Polymer gels and films, due to their near equivalence to biological tissue, are amongst the most promising future dosimetry tools for medical applications. The application of polymer dose gels is limited by the sensitivity of dose readout methods and dose gel properties. It is a challenge to find suitable dosimeters for registration of doses delivered to the target by orthovoltage therapy units. The application of metal-particle-enriched polymer composites for dose registration in X-ray therapy might be an elegant solution, especially if recent dose-reading technologies exploring advantages of different physical phenomena are involved. In this work, X-rays from the orthovoltage therapy range were used for the irradiation of experimental samples. In addition, radiation-induced processes of formation of silver nanoparticles in AgNO3–PVA gels and in free standing AgNO3PVA films, also containing some additional solvents, namely glycerol, ethanol, and isopropanol, have been investigated, with the aim to apply the developed composites for medical dosimetry purposes. A simple and environmentally friendly method for the formation of free-standing AgPVA films at room temperature was proposed and realized for preparing AgPVA films for investigation. Radiation-induced synthesis of silver nanoparticles in AgPVA composites was investigated, analyzing LPSR-based UV-VIS spectral changes to the irradiated films with respect to irradiation doses, and dose-related tendencies were also evaluated. It was shown that AgPVA films were more sensitive for detection of doses from the interval 0–1.0 Gy, thus indicating potential application of AgPVA films for dosimetry purposes.

The essential component of modern radiation therapy is the application of steep dose gradients during patient treatment in order to maximize the radiation dose to the target volume and protect neighboring heathy tissues. However, volumetric dose distribution in an irradiated target is still a bottleneck of dose verification in modern radiotherapy. Dose gels are almost the only known dosimetry tool which allows for the evaluation of dose distribution in the irradiated volume due to gel’s polymerization upon irradiation. The accuracy of dose gel dosimetry has its own obstacle, which is related to the continuation of the gel’s polymerization after the radiation treatment procedure is finished. In this article, a method to monitor the polymerization dynamics of dose gels in real-time is proposed using a modified optical spectrometry system. Using the proposed method, the changes of the optical characteristics of irradiated nMAG dose gels in situ were assessed. The investigation revealed that the detectable polymerization in dose gel proceeds up to 6 h after irradiation. This time is significantly shorter compared with a commonly recommended 24 h waiting time allocated for polymer gel to settle. It was also found that dose rate significantly influences the temporal response of the nMAG dosimeter. By increasing the irradiation dose rate by a factor of 2, the time needed for the polymerization process to settle was increased by 22%. Identification of the gel’s post-irradiation polymerization time interval and its dependence on irradiation parameters will contribute to more accurate dose verification using dose gel dosimetry.

The aim of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of two surgical techniques regarding cow respiratory rates, heart rates, and rumination time using two sensors: an experimental device created by the Institute of Biomedical Engineering of Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania) and the Hi-Tag rumination monitoring system (SCR) produced by SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel. The cows were divided into two groups: the PA1 group, containing cows treated by percutaneous abomasopexy (n = 10), and the RSO2 group, containing cows treated by right side omentopexy (n = 8). For the control group (KH), according to the principle of analogs (number of lactations, breed, and days in milk), we selected clinically healthy cows (n = 9). After the surgical treatment for the abomasal displacement, the experimental device was applied for the recording of the heart and breathing rates, 12 h tracking of the rumination time was implemented using the SCR, and the body temperature was measured. After 12 h, the blood was taken for biochemical and morphological tests. With the help of experimental sensors, we found that the more efficient abomasal displacement surgical method was the right side omentopexy: During the first 12 h after right side omentopexy, we found a 5.19 beats/min lower (1.10 times lower) average value of the respiratory rate, a 1.13 times higher level of the heart rate, a 0.15 °C higher temperature, and a 3.29 times lower rumination time compared to the clinically healthy cows. During the first 12 h after percutaneous abomasopexy, we found a 5.19 beats/min higher (1.07 times) average value of heart rate, a 0.02 °C higher temperature, a 6.21 times lower rumination time, and a 0.12 beats/min lower (1.01 times lower) average value of respiratory rate compared to the clinically healthy cows.

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]