Development of a Radioluminescence (RL) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Equipment for Real Time Dosimetry

• Grant number: 11/20935-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Nuclear Engineering - Applications of Radioisotopes
• Principal Investigator: Linda Viola Ehlin Caldas
• Grantee: Maíra Tiemi Yoshizumi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 10/16437-0 - Characterization and applications of dosimetric materials using optically stimulated luminescence and complementary techniques, AP.TEM

Abstract

Real time dosimetry is the patient incident dose monitoring during a radiotherapy treatment. A comparison between the prescribed and delivered doses is possible using in vivo dosimetry that allows a quality control in radiotherapy. Nowadays, thermoluminescent detectors, silicon diodes or, more recently, the MOSFET transistors, are mostly used in real time dosimetry. These dosimeters present advantages and disadvantages, and the MOSFET transistors are being more often used because they can be of a small size as thermoluminescent detectors and they do not need so many correction factors as silicon diodes. This project aims the development of new equipment for real time in vivo dosimetry; this equipment consists of a spectrometer connected to a luminescent crystal by an optical fiber. Such equipment has been proposed and is under tests by a Danish research group, but it is not commercially available yet. This equipment is based on two luminescent phenomena: radioluminescence, for real time measurements, and optically stimulated luminescence, for posterior measurements of absorbed doses.