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BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy plays an important role in cancer treatment today. Successful radiotherapy includes precise positioning and accurate dosimetry. OBJECTIVE: To use NIPAM gel dosimeter and concentric swing machine to simulate and evaluate the feasibility of lung or upper abdominal tumor dose distribution during breathing. METHODS: We used a concentric swing machine to simulate actual radiotherapy for lung or upper abdomen tumors. A 4 × 4 cm2 irradiation field area was set and MRI was performed. Next, readout analysis was performed using MATLAB and the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate > 95% was used as a basis for evaluation. RESULTS: The concentric dynamic dose curve for a simulated respiratory rate of 3 seconds/breath and 4 × 4 cm2 field was compared with 4 × 4, 3 × 3, and 2 × 2 cm2 treatment planning systems (TPS), and the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate was 42.87%, 54.96%, and 49.92%, respectively. Pre-simulation showed that the high-dose region dose curve was similar to the 2 × 2 cm2 TPS result. After appropriate selection and comparison, we found that the 3 mm, 3% gamma passing rate was 97.92% on comparing the > 60% dose curve with the 2 × 2 cm2 TPS. CONCLUSIONS: NIPAM gel dosimeter and concentric swing machine use is feasible to simulate dose distribution during breathing and results conforming to clinical evaluation standards.

BACKGROUND: The gel dosimeter is a chemical as well as a relative dosimeter. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) gel dosimeter to observe the dynamic dose effects and quantification of the respiration, and to help determine the safety margins. METHODS: The NIPAM gel dosimeter combined with the dynamic phantom was used to simulate radiotherapy of lung or upper abdominal tumor. The field set to 4 × 5 cm2, simulate respiratory rate of 4 sec/cycle, and motion range 2 cm. MRI was used for reading, and MATLAB was used for analysis. The 3%/3 mm gamma passing rate > 95% was used as a clinical basis for evaluation. RESULTS: The dynamic dose curve was compared with 4 × 5, 4 × 4, 4 × 3 cm2 TPS, and gamma passing rates were 74.32%, 54.83%, 30.18%. Gamma mapping demonstrated that the highest dose region was similar to the result of the 4 × 4 cm2 TPS. After appropriate selection and comparing that the ⩾ 60% part of the dose curve with TPS, the gamma passing rate was 96.49%. CONCLUSIONS: Using the NIPAM gel dosimeter with dynamic phantom to simulate organ motion during respiration for dynamic dose measurement and quantified the dynamic dose effect is feasible. The results are consistent with clinical evaluation standards.

On-board cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) was used to scan the N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) gel dosimeter. A dose-response curve from 1 to 12 Gy was created. The dose profile and depth dose curve were measured, and the dose distribution acquired from CBCT was then compared with that obtained from a treatment planning system (TPS). The linearity of the dose-response curve obtained by CBCT scanning of the NIPAM gel was 0.985. The mean percent standard deviation of various doses was 12.8%. A 12- to 24-h post-irradiation time was required to achieve stable CBCT readouts. Both dose profile and depth dose were in agreement with the results of TPS. The dose difference at the isocenter between CBCT and TPS was 3.8%. The gamma evaluation under the conditions of 5% dose difference and 5 mm distance-to-agreement was performed with the pass rate of 92.6%. These results indicate that an on-board CBCT can be used for scanning gel dosimeters in clinical radiotherapy.

Purpose Polymer gel dosimeters provide three-dimensional absorbed dose information and have gradually become a popular tool for quality assurance in radiotherapy. This study aims to incorporate iodine into the MAGAT-based gel as radiation sensitizer and investigate whether it can be used to measure the radiation dose and slice thickness for CT scans. Methods The nMAGAT(I) gel was doped with 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07-M iodine. The absorbed dose was delivered using a CT scanner (Alexion 16, Toshiba Medical Systems, Japan) with tube voltages of 80, 100, 120, and 135 kVp. The irradiated nMAGAT(I) gel was read using a cone beam optical CT scanner to produce dose-response curves. The nMAGAT(I) gel was used to obtain the slice sensitivity profile (SSP) and the CT dose index (CTDI) for quality assurance of CT scans. Results The 0.07-M iodine-doped nMAGAT(I) gel exhibited maximum sensitivity with the dose enhancement ratio of 2.12. The gel was chemically stable 24 h after its preparation, and the polymerization process was completed 24–48 h after the irradiation. For CT quality assurance, the full width at half maximum measured by the nMAGAT(I) gel matched the nominal slice thickness of CT. The CTDI at center, CTDI at peripheral, and weighted CTDI obtained by the nMAGAT(I) gel differed from those obtained by the ionization chamber by −4.2%, 3.1%, and 0.7%, respectively. Conclusions The nMAGAT(I) gel can be used to assess radiation doses and slice thickness in CT scans, thus rendering it a potential quality assurance tool for CT and other radiological diagnostic applications.

Background/aim An injectable chitosan-based co-cross-linking thermosensitive hydrogel combining 188Re- and doxorubicin-encapsulated liposomes (C/GP/GE/188Re-LIPO-DOX) was developed for the prevention of locoregional recurrence after mastectomy. Materials and methods The hydrogel properties, in vitro drug release characteristics, and in vivo scintigraphy imaging attributes were investigated. Results The gelation time of the hydrogels can be controlled to be within 5 min. Results from Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis showed that a covalent cross-linking reaction between chitosan and genipin occurred and that the hydrogel's mechanical strength and chemical stability were improved. In vitro drug release studies showed that the hydrogel can prolong the release of doxorubicin by several weeks (51.5%±5.3% at 21 days). In addition, in vivo scintigraphy results suggested high retention rates (43.1%±1.0% at 48 h) of the radiopharmaceutical compound at the tumor injection site. Conclusion The preliminary results indicated that the C/GP/GE/188Re-LIPO-DOX radiopharmaceutical hydrogel is a potential candidate for further in vivo therapeutic evaluation.

