| 1. |
- Carlsson, Carl A., et al.
(författare)
-
Basic physics of X-ray imaging
- 1973
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In X-ray diagnostics, radiation that is partly transmitted through and partly absorbed in the irradiated object is utilised. An X-ray image shows the variations in transmission caused by structures in the object of varying thickness, density or atomic composition. After an introductory description of the nature of X-rays, the most important processes in the X-ray source, the object (patient) and radiation detector for the generation of an X-ray image will be described.
|
|
| 2. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
-
A system for remote dosimetry audit of 3D-CRT, IMRT and VMAT based on lithium formate dosimetry
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Radiotherapy and Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 0167-8140 .- 1879-0887. ; 113:2, s. 279-282
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this work was to develop and test a remote end-to-end audit system using lithium formate EPR dosimeters. Four clinics were included in a pilot study, absorbed doses determined in the PTV agreed with TPS calculated doses within ±5% for 3D-CRT and ±7% (k=1) for IMRT/VMAT dose plans.
|
|
| 3. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
-
Investigation of signal fading in lithium formate EPR dosimeters using a new sensitive method
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 57:8, s. 2209-2217
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate signal fading in lithium formate electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimeters used for clinical applications in radiotherapy. A new experimental method for determination of signal fading, designed to resolve small changes in signal from slowly decaying unstable radicals, was used. Possible signal fading in lithium formate due to different storage temperatures was also tested. Air humidity was kept at a constant level of 33% throughout the experiments. The conclusion drawn from the investigations was that the EPR signal from lithium formate is stable during at least 1 month after irradiation and is not sensitive to variations in storage temperature andlt;40 degrees C when kept at a relative air humidity of 33%. This makes lithium formate a suitable dosimeter for transfer dosimetry in clinical audits.
|
|
| 4. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, 1985-
(författare)
-
Lithium formate EPR dosimetry for accurate measurements of absorbed dose in radiotherapy
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lithium formate has shown to be a material with properties suitable for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry, among them up to 7 times higher sensitivity compared to alanine, which is a well-established EPR detector material for dose determinations in radiotherapy.The aim of this thesis was to further investigate the properties of lithium formate and develop the dosimetry system towards applications in radiotherapy. The intrinsic efficiency for energies of relevance to brachytherapy and the signal stability were investigated. The dosimetry system was expanded to include a smaller dosimeter model, suitable for measurements in dose gradient regions. An individual sensitivity correction method was applied to the smaller dosimeters to be able to perform dose determinations with the same precision as for the larger ones. EPR dosimetry in general is time consuming and effort was spent to optimize the signal readout procedure regarding measurement time and measurement precision.The system was applied in two clinical applications chosen for their high demands on the dosimetry system: 1) a dosimetry audit for external photon beam therapy and 2) dose verification measurements around a low energy HDR brachytherapy source.The conclusions drawn from this thesis were: dose determinations can be performed with a standard uncertainty of 1.8-2.5% using both the original size dosimeters and the new developed smaller ones. The dosimetry system is robust and useful for applications when high measurement precision and accuracy is prioritized. It is a good candidate for dosimetry audits, both in external beam therapy and brachytherapy.
|
|
| 5. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
-
Measurement of absorbed dose to water around an electronic brachytherapy source : Comparison of two dosimetry systems: lithium formate EPR dosimeters and radiochromic EBT2 film
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 60:9, s. 3869-3882
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interest in high dose rate (HDR) electronic brachytherapy operating at 50 kV is increasing. For quality assurance it is important to identify dosimetry systems that can measure the absorbed doses in absolute terms which is difficult in this energy region. In this work a comparison is made between two dosimetry systems, EPR lithium formate dosimeters and radiochromic EBT2 film.Both types of dosimeters were irradiated simultaneously in a PMMA phantom using the Axxent EBS. Absorbed dose to water was determined at distances of 10 mm, 30 mm and 50 mm from the EBS. Results were traceable to different primary standards as regards to absorbed dose to water (EPR) and air kerma (EBT2). Monte Carlo simulations were used in absolute terms as a third estimate of absorbed dose to water.Agreement within the estimated expanded (k = 2) uncertainties (5% (EPR), 7% (EBT2)) was found between the results at 30 mm and 50 mm from the x-ray source. The same result was obtained in 4 repetitions of irradiation, indicating high precision in the measurements with both systems. At all distances, agreement between EPR and Monte Carlo simulations was shown as was also the case for the film measurements at 30mm and 50mm. At 10mm the geometry for the film measurements caused too large uncertainty in measured values depending on the exact position (within sub-mm distances) of the EBS and the 10 mm film results were exculded from comparison.This work has demonstrated good performance of the lithium formate EPR dosimetry system in accordance with earlier experiments at higher photon energies (192Ir HDR brachytherapy). It was also highlighted that there might be issues regarding the energy dependence and intrinsic efficiency of the EBT2 film that need to be considered for measurements using low energy sources.
