Regional (AFRA) Training Course on

Small Field Dosimetry

Johannesburg, South Africa

6 – 10 October 2016

Reference Dosimetry Measurements

Godfrey Azangwe, PhD, MInstP, MIPEM, MAAPM
Senior Lecturer, National University of Science &Technology
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

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International Atomic Energy Agency
Outline

• Absolute, Reference and Relative

Dosimetry
• Types of detectors
• Commercially available detectors &
their characteristics

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CoP

• International…TRS 398
• USA…TG51
• UK…IPEM
• Germany...DIN
• Holland…Netherlands Commission on
Radiation Dosimetry
• APANSA…Australia
• ….
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CoP

Determination of the absorbed dose to water

• TRS398: ionization chamber or a
dosimeter with a calibration factor ND,w,Qo
in terms of absorbed dose to water at a
reference quality Q0
• Stability of the dosimeter system should
be verified using a check source
• Enough time should be allowed for the
dosimeter to reach thermal equilibrium.
• IAEA
CoP

Determination of the absorbed dose to water

• Detector readings should be corrected for
influence quantities
• Humidity
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Ion recombination
• Electrometer calibration
• Polarity effects
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CoP

Reference conditions – 60Co

IAEA IAEA TRS 398

CoP

Reference conditions – 60Co

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CoP

Reference conditions – Photon Beams

TPR20,10 measurement

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CoP

Reference conditions – Photon Beams

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CoP

Reference conditions – kQ Tables (example)

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CoP

Reference conditions – Photon beams

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CoP

Determination of the absorbed dose to water

• Sometimes a cross calibration to transfer
calibration factor from one calibrated detector to
another may be necessary
• Chambers are alternately placed in a water
phantom with their effective points of
measurement at reference depth
• Use of monitor chamber…

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CoP

Determination of the absorbed dose to water

Caution!
Avoid using factors from different CoPs, stick
to the same for all factors

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CoP

TRS 398

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CoP

TG51

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Dosimeters

• 1. Active Dosimeters – real time reading

a) Ionization chambers / volume averaging
b) Diodes
c) Diamond
d) MOSFET
e) Scintillator

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Dosimeters

• 2. Passive Dosimeters – requires time to

stabilize
a) TLDs
b) OSLDs
c) RPLDs
d) Film – radiographic & radiochromic

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Absolute Dosimetry

• Ionization Chambers
• Fricke (Chemical)
• Calorimetry

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Relative Dosimetry

• Ionization Chambers
• TLDs
• OSLDs
• RPLDs
• Diodes

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Relative Dosimetry

• Radiographic Film
• Radiochromic Film
• 3D – gel dosimetry
• Diamond
• MOSFETs
• Scintillators

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Characteristics of dosimeters

1. Energy dependence
2. Dose response
3. Accuracy and precision
4. Sensitivity Stability
5. Fading
6. Spatial resolution
7. Durability
8. Angular dependence
9. Traceability (Calibration)

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Comparative dosimetry

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Diagrams of some typical radiation detectors

Westermark, M.,
Arndt, J., Nilsson, B.,
and Brahme, A.
PMB 45 (2000)

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Schematic diagram of a classic Farmer type
ionization chamber showing field lines

(Dewerd 2009
AAPM Summer
School)

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Schematic diagram of a parallel-plate ionization
chamber with field lines shown

(Dewerd 2009
AAPM Summer
School)

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Schematic diagram of a spherical ionization
chamber showing field lines

(Dewerd 2009
AAPM Summer
School)

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Purpose of guard ring

1) Electrically shields the collector

through cable
2) Defines the shape of the electric field
lines
3) Provides a low impedance path for
leakage current

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Ionization chamber correction factors

1) Recombination
2) Polarity
3) Pressure/Temperature
4) Leakage

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Reference dosimetry

Alfonso et al, Med Phys (2008), 5179

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Correction for volume averaging

The volume averaging

correction factor can be
defined as the ratio of the
detector response in its
central part to the detector
response over its whole
volume

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Diamond Detector

Radio-sensitive resistance element whose

conductivity is proportional to the absorbed
dose. For a given external bias voltage
(typically 100 v) the current is zero for no
radiation and increases linearly with radiation

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Diamond Detector

• Advantages
• Spatial resolution – small size
• Near constancy of the mass stopping power
ratio of carbon to water- (S/ρ)C,wat ≈ 1.00 from 1
to 20 MeV

• Disadvantage
• recombination more critical (natural diamond)

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Experimental set-up for measuring angular
dependence of detectors

Configuration for directional response measurements

for a diode or diamond detector
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Angular Dependence

directional response for a diode and diamond detector

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Diamond detector

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Diamond detector

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Photographic Film Detector Uses

• Dose Distribution Measurements

• Quality Assurance – field size, flatness and
symmetry
• Personnel Dosimetry – film badges

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Advantages of Film

• Good spatial resolution

• Reading Permanence: measurement does
not disturb the developed grains and
therefore can be re-measured
• Commercial Availability: available from
several manufacturers although digital
technology becoming more prominent

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Advantages of Film

• Geometry: thinness and flat shape allows for

flexibility of use
• Linearity vs Dose: variable range depending
upon emulsion
• Dose-Rate Independence: Good for Mega-
voltage radiation

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Disadvantages of film

• Wet Chemical Processing: careful quality control of

processor
• Energy Dependence for X-Rays: the high Z of
AgBr grains constitute 30-80 % of the emulsion,
high P.E. below 300 KeV
• Sensitivity to Hostile Environments: fading of film
greatly exaggerated by high temperature-humidity
combinations
• Double-Valued Response Functions: the OD
increases to a maximum and then decreases at
high absorbed doses (solarization)
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Expected accuracy for film

• On the same film 2 %

• On film processed simultaneously 3 %
• On films processed separately 5 %
(identical processing conditions)
• On films from different batches ???

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Composition of GAFCHROMIC detector materials
(Soares 2009 AAPM Summer School)

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Optical Detectors

• Transparent materials such as glasses, LiF

and aluminum oxide doped with an impurity
that provides metastable traps They exhibit
the following effects upon irradiation:
• Radiation-induced darkening
• Radioluminescence
• Thermoluminescence
• Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)

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Conclusions
1) No one detector can satisfy all dosimetry
applications
2) The various clinical dosimetric applications
require detectors with special properties such as:
a. dimensions for small field measurements
b. traceability for output calibration
c. non-obtrusive for in-vivo measurements
3) Important to understand the characteristics and
limitations of the various types of radiation
detectors for use in dosimetry

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Where to Get More Information?

• IPEM Reports (Report 103,…)

• AAPM Reports (TG155, TG120, TG101, …)
• IAEA Human Health Campus
• Manufacturer application guides
• Literature (MP, PMB, Radiotherapy and
Oncology, Acta Oncologica, …)
• CoP (TG51, TRS398, DIN, IPEM,..)

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