Enhanced method for determining the low-LET saturation dose of PRESAGE®

An accurate value for the saturation dose of PRESAGE® is important in elucidating the mechanism of the so-called quenching phenomenon in the 3-D dosimetry of proton beams. This quantity is difficult to obtain, because it involves measuring the optical density of a set of very highly attenuating samples. We present a novel method that makes use of the ability to irradiate microscopically-thin "slices" of a cuvette using microplanar beams from a synchrotron. Using the new method, we were able to measure optical densities of up to 50 cm-1 using a standard spectrophotometer, and we derived a value 14000 Gy for the saturation parameter D 37.