Optical fibre luminescence sensor for real-time LDR brachytherapy dosimetry

P. Woulfe; F. J. Sullivan; S. O'Keeffe

doi:10.1117/12.2237201

30 May 2016 Optical fibre luminescence sensor for real-time LDR brachytherapy dosimetry

P. Woulfe, F. J. Sullivan, S. O'Keeffe

Proceedings Volume 9916, Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors; 99160T (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2237201
Event: Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors (EWOFS'2016), 2016, Limerick, Ireland

Abstract

An optical fibre sensor for monitoring low dose radiation is presented. The sensor is based on a scintillation material embedded within the optical fibre core, which emits visible light when exposed to low level ionising radiation. The incident level of ionising radiation can be determined by analysing the optical emission. An optical fibre sensor is presented, based on radioluminescence whereby radiation sensitive scintillation material, terbium doped gadolinium oxysulphide (Gd₂O₂S:Tb), is embedded in a cavity of 250μm of a 500μm plastic optical fibre. The sensor is designed for in-vivo monitoring of the radiation dose during radio-active seed implantation for brachytherapy, in prostate cancer treatment, providing oncologists with real-time information of the radiation dose to the target area and/or nearby critical structures. The radiation from the brachytherapy seeds causes emission of visible light from the scintillation material through the process of radioluminescence, which penetrates the fibre, propagating along the optical fibre for remote detection using a multi-pixel photon counter. The sensor demonstrates a high sensitivity to Iodine-125, the radioactive source most commonly used in brachytherapy for treating prostate cancer.

Citation Download Citation

P. Woulfe, F. J. Sullivan, and S. O'Keeffe "Optical fibre luminescence sensor for real-time LDR brachytherapy dosimetry", Proc. SPIE 9916, Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors, 99160T (30 May 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2237201

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