skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: WE-E-18A-08: Towards a Next-Generation Electronic Portal Device for Simultaneous Imaging and Dose Verification in Radiotherapy

Journal Article · · Medical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4889460· OSTI ID:22409727
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW (Australia)

Purpose: This work forms part of an ongoing study to develop a next-generation electronic portal imaging device (EPID) for simultaneous imaging and dose verification in radiotherapy. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were used to characterize the imaging performance of a novel EPID that has previously been demonstrated to exhibit a water-equivalent response. The EPID ' s response was quantified in several configurations and model parameters were empirically validated against experimental measurements. Methods: A MC model of a novel a-Si EPID incorporating an array of plastic scintillating fibers was developed. Square BCF-99-06A scintillator fibers with PMMA cladding (Saint-Gobain Crystals) were modelled in a matrix with total area measuring 150×150 mm{sup 2}. The standard electromagnetic and optical physics Geant4 classes were used to simulate radiation transport from an angled slit source (6 MV energy spectrum) through the EPID and optical photons reaching the photodiodes were scored. The prototype's modulation transfer function (MTF) was simulated and validated against experimental measurements. Several optical transport parameters, fiber lengths and thicknesses of an air gap between the scintillator and photodiodes were investigated to quantify their effects on the prototype's detection efficiency, sensitivity and MTF. Results: Simulated EPID response was more sensitive to variations in geometry than in the optical parameters studied. The MTF was particularly sensitive to the introduction of a 0.5–1.0 mm air gap between the scintillator and photodiodes, which lowered the MTF relative to that simulated without the gap. As expected, increasing the fiber length increased the detector efficiency and sensitivity while decreasing the MTF. Conclusion: A model of a novel water-equivalent EPID has been developed and benchmarked against measurements using a physical prototype. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this new device and are continuing to optimize the design to achieve an imaging response that warrants the development of a next-generation prototype.

OSTI ID:
22409727
Journal Information:
Medical Physics, Vol. 41, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English