An injectable chitosan-based co-cross-linking thermosensitive hydrogel combiningThe hydrogel properties, in vitro drug release characteristics, and in vivo scintigraphy imaging attributes were investigated.The gelation time of the hydrogels can be controlled to be within 5 min. Results from Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis showed that a covalent cross-linking reaction between chitosan and genipin occurred and that the hydrogel's mechanical strength and chemical stability were improved. In vitro drug release studies showed that the hydrogel can prolong the release of doxorubicin by several weeks (51.5%±5.3% at 21 days). In addition, in vivo scintigraphy results suggested high retention rates (43.1%±1.0% at 48 h) of the radiopharmaceutical compound at the tumor injection site.The preliminary results indicated that the C/GP/GE/

NIPAM dosimeter is widely accepted and recommended for its 3D distribution and accuracy in dose absorption. Up to the moment, most research works on dose measurement are based on a fixed irradiation target without the consideration of the effect from physiological motion. We present a study to construct a respiratory motion simulating patient anatomical and dosimetry model for the study of dosimetic effect of organ motion. The dose on fixed and motion targets was measured by MRI after a dose adminstration of 1, 2, 5, 8, and 10 Gy from linear accelerator. Comparison of two situations is made. The average sensitivity of fixed NIPAM was 0.1356 s −1 /Gy with linearity R 2 =0.998. The average sensitivity of movement NIPAM was 0.1366 s −1 /Gy with linearity R 2 =0.998 both having only 0.001 of the sensitivity difference. The difference between the two based on dose rate dependency, position and depth was not significant. There was thus no apparent impact on NIPAM dosimeter from physiological motion. The high sensitivity, linearity and stability of NIPAM dosimeter proved to be an ideal apparatus in the dose measurement in these circumstances.

One of the problems in obtaining quality results is image registration when a gel dosimeter is used in conjunction with optical computed tomography (CT). This study proposes a passive alignment mechanism to obtain a precisely measured dose map. A holder plate with two pin–hole pairs is placed on the gel container cap. These two pin–hole pairs attach the gel container to the vertical shaft and can be precisely aligned with the rotation center of the vertical shaft at any time. Accordingly, a better reconstructed image quality is obtained. After obtaining a precisely measured dose map, the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT)-flow algorithm is utilized as an image registration method to align the treatment plan software (TPS) image with the measured dose map image. The results show that the gamma pass rate for the single-field irradiation increases from 83.39% to 94.03% when the algorithm is applied. And the gamma pass rate for the five-field irradiation treatment plan increases from 87.36% to 94.34%. The translation, scaling, and rotation occurring in the dose map image constructed using an optical CT scanner are also aligned with those in the TPS image using the SIFT-flow algorithm. Accordingly, improved gamma comparison results and a higher gamma pass rate are obtained.

In this study, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel, together with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was used to measure the relative three-dimensional (3D) dose distribution of an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) eye case. The gels were enclosed in cylindrical acrylic vessels with 10 cm outer diameter and 10 cm length. The gels were subsequently irradiated by delivering 5 Gy of a prescribed dose with a 6 MV linear accelerator using five fields. The 3D maps of the proton relaxation rate R2 were obtained using a 1.5 T MRI system correlated with the dose. The treatment planning system (TPS) data and NIPAM gel dosimeter data were compared with the experimental results in the form of relative dose distributions, including isodose curves, dose profiles, and gamma index maps. Results indicated that the linear relationship of the R2—dose for NIPAM gel dosimeters reached 0.999 within the dose range of 0 Gy to 12 Gy. Comparison of planar dose distributions among the gel dosimeters and TPS showed that the isodose lines corresponded to selected planes in the axial plane. For the 50% to 110% dose analysis, the maximum dose differences varied from 4.04% to 13.53%. Gamma evaluation of the planar dose profile resulted in pass rates of 96.84%, 83.16%, and 53.42% when the acceptance criteria of 3%/3 mm, 2%/2 mm, and 1%/1 mm, respectively, were used in the axial plane. Overall, the results showed that NIPAM polymer gel dosimeters can serve as a high-resolution, accurate, 3D tool for IMRT dose distribution verification.

An N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel dosimeter has great potential in clinical applications. However, its three-dimensional dose distribution must be assessed. In this work, a quantitative evaluation of dose distributions was performed to evaluate the NIPAM polymer gel dosimeter using gamma analysis. A cylindrical acrylic phantom filled with NIPAM gel measuring 10 cm (diameter) by 10 cm (height) by 3 mm (thickness) was irradiated by a 4×4 cm 2 square light field. The irradiated gel phantom was scanned using an optical computed tomography (optical CT) scanner (OCTOPUS ™ , MGS Research, Inc., Madison, CT, USA) at 1 mm resolution. The projection data were transferred to an image reconstruction program, which was written using MATLAB (The MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA). The program reconstructed the image of the optical density distribution using the algorithm of a filter back-projection. Three batches of replicated gel phantoms were independently measured. The average uncertainty of the measurements was less than 1%. The gel was found to have a high degree of spatial uniformity throughout the dosimeter and good temporal stability. A comparison of the line profiles of the treatment planning system and of the data measured by optical CT showed that the dose was overestimated in the penumbra region because of two factors. The first is light scattering due to changes in the refractive index at the edge of the irradiated field. The second is the edge enhancement caused by free radical diffusion. However, the effect of edge enhancement on the NIPAM gel dosimeter is not as significant as that on the BANG gel dosimeter. Moreover, the dose uncertainty is affected by the inaccuracy of the gel container positioning process. To reduce the uncertainty of 3D dose distribution, improvements in the gel container holder must be developed.

In radiotherapy, polymer gel dosimeters are used for three-dimensional (3D) dose distribution. However, the doses are within the Gy range. In this study, we attempted to develop a low-dose 3D dosimeter within the mGy range for diagnostic radiology. The effect of the iodinated compound was used as a dose enhancement sensitizer to enhance the dose sensitivity of normoxic polymer gel dosimeters. This study aims to use N -isopropylacrylamide(NIPAM)-based and methacrylic acid (MAGAT)-based gels to evaluate the potential dose enhancement sensitizer, as well as to compare two gels that may be suitable for measuring diagnostic radiation doses. The suitable formulation of NIPAM gel [5% (w/w) gelatin, 5% (w/w) NIPAM, 3% (w/w) N , N ′-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS), 5 mM tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC), and 87% (w/w) deionized distilled water] and MAGAT gel (4% MAA, 9% gelatin, 87% deionized water, and 10 mM THPC) were used and loaded with clinical iodinated contrast medium agent (Iobitridol, Xenetix ® 350). Irradiation was conducted using X-ray computed tomography. The irradiation doses ranged from 0 mGy to 80 mGy. Optical computed tomography was the employed gel measurement system. The results indicate that the iodinated contrast agent yields a quantifiable dose enhancement ratio. The dose enhancement ratios of NIPAM and MAGAT gels are 3.35±0.6 and 1.36±0.3, respectively. The developed NIPAM gel in this study could be suitable for measuring diagnostic radiation doses.

