Comparison of dosimetric characteristics of two radiochromic films (XR-RV3 and EDR2)

Abstract

Objective To study the dosimetric characteristics of two different radiochromic films used to estimate peak skin dose(PSD) of patients.The characteristics of these two films were investigated and compared after exposure to ionizing radiation in the diagnostic energy range,including post-exposure gray growth,sensitivity,energy dependence and dose response.Methods GafChromic XR-RV3 film and KODAK EDR2 film were exposed to air kerma 800 mGy free-in-air using five X-ray beam qualities (60,80,100,120 and 140 kVp) in a SSDL.The measurement for each energy was normalized to 80 kV to analyze energy dependence of films.The films were calibrated to different dose level (0.025-10 Gy) onphantom by 80 kV X-rays.The response curve were plotted to analyze sensitivity and dose response.The films were scanned with Epson V750 commercial flatbed scanner.Color channel analysis was performed.Results The post-exposure gray growth of XR-RV3 film was found to be fairly stable.The change were 2％,4％,6％ at 24 h,72 h and 6 weeks after exposure respectively.EDR2 film was found to be more sensitivity than XR-RV3 film in low dose.The energy response of the XR-RV3 film and EDR2 film were within 9％ and 23％ over the clinical diagnostic x-ray energies,respectively.In the dose range of 0.025-10 Gy,for the XR-RV3 film,the red channel with the dose response curve was most obvious.For EDR2 film,the pixel value of three color channels was coincident.The EDR2 film appeared to be saturated when receiving doses greater than 500 mGy.Conclusions The XR-RV3 film is superior to EDR2 film in gray growth,energy dependence,dose-response and other aspects.This film is very suitable for measuring and analyzing PSD of patients in interventional radiology procedures. Key words: Radiochromic film; Peak skin dose; Energy dependence; Dose response