findings are expected to contribute to the development of (i) improved readout protocols for commercially available Al₂O₃:C OSLDs and (ii) methods to measure radiation quality and LET.     

EPR tooth dosimetry of SNTS area inhabitants

The determination of external dose to teeth of inhabitants of settlements near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS) was conducted using the EPR dosimetry technique to assess radiation doses associated with exposure to radioactive fallout from the test site. In this study, tooth doses have been reconstructed for 103 persons with all studied teeth having been formed before the first nuclear test in 1949. Doses above those received from natural background radiation, termed “accident doses”, were found to lie in the range from zero to approximately 2 Gy, with one exception, a dose for one person from Semipalatinsk city was approximately 9 Gy. The variability of reconstructed doses within each of the settlements demonstrated heterogeneity of the deposited fallout as well as variations in lifestyle. The village mean external gamma doses for residents of nine settlements were in the range from a few tens of mGy to approximately 100 mGy.     

Comparison of commercial thermoluminescent readers regarding high-dose high-temperature measurements

Three different thermoluminescent measuring systems have been compared with respect to the differences in temperature profiles, spectral sensitivities, as well as characteristics for high intensities of TL light. The comparison was performed using the Harshaw 3500, Risø DA-20 and RA’94 TLD readers. The instruments were tested for the readouts of highly irradiated LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP) TL detectors, which require readout up to 550 °C, in case of doses exceeding 1 kGy. It was found that the Harshaw 3500 can be used, without any additional light attenuation, for the measurements of MCP detectors exposed to doses up to about 5 Gy. For the other two readers the upper dose limit is about 10 times lower. It was also found that the Harshaw 3500 shows the best thermal stability considering the peak maximum position. For the ultra-high doses the differences in the spectral characteristics of the applied optical filters and photomultipliers, in conjunction with an evolution of the MCP TL emission spectrum with increasing dose, significantly influence the shape of TL glow curves measured with the DA-20 reader. The detailed characteristic of the compared TLD readers at high-dose high-temperature range is discussed.     

Area radiation monitoring on ISS Increments 17 to 22 using PADLES in the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo

The measurement of radiation environmental parameters in space is essential to support radiation risk assessments for astronauts and establish a benchmark for space radiation models for present and future human space activities. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is performing a continuous area radiation monitoring experiment using the “PAssive Dosimeters for Lifescience Experiments in Space” (PADLES) system inside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station (ISS). The PADLES dosimeter consists of thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTDs). JAXA has run the Area PADLES experiment since the Kibo module was attached to the ISS in June 2008, using 17 dosimeters in fixed locations on the Pressurized Module (PM) and the Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (ELM-PS) of Kibo, which are replaced every 6 months or every Increment, respectively. For three monitoring periods, known as Area PADLES experiment series #1 to #3, of 301, 180, and 232 days in June 2008 to April 2010 over ISS Increments 17 to 22, the average absorbed dose (dose equivalent) rates of 12 positions in the PM of Kibo were 319 ± 30 μGy/day (618 ± 102 μSv/day), 276 ± 30 μGy/day (608 ± 94 μSv/day), and 293 ± 33 μGy/day (588 ± 84 μSv/day), respectively. The radiation measurement in the ELM-PS was conducted in only Area PADLES experiment series #3 from August 2009 to April 2010 (232 days) over ISS Increments 21 to 22, the average absorbed dose (dose equivalent) rates of 5 positions was 297 ± 28 μGy/day (661 ± 65 μSv/day). The directional dependence of the radiation field was also investigated by installing PADLES dosimeters located in the zenith of ELM-PS of Kibo.     

Radial distribution of dose within heavy charged particle tracks – Models and experimental verification using LiF:Mg,Cu,P TL detectors

A new method of experimental verification of radial dose distribution models using solid state thermoluminescent (TL) detectors LiF:Mg,Cu,P has been recently proposed. In this work the method was applied to verify the spatial distribution of energy deposition within a single ¹³¹Xe ion track. Detectors were irradiated at the Department of Physics of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The obtained results have been compared with theoretical data, calculated according to the Zhang et al., Cucinotta et al. and Geiss et al. radial dose distribution (RDD) models. At the lowest dose range the Zhang et al. RDD model exhibited the best agreement as compared to experimental data. In the intermediate dose range, up to 10⁴ Gy, the best agreement was found for the RDD model of Cucinotta et al. The probability of occurrence of doses higher than 10⁴ Gy within a single ¹³¹Xe ion track was found to be lower than predicted by all the studied RDD models. This may be a result of diffusion of the charge, which is then captured by TL-related trapping sites, at the distances up to dozens of nanometers from the ionization site.