The accuracy of an optical computed tomography (CT)-based dosimeter is significantly affected by the refractive index (RI) of the matching liquid. Mismatched RI induces reflection and refraction as the laser beam passes through the gel phantom. Moreover, the unwanted light rays collected by the photodetector produce image artifacts after image reconstruction from the collected data. To obtain the best image quality, this study investigates the best-fit RI of the matching liquid for a 3D NIPAM gel dosimeter. The three recipes of NIPAM polymer gel used in this study consisted of 5% gelatin, 5% NIPAM and 3% N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide, which were combined with three compositions (5, 10, and 20 mM) of Tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride. Results were evaluated using a quantitative evaluation method of the gamma evaluation technique. Results showed that the best-fit RI for the non-irradiated NIPAM gel ranges from 1.340 to 1.346 for various NIPAM recipes with sensitivities ranging from 0.0113 to 0.0227. The greatest pass rate of 88.00% is achieved using best-fit RI=1.346 of the matching liquid. The adoption of mismatching RI decreases the gamma pass rate by 2.63% to 16.75% for all three recipes of NIPAM gel dosimeters. In addition, the maximum average deviation is less than 0.1% for the red and transparent matching liquids. Thus, the color of the matching liquid does not affect the measurement accuracy of the NIPAM gel dosimeter, as measured by optical CT.

Breast cancer mortality rates were significantly reduced in Taiwan after achieving early-stage monitoring with mammography screening. This study establishes an appropriate and traceable calibration infrastructure, which offers calibration services for mammography X-ray quality assurance instrumentation, which is performed clinically on a regular basis. The entrance air kerma, HVL, and kVp of mammography equipment with five different target/filter combinations can be taken as adequate indicators for the level of average glandular dose (AGD). The primary dose standard in mammography uses a free-air ionization chamber to estimate the rate of air kerma. Several correction factors were determined by Monte Carlo simulations and experiments. A secondary kVp standard in mammography is in accordance with the IEC 61676 recommendations. The calibration system of kVp meter uses a high-voltage divider, which is traceable to ITRI primary standard in Taiwan. Dose and kVp verifications were conducted by mammography instruments, which were previously calibrated by NIST and PTB. The evaluation results indicate that the capabilities of this irradiation system met the ISO 4037-1 requirements. The expanded uncertainties (k=2) were 1.03% and 1.6% when the mammography X-ray air kerma rate and kVp meter calibration factors were evaluated using ISO GUM. Experimental verification and a comparison with NIST using transfer ionization chambers yielded differences in calibration factors. Comparison with the PTB using kVp meter indicated a less than 1% difference. The results showed that dose and kVp standards were in reasonable agreement with standard uncertainty. The low uncertainties associated with the obtained results in this work show that the standardization employed can be accurately used for calibration of instrument in mammography in Taiwan.

In this study, the detailed characteristics, including spatial uniformity, dose distributions, inter-batch variability, reproducibility, and long-term temporal stability, of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel dosimeter were investigated. A commercial 10x fast optical computed tomography scanner (OCTOPUSTM-10×, MGS Research, Inc., Madison, CT, USA) was used to measure NIPAM polymer gel dosimeter. A cylindrical NIPAM gel phantom that measured 10 cm × 10 cm was irradiated via a single-field treatment plan with a field size of 4 cm × 4 cm. The maximum standard deviation of spatial uniformity for NIPAM gel was less than 0.29 %. The average standard deviation among the three batches of gel dosimeters was less than 1 %. The gamma pass rate could reach as high as 96.76 % when a 3 % dose difference and a 3 mm dose-to-agreement criteria were used. The long-term measurement of irradiated NIPAM gel dosimeter indicated that the dose maps attained a gradually stable value 15 h post-irradiation and remained stable until 72 h post-irradiation. The gamma pass rate could achieve a maximum value between 24 and 72 h post-irradiation. The edge enhancement effect that occurred around the irradiated region was observed 72 h post-irradiation. Thus, the results from this study suggest that NIPAM gel dosimeter should be measured approximately 24 h post-irradiation to reduce the occurrence of the edge enhancement effect.

In this study, in vitro and in vivo evaluations of the local delivery of 188Re-Tin colloid and doxorubicin (Dox) through chitosan (C)-based thermosensitive in situ-forming hydrogels by intratumoral injection in an orthotopic hepatoma-bearing rat model were carried out. Selective internal radiation therapy has been increasingly used as an alternative therapy option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and combined with biodegradable drug carrier systems to improve drug delivery and systemic toxicity. The C-based thermosensitive hydrogel (C/GP), an injectable thermogelling solution crosslinked between C and β-glycerophosphate (GP), was induced as an implanted carrier to combine the 188Re-Tin colloid and Dox as a novel treatment strategy. The compounded hydrogel characteristics, including the gelation time, controlled release of Dox, and morphology, were examined. In the animal study, the biodistribution, scintigraphy, therapeutic efficacy, and histopathology were also evaluated. The characterization results reveal that C/GP/Dox hydrogels have similar gelation times of 4–4.5 min and pore sizes of as small as 10 μm compared with C/GP hydrogels. The C/GP/Dox/188Re-Tin colloids have the longest release time for Dox at 2–3 days. In the in vivo experiments, both the biodistribution and scintigraphy studies have the highest hydrogel uptakes in the tumor at different time points, as well as localized radioactivities for a certain time. The therapeutic evaluation indicates that C/GP/Dox/188Re-Tin colloids can more significantly inhibit tumors compared with the control group at 2 and 4 weeks post-treatment. These results indicate that this novel treatment system is a promising option for inoperable HCC.

