@Article{Oliver-Canamas_etal2023,
author="Oliver-Canamas, L.
and Vijande, J.
and Candela-Juan, C.
and Gimeno-Olmos, J.
and Pujades-Claumarchirant, M. C.
and Rovira-Escutia, J. J.
and Ballester, F.
and Perez-Calatayud, J.",
title="A User-Friendly System for Mailed Dosimetric Audits of Ir-192 or Co-60 HDR Brachytherapy Sources",
journal="Cancers",
year="2023",
publisher="Mdpi",
volume="15",
number="9",
pages="2484 - 14pp",
optkeywords="high dose rate brachytherapy; dosimetric audit; error detection; phantom",
abstract="Nowadays, the options available to perform external dosimetric audits of the high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment process are limited. In this work, we present a methodology that allows for performing dosimetric audits in this field. A phantom was designed and manufactured for this purpose. The criteria for its design, together with the in-house measurements for its characterization, are presented. The result is a user-friendly system that can be mailed to perform dosimetric audits in HDR brachytherapy on-site for systems using either Iridium-192 (Ir-192) or Cobalt-60 (Co-60) sources. Objectives: The main goal of this work is to design and characterize a user-friendly methodology to perform mailed dosimetric audits in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for systems using either Iridium-192 (Ir-192) or Cobalt-60 (Co-60) sources. Methods: A solid phantom was designed and manufactured with four catheters and a central slot to place one dosimeter. Irradiations with an Elekta MicroSelectron V2 for Ir-192, and with a BEBIG Multisource for Co-60 were performed for its characterization. For the dose measurements, nanoDots, a type of optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs), were characterized. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed to evaluate the scatter conditions of the irradiation set-up and to study differences in the photon spectra of different Ir-192 sources (Microselectron V2, Flexisource, BEBIG Ir2.A85-2 and Varisource VS2000) reaching the dosimeter in the irradiation set-up. Results: MC simulations indicate that the surface material on which the phantom is supported during the irradiations does not affect the absorbed dose in the nanoDot. Generally, differences below 5{\%} were found in the photon spectra reaching the detector when comparing the Microselectron V2, the Flexisource and the BEBIG models. However, differences up to 20{\%} are observed between the V2 and the Varisource VS2000 models. The calibration coefficients and the uncertainty in the dose measurement were evaluated. Conclusions: The system described here is able to perform dosimetric audits in HDR brachytherapy for systems using either Ir-192 or Co-60 sources. No significant differences are observed between the photon spectra reaching the detector for the MicroSelectron V2, the Flexisource and the BEBIG Ir-192 sources. For the Varisource VS2000, a higher uncertainty is considered in the dose measurement to allow for the nanoDot response.",
optnote="WOS:000987247100001",
optnote="exported from refbase (https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=5542), last updated on Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:38:56 +0000",
doi="10.3390/cancers15092484",
opturl="https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15092484",
language="English"
}