A Novel Nanocomposite Material for Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimetry

Abstract

Radiotherapy is a well-established and important treatment for cancer tumors, and advanced technologies can deliver doses in complex three-dimensional geometries tailored to each patient’s specific anatomy. A 3D dosimeter, based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), could provide a high accuracy and reusable tool for verifying such dose delivery. Nanoparticles of an OSL material embedded in a transparent matrix have previously been proposed as an inexpensive dosimeter, which can be read out using laser-based methods. Here, we show that Cu-doped LiF nanocubes (nano-LiF:Cu) are excellent candidates for 3D OSL dosimetry owing to their high sensitivity, dose linearity, and stability at ambient conditions. We demonstrate a scalable synthesis technique producing a material with the attractive properties of a single dosimetric trap and a single near-ultraviolet emission line well separated from visible-light stimulation sources. The observed transparency and light yield of silicone sheets with embedded nanocubes hold promise for future 3D OSL-based dosimetry.

Optically stimulated luminescence in state-of-the-art LYSO:Ce scintillators enables high spatial resolution 3D dose imaging

“…This OSL yield, intrinsic to the material, is linked to the achievable spatial resolution and precision as a function of deposited dose and serves as a benchmark for future material development, e.g. OSL-active nanocrystals embedded in a polymer matrix 31 . The determination of the OSL yield not only allows framing and concentrating efforts in the search for water-equivalent OSL dosimeters but enables absolute post-irradiation dose measurements without the need for external verification with validated dosimeters.…”

Ambient light stimulation enabling intense and long-lasting ultraviolet-C persistent luminescence from Pr3+-doped YBO3 in bright environments

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Upon monochromatic light illumination, the deep-trapped electrons that cannot be effectively thermally activated at room temperature can be photo-released to the conduction band and then recombined with the emitting center, resulting in intense PSL compared to the very weak or no light emission in darkness. [12][13][14][15][16] To date, PSL materials have been well studied and have great potential for exciting applications in many important fields owing to their unique luminescence characteristics, such as optical data storage, security encryption, biomedical science, etc. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] On the other hand, current PSL materials still suffer from severe limitations for some practical applications, especially monochromatic light illumination is usually selected as the stimulus source to realize the absolute separation between the PSL signal and the excitation light source.…”

Proof-of-concept of proton and photon measurements for large-area 2D dosimeters utilising optically stimulated luminescence

“…Transparent OSL-active 3D dosimeters can be stimulated by laser sheets in contrast to the head-on stimulation used for 2D dosimeters [7]. Creation of such dosimeters demands a precise match between the index of refraction of the OSL-active powder and the used matrix, particularly if the size of the OSL-active powder is not reduced to the nanometer scale [8,9]. Further efforts include studying the properties of LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP) for its usage as the OSL-active component in such a dosimeter [10].…”