An investigation of the normoxic NIPAM gel dosimeter has been undertaken. The NIPAM gel dosimeter used in the current study was mainly composed of gelatin, NIPAM, N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS), and distilled water. This study aims to measure the change in the chemical structure of the NIPAM gel dosimeter after irradiation via the 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, and Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectra. The 13C-NMR experimental results show that the C=C bonds of NIPAM and BIS are at 126.74 and 131.62 ppm, respectively. The intensity of the C-C bond of the NIPAM gel dosimeter increases with the absorbed dose, and the dose–intensity curve of the C–C bond is determined by y = 0.0506 + 79.9 ( 1 − e 0.16 x ) (R2=0.9997). 1H-NMR and FT-Raman can also effectively determine the positions of the C=C bonds of NIPAM and BIS, and the intensity decreases as the absorbed radiation dose increases. Hence, 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, and FT-Raman spectrometers can effectively detect the changes in the chemical structure of the polymer gel dosimeter after irradiation and successfully determine the D50 dosage in the NIPAM gel dosimeter.

In this study, a long shelf life irradiated gel made from a low-toxicity N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer was used to study the dosimetric characteristics associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Specifically, the Taguchi method was utilized to investigate the influence of MRI scanning parameters on the performance objectives of NIPAM gels, and the priorities of the parameters that influence the process were determined using Delta statistics. The influence of different echo spacing on the relaxation rate–dose response of the gel and the relationship among the dose resolution (D Δ P ), dose accuracy, and reproducibility were also examined. The results indicated that the repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE), having Delta values of 3.81042 and 4.52752, respectively, were the most influential factors. Analysis of variance further confirmed that TE was the major factor, with a percentage contribution of 58.36 %, and TR was the second factor with a percentage contribution of 41.34 %. The maximum sensitivity was 0.1506 s−1 Gy−1 from 0 to 15 Gy, and the best D Δ P of the NIPAM gel was 0.017 Gy. Two months after the irradiation, no obvious changes in linearity and sensitivity were observed, indicating that the NIPAM gels are highly stable. The gel dosimeters were also applied in comparing the planar dose distributions of the gel dosimeters and treatment planning system. The comparison showed good agreement of isodose lines on selected planes in the transverse plane. This result indicates the great potential of the NIPAM dosimeter has a clinical dose verification tool.

Polymer gel dosimeters have been proved as a useful tool in the verification of treatment planning for three-dimensional radiation therapy. The degree of radiation-induced polymerization (DP) is a function of absorbed dose, and it can be determined in macro-scale by several imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical computed tomography, and computed tomography (CT). In this study, we determined the DP for the polymer gel dosimeter in micro-scale by texture analysis on scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The irradiated n-NIPAM gels with absorbed doses of 5 to 20 Gy delivered by the linear accelerator were freeze-dried and sliced. The SEM images were acquired at magnification of 50t, 500ntn and 3500t , respectively. Four image texture indices, including the entropy, contrast, energy and homogeneity, were estimated from the grey level co-occurrence matrix of each SEM image. The relationships between the radiation dose and texture indices were determined. The SEM images with 500t and 3500t magnification showed significant changes in morphological features of the irradiated gel. The r2 of the linear fitting from 3500t SEM images was 0.8194 (entropy), 0.6024 (contrast), 0.7681 (energy), and 0.9978 (homogeneity), respectively. We conclude that the texture analysis on SEM images is a feasible method to estimate the dose response of the polymer gel dosimeter.

Over the last two decades, radiotherapy techniques have become more sophisticated. Three-dimensional (3-D) dose verification is required to ensure accurate dose delivery to the planning target volume. Gel dosimeters have the potential to measure the 3-D dose distribution and thus can be applicable in radiotherapy. In this study, we developed a novel DEMBIG gel dosimeter based on the 2-(Dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate (DEMA) monomer and used computed tomography (CT) to evaluate its characteristics. The DEMBIG gel was composed of 7% gelatin, 5% monomer, and 4% crosslinker. The gel response to a dose from 1 to 25 Gy was examined. The energy dependence, dose rate dependence, and spatial resolution were evaluated as well. After 24 h post-irradiation, the DEMBIG gel reached steady state. The average sensitivity at the photon energy of 6 MV was 0.459 HU/Gy (R2=0.995). The variations in sensitivity between 6-, 10-, and 15-MV photons were lower than 3%, and the difference in sensitivity between the dose rate of 100 and 600 MU/min was 28%. For a beam profile of 3 × 6 cm2 and 6 MV, the 80%-20% penumbra for 0/5, 0/15, and 5/15 Gy can be around 2.73, 6.24, and 2.34 mm, respectively. We conclude that the DEMBIG gel dosimeter has high linearity of R2 = 0.995 and high sensitivity of 0.459 HU/Gy. With CT readout, it could be used in clinical radiotherapy to verify the accuracy of 3-D dose delivery.

A gel dosimeter is a three-dimensional (3-D) device that is used in radiotherapy. It is more efficient than traditional one-dimensional and two-dimensional dosimeters because it can be used in complicated radiation therapy applications. However, the achievement of temporal and spatial stabilities for gel dosimeters remains challenging in clinical applications because the fabrication process affects the polymerization reaction during irradiation. This study investigated the dose profile variation of an N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel dosimeter by using the 3-D optical computed tomography scanner OCTOPUSTM 10X (MGS Research Inc.). Two acrylic containers (diameter=10, height=10, and diameter=15, height=15cm ) filled with polymer gel (gelatin: 5%, NIPAM: 5%, Bis: 3%, THPC: 5 mM) were irradiated by using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIEMENS Oncor Impression, 6 MV Photo beam). The treatment field was a 3 cm 3 cm square field, and the prescribed dose was 5 Gy. The results of the reconstruction line profile showed that the uncertainty of non-irradiated gel is less than 1.3% when a container with 10 cm diameters cooled in a refrigerator with a water bath. The maximum uncertainties of the irradiated gel at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post-irradiation were 2.9%, 2.9%, and 3.1%, respectively. However, the maximum uncertainty of the non-irradiated gel dosimeter increased to 3% when a container with 15 cm diameter was cooled in the same refrigerator. After irradiation, the maximum uncertainties of the irradiated gel at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post-irradiation were 13.1%, 13.7%, and 12.95%, respectively. The uncertainty differences for gels at different container sizes were attributed to the different cooling rates that were applied to the gels. The time required for large gel containers to cool in the refrigerator was more than 10 h, whereas the cooling process only took 4.2 h for gels in a small container. The time difference produced different temperature histories for gels and may result in changes in gel sensitivity. Given the thermally induced pre-radiation polymerization, the time difference resulted in a deviation in dose profiles. This study reports that thermal control during gel preparation should be carefully performed for clinical applications to achieve a more accurate dose distribution in 3-D image reconstruction.

