Polymer gel dosimetry in the presence of a strong magnetic field

Abstract

The integration of magnetic resonance (MR) imagers with radiotherapy units provided a new opportunity to demonstrate the value of polymer gels as volumetric dosimeters. The purpose of this work was to investigate the use of methacrylic-acid based polymer gels for quality assurance of patient-specific treatment plans delivered with these novel treatment machines. The characterization of the gel was performed while the gel was subjected to a strong magnetic field and in the absence of the magnetic field. Additionally, an end-to-end phantom study was conducted using an MR image-guided radiotherapy (MR-IGRT) unit. This data will be used to support the implementation of volumetric dosimeters in MR-IGRT.