A Multi-Sensor dosimeter for brachytherapy based on radioluminescent fiber sensors

Abstract

High-precision dosimeters are needed in brachytherapy treatments to ensure safe operation and adequate working conditions, to assess the correspondence between treatment planning and dose delivery, as well as to monitor the radiation dose received by patients. In this paper we present the development of a multi-sensor dosimeter platform targeted for brachytherapy environments. The performance of different scintillating materials response is assessed. The emission bands of most common scintillator materials used in ionizing radiation detection are typically below 550 nm, thus they may be prone to stem effect response. To avoid this effect we propose the use of scintillators with longer wavelength emission. Samples of neodymium doped glasses are evaluated as new infrared radioluminescent scintillators for real-time dosimeters, namely lithium lead boron silver (LLB4Ag) and lithium bismuth boron silver (LBiB4Ag) glasses. Their response is compared with the response of organic scintillator BCF-60 with a 530nm response.