An optical fibre sensor based on radioluminescence, using the scintillation material terbium doped gadolinium oxysulphide (Gd2O2S:Tb) is evaluated, using a 3D printed anthropomorphic phantom for applications in low dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy. The scintillation material is embedded in a 700 µm diameter cavity within a 1 mm plastic optical fibre that is fixed within a brachytherapy needle. The high spatial resolution dosimeter is used to measure the dose contribution from Iodine-125 (I-125) seeds. Initially, the effects of sterilisation on the sensors (1) repeatability, (2) response as a function of angle, and (3) response as a function of distance, are evaluated in a custom polymethyl methacrylate phantom. Results obtained in this study demonstrate that the output response of the sensor, pre- and post-sterilisation are within the acceptable measurement uncertainty ranging from a maximum standard deviation of 4.7% pre and 5.5% post respectively, indicating that the low temperature sterilisation process does not damage the sensor or reduce performance. Subsequently, an LDR brachytherapy plan reconstructed using the VariSeed treatment planning system, in an anthropomorphic 3D printed training phantom, was used to assess the suitability of the sensor for applications in LDR brachytherapy. This phantom was printed based on patient anatomy, with the volume and dimensions of the prostate designed to represent that of the patient. I-125 brachytherapy seeds, with an average activity of 0.410 mCi, were implanted into the prostate phantom under trans-rectal ultrasound guidance; following the same techniques as employed in clinical practice by an experienced radiation oncologist. This work has demonstrated that this sensor is capable of accurately identifying when radioactive I-125 sources are introduced into the prostate via a brachytherapy needle.

Objective: To establish the level of evidence and publishing trends in otology-specific journals over a 20-year period. Design: Retrospective analysis. Methods: The three O/N specific journals with the highest Eigenfactor scores were identified. All articles published in the years 1998, 2008, and 2018 were reviewed and level of evidence (LoE) based on standards set by the Oxford Centres for Evidence Based Medicine was assigned by two independent reviewers. One way ANOVA and 95% bootstrap sensitivity analysis were performed. Results: A total of 1,062 studies were published over 20 years, of these 809 (76.2%) were eligible for inclusion in the present study. The average number of publications per year increased over time. The average LoE improved significantly over the total interval (-0.235, p ¼ 0.027, [CI -0.45, -0.019]), however did not between 1998 and 2008 ( p ¼ 0.111) or between 2008 and 2018 ( p ¼ 1). When looking at just LoE 1 or 2, the number and percentage of higher quality papers improves over time-48/158 (30.4%) in 1998, rising to 94/250 (37.6%) in 2008, and 158/401 (39.4%) in 2008. Conclusions: Over the past two decades there has been an overall increase in the quantity and quality (as measured by LoE) of publications in O/N-specific journals. In general, quality of O/N studies is slightly better in O/Nspecific journals compared with general OHNS journals. However, there are still improvements to be had in the proportion of high-evidence publications, as they still number less than half of all total publications in the subspecialty.