An investigation of the response of the radiochromic dosimeter PRESAGE™ to irradiation by 62 MeV protons

Abstract

Measurements of the 62 MeV proton beam at the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology using the radiosensitive plastic PRESAGE™ have previously shown a dependence of the dosimeter sensitivity (dose-response slope) on the linear energy transfer (LET) of the ionising particles. This work focuses on a possible explanation in terms of track structure theory (TST). Experimental measurements of highly irradiated PRESAGE™ samples established the D37 parameter of the theory to be of the order of 1000 Gy. Initial attempts at applying the theory showed good agreement of the theoretical and experimental values of relative effectiveness, but more work is needed to verify the model and understand its different parameters. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.