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Characterisation of radiological properties of a brachytherapy moulding material

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Abstract

The use of a non-water-equivalent personalised mould for gynaecological brachytherapy treatments can result in a substantial dose reduction at the treatment site, compared to calculated dose, in lieu of a dose calculation algorithm capable of modelling non-water-equivalent materials. This study describes the characterisation of the radiological properties of a brachytherapy applicator moulding material. Simple line source correction factors for an 192Ir source are obtained through Monte Carlo simulations and verified by film measurements. The dwell position corrections are used to estimate aggregate correction factors for dose deliveries that involve multiple dwell positions, in terms of treatment length, applicator radii and depth of reference dose. For the Fricotan moulding material used locally, the dose reductions varied from 1% for an applicator radius of 0.5 cm to > 4% for radii exceeding 2 cm. The method described in this paper could be used to develop correction factors for other non-water-equivalent moulding materials, in a TG-43UI dose calculation environment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Queensland University of Technology’s Central Analytical Research Facility, particularly Charlotte Allen, for their assistance in characterising the composition of the Fricotan material. The authors also wish to thank staff involved with the brachytherapy program at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Queensland, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia

    Scott B. Crowe, Sanna Nilsson, Jodi Dawes, Tanya Kairn & Craig M. Lancaster

  2. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Scott B. Crowe, Zac Pross & Tanya Kairn

  3. Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia

    Sanna Nilsson

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  1. Scott B. Crowe
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  2. Zac Pross
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  3. Sanna Nilsson
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  5. Tanya Kairn
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  6. Craig M. Lancaster
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Correspondence to Scott B. Crowe.

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Crowe, S.B., Pross, Z., Nilsson, S. et al. Characterisation of radiological properties of a brachytherapy moulding material. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 41, 731–737 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-018-0673-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-018-0673-4

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