This study proposed a CCD-based (charge-coupled device) optical computed tomography scanner (CT-s2) for 3D gel dosimetry. A parallel laser light was generated to pass through the gel sample using a diffuser and collimating lens. A CCD was used to capture projection image of gel sample at each step. An image reconstruction algorithm, filtered-back projection (FBP) technique was used to reconstruct the 3D image. Two better rotational steps are suggested as 1.0 degree and 1.5 degree for considering both of angular resolution and position deviation. The un-irradiated and irradiated BANG gel samples were scanned and reconstructed using FBP technique. Some artifacts were found in reconstructed images. Some discussions for artifacts were conducted and some solutions provided by previous researches to reduce these artifacts will be evaluated in the future work.

To assess the correlation between advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with or without pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis (PLC) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake and its effect on survival outcomes.We retrospectively reviewed 157 patients with NSCLC. The mean and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean and SUVmax, respectively), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were evaluated for their effect on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).The PLC group included 55 patients and the non-PLC group included 102 patients. The SUVmean, SUVmax, MTV and TLG values were lower in the non-PLC group. In the PLC group, primary lung tumor TLG was a significant predictor of PFS, while whole-body TLG was found to be a significant predictor in non-PLC patients.Primary lung tumor TLG was a good predictor in PLC patients. Whole-body TLG could be a useful predictor only in patients without PLC.

Nowadays, radiotherapy attempts to deliver complex three-dimensional (3-D) dose distribution. The gel dosimeter, which can measure the 3-D dose output, is suitable for clinical use. This study developed an n-NIPAM gel dosimeter based on an N -isopropyl-acrylamide monomer, and used computed tomography (CT) to evaluate the characteristics of n-NIPAM gels. The n-NIPAM gel consisted of 6% gelatin, 5% monomer, and 2.5% cross-linker combined with 5 mM tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC) for deoxygenation. Dose responses of 2–15 Gy delivered by a linear accelerator were examined. Temporal instability, energy dependence, dose rate dependence, and spatial resolution were evaluated as well. Temporal instability appeared before 24 h post-irradiation. The maximum difference of sensitivity reached 33% for various dose rates from 100 to 500 cGy min −1 , while it was within 10% for X-ray energies from 6 to 15 MV. The average sensitivity of n-NIPAM under 6 MV and 400 cGy min −1 was 0.5689 HU Gy −1 , and the linearity ( R 2 =0.998) was comparable to that of the conventional NIPAM gels. For the spatial resolution, the edge spread distances were generally shorter than 6.5 mm for adjacent quadrants with different dose gradients of 5/10, 5/15, 10/20, and 15/20 Gy. We conclude that n-NIPAM has high linearity and high sensitivity. Although the energy dependence is minor, there is a slight dose rate dependence. The proposed dosimeter with CT readout is suitable in clinical radiotherapy to increase the accuracy of dose verification.

In this research, the acrylic acid (AAc) was grafted onto polypropylene (PP) fabrics with the gamma-ray (γ-ray) preirradiation. The effect of acrylic acid concentration, grafting time, grafting temperature were conducted to obtain the optimum carboxyl adsorber manufacturing conditions. Furthermore, the effectiveness of carboxyl adsorber for removal heavy metal ions using various operating conditions such as reaction time, pH and metal/carboxyl adsorber molar ratio was also evaluated in this research.

Studies on epidemics have demonstrated the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and mineral substances, such as selenium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, and vanadium, in human bodies. In this study, instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) were applied to evaluate the levels of selenium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, and iron in healthy individuals and CHD patients. Hair samples were collected from 42 healthy participants and 28 diagnosed CHD patients. Calcium, magnesium, copper, and zinc levels in healthy individuals are significantly higher than the levels found in the patients (p

The newly manufactured N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel is composed of four components, i.e., gelatin, monomer (NIPAM), crosslinker (N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide, Bis), and antioxidant (tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride, THPC). In this study, we investigated the effects of gel composition on the dose response of NIPAM polymer gel. A statistical experiment to analyze the contribution of each composition to the linearity and sensitivity of NIPAM gel was performed. Results indicate that the amount of gelatin, NIPAM (15.17%), Bis, and THPC have dominant effects on the sensitivity of the gel, with contributions of 59.73, 15.17, 10.64, and 14.45%, respectively. The amount of gelatin and Bis mainly affected the linearity of the gel, with contributions of 44.70 and 50.99%, respectively. The linearity of most compositions of the gel was greater than 0.99 when (%C)/(%T) was lower than 8.0. Optimal (%C)/(%T) for higher sensitivity should be in the range of 4−9. The temporal stability experiment showed that the dose response curve attained stability at about 5 h after irradiation and persisted up to 3 months.

Polymeric gel dosimeters are used to verify three-dimensional (3D) dose distributions of various types of radiotherapy treatments, particularly radiosurgery. The present paper investigates the low toxicity and high dose response of a new acrylate gel. The optimal recipe with the best linearity (R 2 = 0.998) is 7% gelatin, 5% 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate monomer, and 4% N′N′-methylene-bisacrylamide crosslinker. The dose range is 0–30 Gy, and the temporal stability time is 12 h after irradiation. No significant energy dependency has been observed. The results show that the 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate N′N′-methylene-bisacrylamide gelatin gel is a potential 3D dosimeter.

