Department of Master Program for Biomedical Engineering / School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Biomaterials Translational Research Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan, R.O.C.
PLoS One. 2023 Sep 12;18(9):e0291507. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291507. eCollection 2023.
This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying 3D gel dosimeters for proton therapy. Two different formulations (5-5-3-5, 5-3-3-10) for the N-Isopropyl Acrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel were used to find the best composition for the application of NIPAM polymer gels for proton therapy. The reaction of the gel under different physical conditions, including dependence on energy and dependence on the dose rate of the NIPAM gel under proton irradiation, was also explored. A NIPAM gel dosimeter was used to record the 3D dose distribution, and a self-developed parallel beam optical computed tomography scanner was used to obtain non-irradiated and post-irradiated gel phantom images. The NIPAM gel was filled into a cylindrical acrylic phantom. The results showed that the optical density of the irradiated NIPAM dosimeter was linear in the dose range of 0 to 6 Gy, and the linearity of the two NIPAM gel formulations at the depth of the dose point (2 cm) was 0.98 to 0.89. The dose depth curves showed different patterns with different gel sensitivities. This study demonstrated that the NIPAM gel dosimeter with the 5-3-3-10 formulation is suitable for verifying the dosimetry dose of proton beams.
本研究旨在探讨 3D 凝胶剂量计在质子治疗中的应用可行性。使用两种不同配方（5-5-3-5、5-3-3-10）的 N-异丙基丙烯酰胺（NIPAM）聚合物凝胶，以找到最适合 NIPAM 聚合物凝胶在质子治疗中应用的配方。还探索了凝胶在不同物理条件下的反应，包括对能量的依赖性和在质子照射下 NIPAM 凝胶的剂量率依赖性。使用 NIPAM 凝胶剂量计记录 3D 剂量分布，并使用自行开发的平行光束光学计算机断层扫描扫描仪获取未辐照和辐照后凝胶体模图像。将 NIPAM 凝胶填充到圆柱形亚克力体模中。结果表明，在 0 至 6Gy 的剂量范围内，辐照的 NIPAM 剂量计的光密度呈线性，两种 NIPAM 凝胶配方在剂量点（2cm 深度）的线性度为 0.98 至 0.89。剂量深度曲线显示出不同的图案，具有不同的凝胶灵敏度。本研究表明，具有 5-3-3-10 配方的 NIPAM 凝胶剂量计适用于验证质子束的剂量计剂量。
