Evaluation of a commercial flatbed document scanner and radiographic film scanner for radiochromic EBT film dosimetry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the performance and assess the utility of two different types of scanners for radiochromic EBT film dosimetry: a commercial flatbed document scanner and a widely used radiographic film scanner. We evaluated the Epson Perfection V700 Photo flatbed scanner and the Vidar VXR Dosimetry Pro Advantage scanner as measurement devices for radiochromic EBT film. Measurements were made of scan orientation effects, response uniformity, and scanner noise. Scanners were tested using films irradiated with eight separate 3×3 cm2 fields to doses ranging from 0.115–5.119 Gy. ImageJ and RIT software was used for analyzing the Epson and Vidar scans, respectively. For repeated scans of a single film, the measurements in each dose region were reproducible to within ±0.3% standard deviation (SD) with both scanners. Film‐to‐film variations for corresponding doses were measured to be within ±0.4% SD for both Epson scanner and Vidar scanners. Overall, the Epson scanner showed a 10% smaller range of pixel value compared to the Vidar scanner. Scanner noise was small: ±0.3% SD for the Epson and ±0.2% for the Vidar. Overall measurement uniformity for blank film in both systems was better than ±0.2%, provided that the leading and trailing 2 cm film edges were neglected in the Vidar system. In this region artifacts are attributed to the film rollers. Neither system demonstrated a clear measurement advantage. The Epson scanner is a relatively inexpensive method for analyzing radiochromic film, but there is a lack of commercially available software. For a clinic already using a Vidar scanner, applying it to radiochromic film is attractive because commercial software is available. However, care must be taken to avoid using the leading and trailing film edges.PACS number: 87.55.Qr

Characterization of a novel two dimensional diode array the “magic plate” as a radiation detector for radiation therapy treatment

“…Analysis of the images was done using IMAGEJ version 1.43U software (National Institute of Health, USA) and MATLAB (The Math Works Inc., Natick, MA). The red channel of the last three scans was averaged for each film 37 and the pixel intensities were converted to dose values based on the calibration curve. A 3 by 3 pixel two dimensional median filter was applied onto the image to reduce image noise.…”

Correcting scan‐to‐scan response variability for a radiochromic film‐based reference dosimetry system

“…The most common way of measuring radiochromic film response is through the acquisition of a digital image on a flatbed linear CCD-based document scanner. [14][15][16][17][18] In particular, because exposure of radiochromic film produces a colored image, flatbed scanners are favored for their ability to render response information in three color channels. 19 This has led to the development of radiochromic films containing an inert yellow dye specially adapted for multichannel dosimetry.…”

Depth dependence of the single chamber response function of the I’mRT MatriXX array in a 6 MV photon beam

“…The exposed films were scanned ten times using the transmission-mode at 48 bit color (red, green, blue) and at a resolution of 72 dpi [24]. The ImageJ (http://rsb.info.nih.gov) program was then used to extract the red component of the red-green-blue (RGB) range [26]. Subsequently, the net optical densities (ODs) of the irradiated films were determined.…”