|
|
| 6. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
-
Optimisation of an EPR dosimetry system for robust and high precision dosimetry
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Radiation Measurements. - : Elsevier. - 1350-4487 .- 1879-0925. ; 70, s. 21-28
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Clinical applications of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry systems demand high accuracy causing time consuming analysis. The need for high spatial resolution dose measurements in regions with steep dose gradients demands small sized dosimeters. An optimization of the analysis was therefore needed to limit the time consumption. The aim of this work was to introduce a new smaller lithium formate dosimeter model (diameter reduced from standard diameter 4.5 mm to 3 mm and height from 4.8 mm to 3 mm). To compensate for reduced homogeneity in a batch of the smaller dosimeters, a method for individual sensitivity correction suitable for EPR dosimetry was tested. Sensitivity and repeatability was also tested for a standard EPR resonator and a super high Q (SHQE) one. The aim was also to optimize the performance of the dosimetry system for better efficiency regarding measurement time and precision. A systematic investigation of the relationship between measurement uncertainty and number of readouts per dosimeter was performed. The conclusions drawn from this work were that it is possible to decrease the dosimeter size with maintained measurement precision by using the SHQE resonator and introducing individual calibration factors for dosimeter batches. It was also shown that it is possible reduce the number of readouts per dosimeter without significantly decreasing the accuracy in measurements.
|
|
| 7. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
-
Response of Lithium Formate EPR Dosimeters at Photon Energies Relelvant to Brachytherapy
- 2009
-
Ingår i: IFMBE Proceedings. - Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 9783642034725 - 9783642034749 ; , s. 236-239
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- After development of sensitive dosimeter materials Electron Paramagnetic Resonance EPR dosimetry has been successfully used also in radiation therapy. The intensity of the EPR-signal is a measure of the amount of free radicals created by ionizing radiation which is proportional to the absorbed dose in the dosimeter. Lithium formate monohydrate is a dosimeter material with 2-6 times higher sensitivity than alanine, a linear dose response over a wide dose range and mass-energy absorption properties similar to water. These properties make lithium formate promising for verification of absorbed doses around high dose rate brachytherapy sources where the dose gradient is steep and the photon energy distribution changing with distance from the source. Calibration of the dosimeters is performed in 60Co or MV photon beams where high dosimetric accuracy is feasible. The use in brachytherapy field relies on the assumption that the production of free radicals per mean absorbed dose in the dosimeter is similar at the lower photon energies present there. The aim of this work was to test that assumption. The response of the dosimeters as a function of photon energy was determined by irradiations with four x-ray qualities in the range 100-250 kV and 137Cs, relative to the response when irradiated with 60Co, all photon beams with well-known air kerma rates at the Swedish Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory. Monte Carlo simulations were used to convert air kerma free in air to mean absorbed dose to the dosimeter. The measured response relative 60Co as a function of photon energy was below unity for all qualities. The maximum deviation from unity was 2.5% (100 kV, 135 kV) with a relative standard deviation of 1.5% (k = 1).
|
|
| 8. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
-
Response of lithium formate EPR dosimeters at photon energies relevant to the dosimetry of brachytherapy
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : American Association of Physicists in Medicine. - 0094-2405. ; 37:9, s. 4946-4959
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE:To investigate experimentally the energy dependence of the detector response of lithium formate EPR dosimeters for photon energies below 1 MeV relative to that at 60Co energies. High energy photon beams are used in calibrating dosimeters for use in brachytherapy since the absorbed dose to water can be determined with high accuracy in such beams using calibrated ion chambers and standard dosimetry protocols. In addition to any differences in mass-energy absorption properties between water and detector, variations in radiation yield (detector response) with radiation quality, caused by differences in the density of ionization in the energy imparted (LET), may exist. Knowledge of an eventual deviation in detector response with photon energy is important for attaining high accuracy in measured brachytherapy dose distributions.METHODS:Lithium formate EPR dosimeters were irradiated to known levels of air kerma in 25-250 kV x-ray beams and in 137Cs and 60Co beams at the Swedish Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory. Conversions from air kerma free in air into values of mean absorbed dose to the detectors were made using EGSnrc MC simulations and x-ray energy spectra measured or calculated for the actual beams. The signals from the detectors were measured using EPR spectrometry. Detector response (the EPR signal per mean absorbed dose to the detector) relative to that for 60Co was determined for each beam quality.RESULTS:Significant decreases in the relative response ranging from 5% to 6% were seen for x-ray beams at tube voltages < or = 180 kV. No significant reduction in the relative response was seen for 137Cs and 250 kV x rays.CONCLUSIONS:When calibrated in 60Co or MV photon beams, corrections for the photon energy dependence of detector response are needed to achieve the highest accuracy when using lithium formate EPR dosimeters for measuring absorbed doses around brachytherapy sources emitting photons in the energy range of 20-150 keV such as 169Yb and electronic sources.
