Pushing the boundaries of spatial resolution in dosimetry using polymer gels and radiochromic films

Abstract

Advanced radiotherapy and brachytherapy techniques are raising the bar for detectors with respect to high spatial resolution. Dosimetry based on most point-like dosimeters, e.g. diamond detectors or small volume ionization chambers cannot be used efficiently and accurately for detecting 2 or 3D-dose variations at millimeter scale. Hence radiochromic films and polymer gels with high two/three-dimensional resolution provide a good verification tool for measuring dose distributions of very small collimated beams. In this study the performance of film and gel detectors in detecting the very fine dose distributions generated from collimation holes of four different sizes is investigated. Pencil beams with diameters down to 0.455 mm could be resolved by both detector types comparably.