Ionization chambers are the instruments of choice for use in photon dosimetry. Ionization chambers together with radiographic films represent the best detectors for measurement of dose distribution for a quality assurance (QA) program in intensity-modulated radiotheraphy (IMRT). The polarity effect was investigated for seven different commercially available ionization chambers. This study concentrated on measuring the dependence of the polarity effect at various energies, and for various field size, ionization chamber, and electrometer combinations. Of the seven chambers, CC01, PTW23323, and PTW31006 had the largest polarity effect for small field sizes. The materials of the central electrode of these three chambers were steel or air-equivalent plastic C-552. The magnitude of the polarity effect was shown to be strongly dependent on the material of the collecting electrode. This polarity effect dependence was observed for the ionization chambers and small field sizes studied.

We compared effective doses for recent computed tomography (CT) examinations calculated based on International Commission on Radiological Protection publication number 103 (ICRP 103) with those calculated based on ICRP publication number 60 (ICRP 60), and considered the usefulness of the effective dose in CT dose evaluation. After placing radiophotoluminescence glass dosimeters (RPLDs) inside or outside an anthropomorphic phantom, we examined from the chest to the pelvis, cardiac, and cranial regions of the phantom. The absorbed dose was calculated by multiplying calibrated dose values of RPLD by the mass energy coefficient ratio. The effective dose was calculated as the sum total of the value for each tissue, which was multiplied by the equivalent dose according to the tissue weighting factor recommended in ICRP 103 and ICRP 60. Calculated effective doses based on ICRP 103 were different by –11% to +82% compared with those based on ICRP 60. The values of absorbed doses for selective tissues were relatively higher than the values for the effective dose. The effective dose represents only a mean dose value for an average human. Therefore, assessing the absolute dose of particular individuals in CT examinations based exclusively on the effective dose is not recommended.

ECG-triggered non-helical acquisition is recommended to reduce the radiation dose. Also, controlling the patients' heart rate appropriately during ECG-gated helical acquisition with ECGM is crucial.

Dose distributions have become more complex with the introduction of image-guided brachytherapy in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatments. Therefore, to correctly execute HDR, conducting a quality assurance programme for the remote after-loading system and verifying the dose distribution in the patient treatment plan are necessary. The characteristics of the dose distribution of HDR brachytherapy are that the dose is high near the source and rapidly drops when the distance from the source increases. Therefore, a measurement tool corresponding to the characteristic is required. In this study, using an Iridium-192 (Ir-192) source, we evaluated the basic characteristics of a nanoclay-based radio-fluorogenic gel (NC-RFG) dosimeter that is a fluorescent gel dosimeter using dihydrorhodamine 123 hydrochloride as a fluorescent probe. The two-dimensional dose distribution measurements were performed at multiple source positions to simulate a clinical plan. Fluorescence images of the irradiated NC-RFG were obtained at a high resolution (0.04 mm pixel–1) using a gel scanner with excitation at 465 nm. Good linearity was confirmed up to a dose range of 100 Gy without dose rate dependence. The dose distribution measurement at the five-point source position showed good agreement with the treatment planning system calculation. The pass ratio by gamma analysis was 92.1% with a 2%/1 mm criterion. The NC-RFG dosimeter demonstrates to have the potential of being a useful tool for quality assurance of the dose distribution delivered by HDR brachytherapy. Moreover, compared with conventional gel dosimeters such as polymer gel and Fricke gel dosimeters it solves the problems of diffusion, dose rate dependence and inhibition of oxygen-induced reactions. Furthermore, it facilitates dose data to be read in a short time after irradiation, which is useful for clinical use.

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