We investigated the potential of a multimode (50-μm core diameter) nitrogen doped silica-based optical fiber for X-rays, protons, and y-rays radiation detection and dosimetry. X-rays results confirm that this N-doped fiber presents a strong radioluminescence (RL) around 550 nm when exposed to radiation. The RL observed from a few centimeter long samples linearly depend on the dose rate at least in the 1-mGy/s-50-Gy/s range. Low dose rate y-ray t ests demonstrate the radiation detection at dose rate as low as 40 μGy/s with a 2-m-long fiber sample. This fiber is also associated with an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) when exposed to a 1064-nm laser light postirradiation. This OSL signature provides shortly after the irradiation a precise estimation of the accumulated dose at least in the 1-Gy-10-kGy range. Under proton exposure, we benchmarked the performances of the N-doped fiber with the ones of a conventional Markus chamber used by the TRIUMF proton-therapy team. This comparison highlights the potential of the small-size N-doped fiber to partially overcome the known limitations of commercial fiber-based dosimeters for medical applications. The obtained results are very promising for the future design of more complex spatially resolved beam monitoring systems.

A characterization study was carried out to determine if a novel, millimeter sized Terbium-activated Gadolinium Oxysulfide optical fibre detector has potential for future use in proton dosimetry. Preliminary studies employed a Theratronics Theratron 780C Cobalt-60 unit and were used to determine nominal dose response, field size response and Čerenkov contributions in 1.25-MeV gamma radiation. More extensive testing was done using 74 MeV-protons produced in the TRIUMF 500-MeV cyclotron facility examining raw Bragg peak, spread out Bragg peak, dose response, and Čerenkov signal. The detector was low-cost and easily assembled; it showed excellent sensitivity, signal to noise ratio, and reproducibility. Quenching at high linear energy transfer was severe. Additional investigations are needed to further explore Čerenkov-only depth-dose curves, signal detection at the extreme distal end of the Bragg peak, and possible sensitivity to neutrons.

Accurate dosimetry in small field proton therapy is challenging, particularly for applications such as ocular therapy, and suitable detectors for this purpose are sought. The Exradin W1 plastic scintillating fibre detector is known to out-perform most other detectors for determining relative dose factors for small megavoltage photon beams used in radiotherapy but its potential in small proton beams has been relatively unexplored in the literature. The 1 mm diameter cylindrical geometry and near water equivalence of the W1 makes it an attractive alternative to other detectors. This study examines the dosimetric performance of the W1 in a 74 MeV proton therapy beam with particular focus on detector response characteristics relevant to relative dose measurement in small fields suitable for ocular therapy. Quenching of the scintillation signal is characterized and demonstrated not to impede relative dose measurements at a fixed depth. The background cable-only (Čerenkov and radio-fluorescence) signal is 4 orders of magnitude less than the scintillation signal, greatly simplifying relative dose measurements. Comparison with other detectors and Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the W1 is useful for measuring relative dose factors for field sizes down to 5 mm diameter and shallow spread out Bragg peaks down to 6 mm in depth.

Background and purpose: Compared to conventional external beam radiotherapy, IMRT requires significantly more time to deliver the dose. Prolonging dose delivery potentially increases DNA repair which would reduce the biological effect. We questioned whether retention of γH2AX, a measure of lack of repair of DNA damage, would decrease when dose delivery was protracted. Materials and methods: Exponentially growing SiHa cervical carinoma cells were irradiated with 6 MV photons in a water tank using a VarianEX linear accelerator. Cells held at 37°C received 2 Gy in 0.5 min and 4 Gy in 1 min. To evaluate effect of dose delivery prolongation, 2 and 4 Gy were delivered in 30 and 60 min. After 24 h recovery, cells were analyzed for clonogenic survival and for residual γH2AX as measured using flow cytometry. Results: Increasing the dose delivery time from 0.5 or 1 min to 30 or 60 min produced a signficant increase in cell survival from 0.45 to 0.48 after 2 Gy, and from 0.17 to 0.20 after 4 Gy. Expression of residual γH2AX decreased from 1.27 to 1.22 relative to background after 2 Gy and 1.46 to 1.39 relative to background after 4 Gy, but differences were not statistically significant. The relative differences in the slopes of residual γH2AX versus dose for acute versus prolonged irradiation bordered on significant (p = 0.055), and the magnitude of the change was consistent with the observed increase in surviving fraction. Conclusion: These results support the concept that DNA repair underlies the increase in survival observed when dose delivery is prolonged. They also help to establish the limits of sensitivity of residual γH2AX, as measured using flow cytometry, for detecting differences in response to irradiation.