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A depth‐dose measuring device using a multichannel scintillating fiber array for electron beam therapy
Author(s) -
Aoyama Takahiko,
Koyama Shuji,
Tsuzaka Masatoshi,
Maekoshi Hisashi
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.598143
Subject(s) - optics , materials science , dosimetry , cathode ray , beam (structure) , medical imaging , nuclear medicine , electron , medical physics , physics , medicine , nuclear physics , radiology
The development of a new depth‐dose measuring device for electron beam therapy is described. The device employs plastic scintillating fiber detectors inserted in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantom in line along an incident electron beam. Output photons from a fiber, the number of which is proportional to the absorbed dose at each depth of the phantom, were converted to an electric signal with a photodiode. Each signal from the photodiode was transmitted to a personal computer through a multichannel analog–digital converter, and was processed to draw a depth‐dose curve on the computer display. A depth‐dose curve could be obtained in a measuring time of 5 s for each incident electron beam with an energy range between 4 and 21 MeV. The mean electron energies estimated using the curves and the depth‐scaling factor for PMMA were consistent with those obtained from conventional depth‐dose measurements using an ion chamber and a water phantom. The newly developed system, being simple and not time consuming, could be used routinely for quality assurance purposes in electron beam therapy.