Radiation damage and recovery of plastic scintillators under ultra-high dose rate 200 MeV electrons (VHEEs) at CERN CLEAR facility

The team investigates the radiation damage and recovery of plastic scintillators under ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) conditions using 200 MeV electrons at the CERN CLEAR facility (VHEEs). Their findings highlight the challenges of accurate dosimetry in UHDR radiotherapy and explores the potential of plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) for research and clinical applications using this innovative beam conditions and modality.

HYPERSCINT, developed by Medscint, is uniquely positioned to address these challenges with its hyperspectral technology, enabling precise differentiation between scintillation and Cherenkov emissions. This innovation enhances dosimetry accuracy, making HYPERSCINT a valuable tool for advancing UHDR radiotherapy research and clinical implementation, including VHEEs.

Physics in Medicine & Biology
Cloé Giguère (1,2), Alexander Hart (3), Joseph Bateman (4), Pierre Korysko (4,5), Wilfrid Farabolini (5), Yoan LeChasseur (6), Magdalena Bazalova-Carter (3), Luc Beaulieu (1,2) | 1. Département de Physique, de Génie Physique et d’Optique et Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval – CANADA, 2. Département de Radio-Oncologie et Axe Oncologie du CRCHU de Québec, CHU de Québec, Université Laval – CANADA, 3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria – CANADA, 4. Department of Physics, University of Oxford – UK, 5. CERN – SWITZERLAND, 6. Medscint – CANADA

Radioluminescence-based fibre-optic dosimeters in radiotherapy: a review (incl. HYPERSCINT)

In their comprehensive review, Veronese et al. examine the evolution and clinical application of radioluminescence-based fiber-optic dosimeters (FODs) in radiotherapy. These dosimeters have become essential tools in modern radiotherapy due to their capability for real-time, high-resolution dose measurements with minimal perturbation of the radiation field.

The authors discuss a wide range of scintillating materials, their properties, and dosimetric performance. They provide a thorough comparison of various solutions for addressing the stem-effect, a critical issue in fiber-optic dosimetry. Solutions reviewed include the hyperspectral approach (utilized by Medscint’s HYPERSCINT system), twin-fiber subtraction, optical filtering, dual-channel spectral discrimination, temporal gating, air-core light guides, and real-time Optically Stimulated Luminescence (rtOSL). Notably, the hyperspectral technology employed by HYPERSCINT represents a major advancement, effectively overcoming many limitations of other approaches by offering superior accuracy, simplified calibration procedures, and enhanced robustness, particularly valuable in complex clinical scenarios.

The review also emphasizes the growing adoption and diverse clinical applications of FODs, highlighting their significant role in improving treatment precision and patient safety. Clinical applications addressed in the review include small-field dosimetry, brachytherapy and in vivo dosimetry; advanced radiotherapy modalities such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT), hadron and proton therapies; and finally a special attention to MRI-Linac dosimetry and ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) or FLASH radiotherapy.

Radiation Measurements
Ivan Veronese (1), Claus E. Andersen (2), Enbang Li (3), Levi Madden (4), Alexandre M.C. Santos (5, 6, 7) | Department of Physics, University of Milan and National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Milano Unit, Italy, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark, School of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Australia, Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research, Australia, Radiation Oncology, Central Adelaide Local Heath Network, Australia, School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia

Plastic scintillator dosimetry of ultrahigh dose-rate 200 MeV electrons at CLEAR

Very high energy electron (VHEE) beams with energies greater than 100 MeV may be promising candidates for FLASH radiotherapy due to their favourable dose distributions and accessibility of ultrahigh dose-rates (UHDR). The standard dosimeters used for conventional radiotherapy, including ionization chambers and film, have limited application to UHDR radiotherapy due to deficits in dose rate independence and temporal resolution. The performance of PSDs in this work suggest they may be useful real-time dosimeters for applications in UHDR VHEE radiotherapy.

IEEE Xplore
Alexander Hart (1), Cloé Giguère (2,6), Joseph Bateman (3,4), Pierre Korysko (3,4), Wilfrid Farabolini (3), Vilde Rieker (3,5), Nolan Esplen (1), Roberto Corsini (3), Manjit Dosanjh (3,4), Luc Beaulieu(2,6), Magdalena Bazalova-Carter (1) | 1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, 2. Département de Physique, de génie Physique et d’optique et Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada, 3. CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, 4. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 5. Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, 6. Département de radio-oncologie et Axe Oncologie duCRCHUde Québec, CHUde Québec – Universit é Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada

First Experimental Demonstration of Time-Resolved Plastic Scintillation Dosimetry On An MR-Linac

In this study, UMC Utrecht research team demonstrates the feasibility of a hybrid experimental setup combining an innovative multipoint scintillator detector with film in a moving phantom quantifying MLC tracking for lung SBRT. The prototype cassette is capable of measuring dose (with film and 4 points scintillators simultaneously) during motion experiments, combining film dosimetry with time-resolved and absolute dosimetry.

