Verification of the plan dosimetry for high dose rate brachytherapy using metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor detectors

Abstract

The feasibility of a recently designed metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) dosimetry system for dose verification of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment planning was investigated. MOSFET detectors were calibrated with a 0.6 cm3 NE-2571 Farmer-type ionization chamber in water. Key characteristics of the MOSFET detectors, such as the energy dependence, that will affect phantom measurements with HDR 192Ir sources were measured. The MOS-FET detector was then applied to verify the dosimetric accuracy of HDR brachytherapy treatments in a custom-made water phantom. Three MOSFET detectors were calibrated independently, with the calibration factors ranging from 0.187 to 0.215 cGy/mV. A distance dependent energy response was observed, significant within 2 cm from the source. The new MOSFET detector has a good reproducibility (<3%), small angular effect (<2%), and good dose linearity (R2=1). It was observed that the MOSFET detectors had a linear response to dose until the threshold voltage reached approximately 24 V for 192Ir source measurements. Further comparison of phantom measurements using MOSFET detectors with dose calculations by a commercial treatment planning system for computed tomography-based brachytherapy treatment plans showed that the mean relative deviation was 2.2 +/- 0.2% for dose points 1 cm away from the source and 2.0 +/- 0.1% for dose points located 2 cm away. The percentage deviations between the measured doses and the planned doses were below 5% for all the measurements. The MOSFET detector, with its advantages of small physical size and ease of use, is a reliable tool for quality assurance of HDR brachytherapy. The phantom verification method described here is universal and can be applied to other HDR brachytherapy treatments.