Dosimetric properties of improved GafChromic films for seven different digitizers

Slobodan Devic, Jan Seuntjens, Gyorgy Hegyi, Ervin B. Podgorsak, Christopher G. Soares, Assen S. Kirov, Imad Ali, Jeffrey F. Williamson, Angel Elizondo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

229 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two recently introduced GafChromic film models, HS and XR-T, have been developed as more sensitive and uniform alternatives to GafChromic MD-55-2 film. The HS model has been specifically designed for measurement of absorbed dose in high-energy photon beams (above 1 MeV), while the XR-T model has been introduced for dose measurements of low energy (0.1 MeV) photons. The goal of this study is to compare the sensitometric curves and estimated dosimetric uncertainties associated with seven different GafChromic film dosimetry systems for the two new film models. The densitometers tested are: LKB Pharmacia UltroScan XL, Molecular Dynamics Personal Densitometer, Nuclear Associates Radiochromic Densitometer Model 37-443, Photoelectron Corporation CMR-604, Laser Pro 16, Vidar VXR-16, and AGFA Arcus II document scanner. Pieces of film were exposed to different doses in a dose range from 0.5 to 50 Gy using 6 MV photon beam. Functional forms for dose vs net optical density have been determined for each of the GafChromic film-dosimetry systems used in this comparison. Two sources of uncertainties in dose measurements, governed by the experimental measurement and calibration curve fit procedure, have been compared for the densitometers used. Among the densitometers tested, it is found that for the HS film type the uncertainty caused by the experimental measurement varies from 1% to 3% while the calibration fit uncertainty ranges from 2% to 4% for doses above 5 Gy. Corresponding uncertainties for XR-T film model are somewhat higher and range from 1% to 5% for experimental and from 2% to 7% for the fit uncertainty estimates. Notwithstanding the significant variations in sensitivity, the studied densitometers exhibit very similar precision for GafChromic film based dose measurements above 5 Gy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2392-2401
Number of pages10
JournalMedical physics
Volume31
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2004

Keywords

  • GafChromic film dosimetry
  • Sensitivity curves
  • Uncertainty analysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Dosimetric properties of improved GafChromic films for seven different digitizers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this