2022 AAPM ANNUAL MEETING
P.Uijtewaal (1), P.Borman (1), B.Côté (2), Y.Lechasseur (2), J.Turcotte (2), S.Lambert-girard (2), P.Woodhead (1), S.Woodings (1), W.de Vries (1), R.Flores (3), S.Smith (3), B.Raaymakers (1), M.Fast (1) | 1 – UMC Utrecht, Netherland, 2 – Medscint, Canada, 3 – Modus Medical Devices, Canada

Development and characterization of an optical fiber-based Cerenkov dosimeter

This study introduces a novel hybrid Cerenkov-scintillation dosimeter

2021 COMP ASM
E.Jean (1,2,3), S.Lambert-girard (3), F.Therriault-Proulx (3), L.Beaulieu (1,2) | CHU de Quebec – Universite Laval, QC, CA, Département de radio-oncologie et Axe Oncologie du CRCHU de Québec, QC, CA, MedScint, QC, CA

Development of a Novel Hybrid Scintillation-Cerenkov Detector for Simultaneous Dose and Irradiation Angle Measurements

This study introduces a novel hybrid detector capable of simultaneous dose and direct irradiation angle measurements based on Cerenkov angular dependency.

2021 AAPM AM
E.Jean (1,2), S.Lambert-girard (3), F.Therriault-Proulx (3), L.Beaulieu (1) | CHU de Quebec – Universite Laval, QC, CA, CHAUR, Trois-Rivieres, QC, CA , MedScint, QC, CA

Plastic and Lead-Doped Scintillators for Ultrahigh Dose-Rate Irradiations Delivered with An X-Ray Tube

To examine the capabilities of plastic scintillators of different compositions to accurately measure dose in high dose-rate dose irradiations delivered with an x-ray tube.

2021 AAPM AM
D.Cecchi (1), C.Gigeure (2), F.Larose (2), F.Therriault-Proulx (3), L.Beaulieu (2), M.Bazalova-Carter (1) | University of Victoria, Victoria, BC ,CA,, CHU de Quebec – Universite Laval, QC, CA, MedScint, QC, CA

Deformable Scintillation Dosimeter: II. Real-Time Simultaneous Measurements of Dose and Tracking of Deformation Vector Fields

This article introduces a novel deformable dosimeter that can measure the dose distribution and track the deformation of a material during radiotherapy treatments using the HYPERSCINT dosimetry system. The dosimeter is made of an array of 19 scintillating fiber detectors embedded in a cylindrical elastomer matrix. It is imaged by two pairs of stereoscopic cameras that record the position, angulation and dose of the scintillators.

Physics in Medicine & Biology
Emily Cloutier (1,2), Luc Beaulieu(1,2), Louis Archambault (1,2) | 1. Service de physique médicale et Axe Oncologie du Centre de recherche, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Canada, 2. Département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique, et Centre de recherche sur le cancer, Université Laval, Québec, Canada

Real-time dosimetry of ultrahigh dose-rate x-ray beams using scintillation detectors

FLASH radiation therapy using an ultrahigh dose-rate beam is found to eradicate tumours whilst significantly reducing radiation-induced tissue toxicity. A real-time dosimetry system is required for the technique to be implemented clinically and for further preclinical studies. This study aimed to optimize the design of scintillating detectors using inorganic materials for real-time dosimetry in ultrahigh dose-rate radiation applications. Inorganic scintillator detectors were fabricated using phosphor-based scintillating materials (Gd2O2S:Tb, La2O2S:Tb, and La2O2S:Eu) coupled with optical fibers. The initial results in ultrahigh dose-rate x-ray irradiation showed excellent linearity with signal independent of the dose rate and dose delivered. A hyperspectral approach is adopted in this study to account for the stem effect that occurs within the high energy typically used in radiotherapy.

IEEE
Shahirah Shaharuddin (1), Alexander Hart (2), Daniel D. Cecchi (2), Magdalena Bazalova-Carter (2), Mark Foley (1) | 1. School of Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland, 2. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria, Canada