|
|
| 9. |
- Alm Carlsson, Gudrun, et al.
(författare)
-
Riskuppskattningar och strålskydds-rekommendationer : Vår strålningsmiljö
- 1991
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Människan har i alla tider varit utsatt för joniserande strålning. Kosmiskstrålning och naturligt radioaktiva nuklider i vår omgivning och i vår kropp ger ett årligtbidrag till den absorberade dosen i hela kroppen, som i genomsnitt för människorna påjorden uppgår till 1 mGy/år (1Gy = 1 J/kg). Det finns områden på jorden där stråldosenfrån naturlig strålning är 10-100 ggr större, jfr avsnittet "Vår strålningsmiljö". I slutet av 1800-talet upptäckte Röntgen röntgenstrålningen och Becquerel den naturligaradioaktiviteten. Människan fick därmed för första gången tillgång till starka källor avjoniserande strålning. Dessa togs snabbt i bruk framförallt inom medicinsk röntgendiagnostikoch radioterapi. Man gjorde snart bittra erfarenheter av den joniserandestrålningens skadliga biologiska verkningar efter höga stråldoser. Fram till år 1922 hadec:a 100 radiologer dött av strålskador. Man insåg att något måste göras för att förbättraläget för personalen och år 1928 bildades ICRP (International Commission on RadiationProtection). ICRP ger ut rekommendationer för strålskydd, som ligger till grund förnationella lagar och förordningar över hela världen. Den förhållandevis långa erfarenhet människan har av joniserande strålning och denlätthet med vilken även små stråldoser kan mätas har gett oss stränga normer vad gällerhanteringen av producerade strålkällor. Många har därför uppfattningen att joniserandestrålning är en exklusiv miljökomponent. Så är knappast fallet. Förutom att vi alltid varitnaturligt bestrålade finns det idag anledning att förmoda att den kemiska nedsmutsningenav miljön är ett långt allvarligare hot mot vårt välbefinnande än den nuvarandeanvändningen av producerade strålkällor. En rättvis bedömning av olika miljökomponenterkan endast göras den gång alla mäts med samma mått. Arbete med dennainriktning pågår med strålskydds-verksamheten som förebild.
|
|
| 10. |
- Alm Carlsson, Gudrun, et al.
(författare)
-
Statistisk precision vid radioaktivitetsmätning och Aktivitetsbestämning ur uppmätt räknehastighet
- 1974
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Radioaktiva sönderfall sker slumpmässigt och det är omöjligt att i förväg veta exakt när en viss atom sönderfaller. Allt man kan säga är att under en halveringstid är sannolikheten 0.5 att en atom sönderfaller och 0.5 att den förblir i sitt ursprungliga radioaktiva tillstånd. Detta gäller en enstaka atom, är det ett stort antal atomer kan man förutsäga att hälften av dem kommer att sönderfalla inom en halveringstid. Antag att i ett experiment aktiviteten av ett prov bestäms under en minut. Räknaren anger 1000 cpm, counts per minute. Om man räknar en gång till kanske scalern anger 985 cpm, nästa gång 1023 cpm osv Skulle man utföra mätningen 1000 gånger skulle man få värdet 1000 12 - 13 gånger, 960 och faktiskt 1040 skulle man få 5-6 gångeroch 940 eller 1060 2 gånger. Detta beror inte på något experimentellt fel eller på någon speciell teknik som experimenttorn använder utan på de statistiska fluktuationerna. (Skulle man få värdet 1000 varje gång skall man kontrollera räknaren, någon kanske har ställt in pre-set counts 1000, dvs då är något fel). Vi skall i denna rapport se hur de statistiska fluktuationerna påverkar mätresultaten, hur osäkerheten presenteras och hur man gör en aktivitetsbestämning ur en uppmätt räknehastighet.
|
|
