A novel optical calorimetry dosimetry approach applied to an HDR brachytherapy source

Abstract

The technique of Digital Holographic Interferometry (DHI) is applied to the measurement of radiation absorbed dose distribution in water. An optical interferometer has been developed that captures the small variations in the refractive index of water due to the radiation induced temperature increase ΔT. The absorbed dose D is then determined with high temporal and spatial resolution using the calorimetric relation D=cΔT (where c is the specific heat capacity of water). The method is capable of time resolving 3D spatial calorimetry. As a proof-of-principle of the approach, a prototype DHI dosimeter was applied to the measurement of absorbed dose from a High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy source. Initial results are in agreement with modelled doses from the Brachyvision treatment planning system, demonstrating the viability of the system for high dose rate applications. Future work will focus on applying corrections for heat diffusion and geometric effects. The method has potential to contribute to the dosimetry of diverse high dose rate applications which require high spatial resolution such as microbeam radiotherapy (MRT) or small field proton beam dosimetry but may potentially also be useful for interface dosimetry.