A previously developed internal radiation therapy mode adopting a thermo-sensitive, chitosan-based hydrogel intended for local delivery of 188Re–Tin colloid drug was extended to test for its applicability to the treatment of hepatoma in rats. The effects of two formulations of hydrogel with different gel times and two methods of delivering the hydrogel containing 188Re–Tin colloid into tumors on the accumulated dose and duration of radioactivity within tumor were first studied by in vitro release, planar scintigraphy, and bio-distribution evaluations. Results from this initial study suggest that a treatment mode using the intratumoral delivery method and a 4 min gel time hydrogel to deliver the 188Re–Tin colloid into the tumor is more effective for treating hepatoma in rats. The treatment mode was then further verified through efficacy evaluations based on hepatic tumor growth in hepatoma-bearing rats. In conclusion, the application of chitosan/β-glycero-phosphate (C/GP) hydrogel for the local delivery of 188Re–Tin colloid to treat hepatoma in rats is feasible. The effective and efficient treatment mode consists of the intratumoral injection of 188Re–Tin colloid premixed with 4 min gel time C/GP hydrogel.

Radiotherapy widely uses the polymer gel dosimeter. The advantage of polymer gel dosimetry is the mapped 3D absorbed dose distribution that other dosimeters cannot achieve. The Acrylamide (AAm) is a frequently used monomer; however, the extreme toxicity of Acrylamide (ORL-RAT LD50: 124 mg/kg) raises a concern. Therefore, this study developed a new type of Propylene acid based gel dosimeter, named DEMBIG gel. The following outlines the aim of this study: (1) using two-point formulation to find the optimal scan parameter of MRI according to the best sensitivity and linearity (correlation coefficient) of DEMBIG gel, (2) using the optimal scan parameter of MRI to observe the properties of DEMBIG gel, and (3) verifying the three-dimensional (3D) dose distributions of radiotherapy. This study obtained three major results: 1. The scan protocol of MRI was established. 2. The preliminary results of DEMBIG gel were: (1) The range of absorbed dose of DEMBIG gel: 0–20 Gy. (2) The sensitivity and correlation coefficient of DEMBIG gel at verification as slope: 0.181 sGy−1, R 2:0.997. (3) There is no energy dependency of the DEMBIG gel. 3. The dose difference was 3% in the three-dimensional (3D) isocenter dose in clinical radiotherapy. These data show that DEMBIG gel is a potential candidate for the 3D dosimeter.

Background: Long-term follow-up studies revealed a significant decline in the benefits of intracoronary radiation for in-stent restenosis. Methods and Results: A total of 25 study and 25 contemporaneous control patients with diffuse in-stent restenosis who underwent cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA) transradially, followed by subsequent intracoronary irradiation with a liquid β-emitter Rhenium-188 (188Re)-filled balloon were enrolled in the study. The mean clinical follow-up durations were 64.9±13.0 and 66.3±13.8 months for the irradiated and control patients, respectively. Six-month angiographic restenosis was observed in 16% (4 of 25) of the patients in the irradiated group and 48% (12 of 25) of the patients in the control groups (P=0.03). The 6-month major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rate was 12% and 44%, respectively (P=0.025). The 3-year follow-up angiography was performed in 16 of 21 (76%) irradiated patients and in 4 of 13 (31%) control patients who had no significant restenosis at the 6-month angiographic follow-up. Restenosis occurred in 1 of 16 (7%) irradiated patients and 2 of 4 (50%) control patients. Late target lesion revascularization was performed in 1 irradiated and 2 control patients. The MACE rate within 6 years was significantly reduced in the irradiated group (20% vs. 56%, P=0.019). Conclusions: Brachytherapy using 188Re-filled balloon following CBA for diffuse in-stent restenotic native coronary arteries is effective in reducing target lesion restenosis and improving long-term outcomes. (Circ J 2011; 75: 113-120)

This paper describes the potential of using gamma radiation technology to degrade trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) wastewater. The experimental method is divided into two parts: (1) using the gamma-ray to irradiate the TCE and PCE solution, the dose-rate is 10Gy/minute, the irradiation dosage is 0-2.5kGy and (2) self-making the UV irradiation system, the tube specification is 254nm and 6W, and turning on 8 tubes at the same time to make the irradiation. The efficiency of degradation ratio for gamma-ray is better than UV in the range of 0.1-250ppm; for example, as for the concentration of 0.1ppm, when TCE is degraded to D(90) and T(90), the gamma-ray only needed 46.7Gy and took about 4.67 minutes, but UV needed to take about 28.1 minutes. The dose-concentration equations of TCE and PCE are: TCE: y=44.58+8.832x, R(2)=0.999; and PCE: y=81.33+12.81x, R(2)=0.997. We verified that the radiation technology is able to effectively degrade the organic chlorine wastewater without yielding the secondary pollution, and the TCE and PCE that degraded by using gamma-ray will be reached US-EPA and Taiwan Effluent Standard (5ppb).

Intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT) has been recognised as a treatment modality for reducing coronary restenosis after angioplasty and stent-implantation procedures. For the treatment of in-stent restenosis using beta-emitter (188)Re, delivering adequate doses to the entire vessel wall is not possible without the potential of overdosing tissues. A method to measure the dose distribution, perturbation and percentage depth dose using plane-parallel and cylindrical tissue-equivalent phantoms has been developed. Good agreement was found between experimental results and Monte Carlo simulation performed using MCNP4C code. The dose given to the affected area in the vascular region for intravascular radiation treatment was 15-30 Gy. Dose inhomogeneity beyond the stent surface decreased significantly with increasing radial distance. In the region close to the stent outer surface (>0.5-mm radial distance), a dose reduction of 11-17% due to the stent was observed. However, the dose perturbations due to the physical properties of metallic stents were found to be significant in IVBT for in-stent restenosis by using measured dose profiles in phantoms. The method can provide accuracy in beta isotope in vivo dosimetry results for treatments involving short-range dose distributions and provide a relatively high-level spatial resolution for detection.

Hyperthermia using ferrofluid with alternating current (AC) magnetic field, which is the principal method we try to use in this study, where chitosan was used as a surfactant agent. Irradiation of Co-60 plays multi-function roles on the syntheses of chitosan-coated nanoparticles. Optimal conditions for synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles have been successfully found by the Taguchi method in which the dominated quality characteristic was SAR.

