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The physical absorbed dose enhancement by the inclusion of gold and bismuth nanoparticles fabricated into water-equivalent PRESAGE dosimeters was investigated. Nanoparticle-loaded water-equivalent PRESAGE dosimeters were irradiated with superficial, synchrotron and megavoltage X-ray beams. The change in optical density of the dosimeters was measured using UV-Vis spectrophotometry pre- and post-irradiation using a wavelength of 630 nm. Dose enhancement was measured for 5 nm and 50 nm monodispersed gold nanoparticles, 5-50 nm polydispersed bismuth nanoparticles, and 80 nm monodispersed bismuth nanoparticles at concentrations from 0.25 mM to 2 mM. The dose enhancement was highest for the 95.3 keV mean energy synchrotron beam (16-32%) followed by the 150 kVp superficial beam (12-21%) then the 6 MV beam (2-5%). The bismuth nanoparticle-loaded dosimeters produced a larger dose enhancement than the gold nanoparticle-loaded dosimeters in the synchrotron beam for the same concentration. For the superficial and megavoltage beams the dose enhancement was similar for both species of nanoparticles. The dose enhancement increased with nanoparticle concentration in the dosimeters; however, there was no observed nanoparticle size dependence on the dose enhancement.

This research investigated the dose response and post-irradiation stability of water-equivalent PRESAGE ® dosimeters exposed to synchrotron radiation. Water-equivalent PRESAGE ® dosimeters were irradiated up to 1000 Gy in a synchrotron x-ray beam with a mean energy of 95.3 keV. The change in optical density was measured using UV/visible spectrophotometry pre- and post-irradiation using a wavelength of 630 nm. Dose response was found to be approximately linear from 0-200 Gy with saturation occurring above 300 Gy. The post-irradiation stability was determined by measuring the change in optical density at 10, 30, 60, 180, 420 min and 7, 21 and 33 d post-irradiation for three groups of dosimeters stored at different temperatures. Each group had two dosimeters irradiated at 50, 100, 200 and 300 Gy and each group was stored at a different temperature following irradiation: room temperature (22 °C), 4 °C and  -18 °C. The optimal time for readout of the dosimeters varied with the post-irradiation storage temperature. The room temperature group had an optimal time-to-readout of 10 min for maximum signal before fading, while the 4 °C group was reasonably stable from 90 min to 1 week. The  -18 °C group showed the least amount of ongoing post-irradiation development and fading with an optimal readout window from 30 min to 21 d. The intra-batch variation between the mean of each temperature control group was 4.2% at 10 min post-irradiation.

Purpose: Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) techniques are under investigation at synchrotrons worldwide. Favourable outcomes from animal and cell culture studies have proven the efficacy of MRT. The aim of MRT researchers currently is to progress to human clinical trials in the near future. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the high resolution and 3D imaging of synchrotron generated microbeams in PRESAGE® dosimeters using laser fluorescence confocal microscopy., Methods: Water equivalent PRESAGE® dosimeters were fabricated and irradiated with microbeams on the Imaging and Medical Beamline at the Australian Synchrotron. Microbeam arrays comprised of microbeams 25-50 μm wide with 200 or 400 μm peak-to-peak spacing were delivered as single, cross-fire, multidirectional, and interspersed arrays. Imaging of the dosimeters was performed using a nikon a1 laser fluorescence confocal microscope., Results: The spatial fractionation of the MRT beams was clearly visible in 2D and up to 9 mm in depth. Individual microbeams were easily resolved with the full width at half maximum of microbeams measured on images with resolutions of as low as 0.09 μm/pixel. Profiles obtained demonstrated the change of the peak-to-valley dose ratio for interspersed MRT microbeam arrays and subtle variations in the sample positioning by the sample stage goniometer were measured., Conclusions: Laser fluorescence confocal microscopy of MRT irradiated PRESAGE® dosimeters has been validated in this study as a high resolution imaging tool for the independent spatial and geometrical verification of MRT beam delivery.

Purpose: Synchrotron Radiation Therapy techniques are currently being trialed and commissioned at synchrotrons around the world. The patient treatment planning systems (TPS) developed for these treatments use simulated data of the synchrotron x‐ray beam to produce the dosimetry in the treatment plan. The purpose of this study was to investigate a water equivalent PRESAGE® dosimeter capable of 3D dosimetry over an energy range suitable for synchrotron x‐ray beams. Methods: Water equivalent PRESAGE® dosimeters were fabricated with a radiological effective atomic number similar to water over an energy range of 10 keV to 10 MeV. The dosimeters were irradiated at various energies, scanned using optical CT (OCT) scanning and compared to ion chamber measurements. Percentage depth dose and beam profiles of the synchrotron beam were compared to Monte Carlo (MC) model simulations. Results: The PDD profiles of the water equivalent PRESAGE® agreed with ion chamber measurements and MC calculations within 2% for all keV energies investigated. The PRESAGE® also showed good agreement to the MC model for depths below 5 mm of the synchrotron beam where ion chamber data do not exist. The spatial resolution of the OCT was not sufficient to accurately measure the penumbra of the synchrotron beams compared to MC calculations or EBT3 film; however, the water equivalent PRESAGE® was able to verify dose profile characteristics of the MC model. Conclusions: The radiological response of a water equivalent PRESAGE® dosimeter has been validated for synchrotron x‐ray beam energies along with the ability to independently verify dose distributions of a MC model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We tested the ability of the Assessment of New Radiation Oncology Technology and Treatments framework to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) compared with 3-dimensional radiation therapy (3DCRT) for post-prostatectomy radiation therapy (PPRT) to support its timely health economic evaluation.Methods: Treatment plans produced using FROGG guidelines provided dosimetry parameters for both techniques at 64 Gy and 70 Gy and were also used to model early and late outcome probabilities. Clinical parameters were derived from early toxicity and quality of life patient data, systematic literature review and expert opinion. Dosimetry parameters were correlated with the measures of clinical efficacy and safety.Results: Data from two patient cohorts (29 and 27 respectively) were collected within the project timeframe, providing evidence for acute toxicity and quality of life, and dosimetric comparisons. Relative rates of tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue control probability (NTCP) modelling were readily derived from the planning exercise and demonstrated advantages in uncomplicated TCP for IMRT over 3DCRT, predominantly due to normal tissue sparing. The safety of IMRT delivery was demonstrated with TCP uncompromised by IMRT protocol violations, which achieved rectal sparing only by reducing minimum target dose and coverage.Conclusion: Sources of desk-top and patient-based evidence were successfully used to demonstrate potential improved clinical efficacy and safety of applying dose escalation using IMRT instead of 3DCRT in PPRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alanine dosimeters are limited in radiotherapy by poor sensitivity at low doses (< 5 Gy). A set of alanine dosimeters were ‘spiked’ with a large dose of radiation, (~30 Gy, 6 MV X-rays) and additional doses ranging between 0.5 and 10 Gy. The radical yield was measured by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and after subtraction of the contribution from the "spike" dose, a linear correlation between the radiation dose and the area of the central EPR signal was obtained for doses between 0.5 and 10 Gy (regression value of 0.9890), and for the central peak's amplitude (regression value of 0.9895). Overall, this method is easy to perform, requires no complex EPR signal analysis, and offers much potential to extend the current usage of alanine dosimeters in radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]