Indium-111 and 99mTc have been proposed for colonic transit study, but 111In is expensive and the half-life of 99mTc is too short for the study. Gallium-67 citrate is inexpensive and has a suitable half-life. In our previous study, we successfully labeled 67Ga-citrate activated charcoal, and the labeling efficiency exceeded 91% after a 96 hour incubation period. In this work, we evaluated the influence of the size of activated charcoal particles on the labeling efficiency with 67Ga-citrate. The data showed that the influence of particle size on the labeling efficiency of activated charcoal with 67Ga was insignificant. Both sizes of activated charcoal particles can be used for labeling with 67Ga in colonic transit study.

Twenty clinical scale alumina-based 188W/188Re generators and carrier-free 188Re has been produced at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER-Taiwan) for over ten years. 2845.6 GBq (76.9 Ci) of 188Re-perrhenate solution has been eluted from generators during the past ten years. We have used the harvesting 188Re solution for labeling radiopharmaceuticals, such as 188Re-HEDP, 188Re-MDP, 188Re-microsphere, 188Re-lipiodol, and 188Re-sulfur colloid, etc. The average eluting yield of 188Re is 78.6±5.8% that was investigated at 1115 harvesting times from 20 generators. Each generator can be used more than six months but the Millipore needs to be changed every two months for smooth harvesting and high yield of 188Re solution.

A new method for the synthesis of 188Re-Lipiodol without using a chelating agent and to evaluate the stability and biodistribution of the new agent in rats with hepatic tumors was attempted. Eighteen male Sprague -Dawley rats with liver tumors were sacrificed at 1, 24, and 48 hours (six rats at each time) after injection of approximately 7.4 MBq (0.2 mCi) of 188Re Lipiodol via the hepatic artery. Samples of tumor, liver and other organs were collected and tissue concentration (%ID/g) of the markers were calculated. Our data showed a high level of radioactivity in the hepatic tumors at every time of the study. The ratios of tumor to normal liver tissue concentration (T/N ratio) were 7.62 at 1 hour, 8.03 at 24 hours, and 7.70 at 48 hours. Except for the liver, kidneys and lungs, concentrations in other organs were low. The new method for labeling Lipiodol with 188Re is simple and has potential for the treatment of hepatic tumors

Study objective To assess the feasibility and short-term outcome of intracoronary irradiation after pure balloon angioplasty (POBA) of de novo and post-POBA restenotic lesions with a liquid β-emitter 188 Re-filled balloon. Design and setting Nonrandomized prospective study with contemporaneous control group in a single medical center. Patients and methods In the Taiwan Radiation in Prevention of Post-Pure Balloon Angioplasty Restenosis study, 40 patients underwent 14-Gy irradiation and 15 patients underwent 20-Gy irradiation at a tissue depth of 0.5 mm after POBA. Thirty control patients received a 5-min inflation with a perfusion balloon catheter after POBA. Results No procedural or in-hospital complications, or 30-day major adverse cardiac events were noted. Six-month angiographic restenosis rates were 49% in the 14-Gy group, 20% in the 20-Gy group, and 57% in the control group (p = 0.05, 20-Gy group vs control group). In the lesions with an arc of calcification of Conclusions Post-POBA, catheter-based brachytherapy in nonstented native coronary artery with a 188 Re-filled balloon can effectively reduce target lesion restenosis with 20-Gy irradiation at a tissue depth of 0.5 mm and seems to be more effective in the treatment of lesions with an arc of calcification

The effects on vascular restenosis of intravascular radiation delivery from 188Rhenium (Re)-perrhenate liquid-filled balloon through beta-particle radiation are controversial. To determine the effect of beta-radiation on vascular injury in hypercholesterolemic rabbits, thirty rabbits fed with a high cholesterol diet were enrolled into this study. All the rabbits underwent percutaneous transluminal balloon overstretch over left iliac artery. After balloon overstretch, the catheter was withdrawn and immediately followed by irradiation using low dose 188Re solution (10 Gray) in the vascular wall 0.5 mm distal to intimal surface. After 2 and 6 weeks, arteries were harvested for histological and immunological analysis. This rabbit study suggest that endovascular 188Re low dose irradiation at the non-injury segment of iliac artery may enhance intima hyperplasia and smooth muscle cell proliferation.

To assess the correlation between thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF1) protein expression in primary tumors from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake, and to determine its effect on survival outcomes.We categorized 112 patients with NSCLC according to TTF1 expression (TTF1(+): n=59, TTF1(-): n=53), and retrospectively determined whether positron-emission topography measurements, including standardized uptake values [mean (SUVm) and maximum (SUVmax)], metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and other clinical factors could predict progression-free (PFS) or overall (OS) survival of these patients.The SUVm, SUVmax, MTV, and TLG values were lower in the TTF1(+) group; their survival outcomes were also better. The SUVm, SUVmax, and TLG values were good prognostic indicators for OS and PFS in this group.Primary NSCLC tumors expressing TTF1 had lower FDG uptake than those that did not and this was a good prognostic indicator.

The introduction of beam intensity control concept in current radiotherapy techniques has increased treatment planning complexity. Thus, small-field dose measurement has become increasingly vital. Polymer gel dosimetry method is widely studied. It is the only dose measurement tool that provides 3D dose distribution. This study aims to use an N -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) gel dosimeter to conduct beam performance measurements of percentage depth dose (PDD), beam flatness, and symmetry for photon beams with field sizes of 3×3 and 4×4 cm 2 . Computed tomography scans were used to readout the gel dosimeters. In the PDD measurement, the NIPAM gel dosimeter and Gafchromic TM EBT3 radiochromic film displayed high consistency in the region deeper than the build-up region. The gel dosimeter dose profile had 3% lower flatness and symmetry measurement at 5 cm depth for different fields compared with that of the Gafchromic TM EBT3 film. During gamma evaluation under 3%/3 mm dose difference/distance-to-agreement standard, the pass rates of the polymer gel dosimeter to the TPS and EBT3 film were both higher than 96%. Given that the gel is tissue equivalent, it did not exhibit the energy dependence problems of radiochromic films. Therefore, the practical use of NIPAM polymer gel dosimeters is enhanced in clinical dose verification.

Rhenium-188 microsphere is a relatively new radiation synovectomy agent developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It has been shown that the levels of unwanted extra-articular radiation are negligible with this agent. A histologic study was conducted to assess the effect of radiation synovectomy on synovium and articular cartilage after intra-articular injection of various doses of Re-188 microspheres into the knee joints of rabbits. Intra-articular injection of Re-188 microspheres into rabbit knee joints resulted in mild reactive inflammation and thrombotic occlusion of vessels which subsided rapidly. Sclerosis of subsynovium could be seen 12 weeks after injection. No evidence of damage to articular cartilage was noted. There was no significant difference in the articular pattern after injection of 0.3 or 0.6 mCi Re-188 microspheres. This study suggests that a treatment dose of Re-188 microspheres causes transient inflammation of synovium without any detectable damage to the articular cartilage of knee joint.

Balloon angioplasty is a standard treatment for artherosclerotic coronary artery disease. However, its clinical value is reduced by a high restenosis rate. A new concept in preventing restenosis is the use of a liquid-filled balloon containing a beta-emitting radioisotope. In this study, we performed biodistribution studies of Re-188 perrhenate and Re-188 diethylenetriaminopentaacetate (DTPA) to assess the resulting organ dose values in the event of balloon rupture if these agents are used for the clinical inhibition of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). After injecting Re-188 preparations intravenously, rats were killed at 10 min, 30 min, 60 min, 2 h, and 6 h (n = 5 per group). Tissue concentrations were calculated and expressed as percent injected dose per gram or per milliliter (%ID/g or %ID/mL). In addition, urine excretion and thyroid gland uptake were evaluated in rats (n = 5 per group) with a gamma camera after administration of 37 MBq (1 mCi) of each agent. Our data showed that both agents were excreted primarily via urine. However, the excretion of Re-188 DTPA was much faster than that of Re-188 perrhenate via the urinary system. The biodistribution data revealed that radioactivity levels in the stomach and the thyroid gland were high in the perrhenate group but low in the Re-188 DTPA group. The concentration levels in other tissues including lung, liver, testis, muscle, and blood were low throughout this study for both agents. The thyroid radiation value in the Re-188 perrhenate group was 0.163 mGy/MBq, which was much higher than that of the Re-188 DTPA group (0.0167 mGy/MBq). The stomach radiation value was as high as 0.127 mGy/MBq for Re-188 perrhenate, compared with 0.013 mGy/MBq for Re-188 DTPA. In conclusion, in the event of balloon rupture, the release of Re-188 DTPA results in lower radiation doses than Re-188 perrhenate, especially to the thyroid gland and the stomach. Our data suggest that Re-188 DTPA is a useful radiopharmaceutical for endovascular irradiation.

In the past, many diphosphonates were introduced as bone scan radiopharmaceuticals. In addition, diphosphonates have been labeled with beta-emitted isotopes and developed into useful therapeutic drugs for bone metastases. However, it is not clear which diphosphonate is the best choice when labeling with Re-188. In this study, we labeled methylene diphosphonate (MDP), hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate (HEDP), and hydroxymethane diphosphonate (HDP) with Re-188. Each radiopharmaceutical was further evaluated in two conditions (with and without carrier). Twenty-four rabbits were used (four in each group) for the analysis of the biodistributions and bone uptakes of these radiopharmaceuticals to assess their potential for clinical applicability. Four hours after intravenous injection of approximately 37 MBq (1 mCi) Re-188-labeled diphosphonate preparations, whole body scans were performed using a large-field gamma camera equipped with a high resolution collimator. Bone-to-soft tissue ratios (B/S ratio) were calculated using a computer program. Our data showed that Re-188 HEDP with carrier (10 −4 M carrier) could accumulate in the skeletal system whereas very little absorption by bone was observed in the rabbits that were injected with carrier-free Re-188 HEDP. In addition, no significant bone uptake was demonstrated for Re-188 MDP or Re-188 HDP, with or without carrier. The B/S ratio was 25.06 in the Re-188 HEDP with carrier group but less than 3 in the other groups. In conclusion, HEDP is the best choice among these three bone-seeking drugs when labeled with Re-188. But, it is necessary to add carrier when preparing Re-188 HEDP for the treatment of bone metastases.

The evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of pure, beta radiopharmaceuticals is not possible with scintigraphy. Both whole-body autoradiography (WBAR) and Packard Instantimager, a device for rapid imaging, were used to study the whole body distribution of γ- and β-emitting radionuclides (99mTc-MDP,99mTc-sulfur colloid, or188Re-HEDP), and results obtained from both methods were compared. The biodistribution of99mTc-MDP and188Re-HEDP were seen mainly in bones including skull, spine, and vertebrae of spine and cardiac and skeletal muscles. The99mTc-sulfur colloid localized in liver, bone marrow, and spleen. The resolution of WBAR is superior than that of Packard Instantimager. However, the advantage of Packard Instantimager is that rapid imaging within few minutes is possible with it, while WBAR imaging requires several hours to days.

Polymer gels are regarded as a potential dosimeter for independent validation of absorbed doses in clinical radiotherapy. Several imaging modalities have been used to convert radiation-induced polymerization to absorbed doses from a macro-scale viewpoint. This study developed a novel dose conversion mechanism by texture analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The modified N-isopropyl-acrylamide (NIPAM) gels were prepared under normoxic conditions, and were administered radiation doses from 5 to 20 Gy. After freeze drying, the gel samples were sliced for SEM scanning with 50×, 500×, and 3500× magnifications. Four texture indices were calculated based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). The results showed that entropy and homogeneity were more suitable than contrast and energy as dose indices for higher linearity and sensitivity of the dose response curves. After parameter optimization, an R (2) value of 0.993 can be achieved for homogeneity using 500× magnified SEM images with 27 pixel offsets and no outlier exclusion. For dose verification, the percentage errors between the prescribed dose and the measured dose for 5, 10, 15, and 20 Gy were -7.60%, 5.80%, 2.53%, and -0.95%, respectively. We conclude that texture analysis can be applied to the SEM images of gel dosimeters to accurately convert micro-scale structural features to absorbed doses. The proposed method may extend the feasibility of applying gel dosimeters in the fields of diagnostic radiology and radiation protection.