In Vivo dosimetry refers to measuring the dose received by the patient during treatment. This is different to in vitro dosimetry, which refers to most other physics measurements in phantoms. Doses at depth are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain without invasive procedures.
Useful In Vivo Dosimeters
Thermoluminescent dosimeters
TLDs can be made into different sizes, are small and do not require electrical wiring to operate. This makes them ideal for in vivo dosimetry, where they can placed on the patient surface to record entry doses. If bolus is used, TLDs may be placed between the bolus and the skin surface with insignificant effect on the dose distribution.
Silicon Diodes
Diodes are also relatively small and have the benefit of an instantaneous readout. Their disadvantage is the need to connect them to an electrometer during dose delivery.
MOSFETs
MOSFETs are small and can be read more quickly than a TLD. They do not require a power source during irradiation. They are, however, relatively expensive and can only be used once per dose.
Purpose of In Vivo Dosimetry
Computer simulation of radiation dose is not absolutely accurate, and particularly for correction based algorithms. Even modern treatment planning software with superposition/convolution techniques may have errors, particularly at the interfaces of tissue inhomogeneity. The development of IMRT has given computers more responsibility for the delivery of radiation, including field placement and weighting.
In vivo dosimetry provides an extra 'check' to ensure that systematic errors have not been acquired during the treatment planning process. If an inconsistency is found, the plan can be corrected before the patient begins to suffer irreversible problems from the error.
Links
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11: Treatment Planning And Delivery
- 11.01 - Simulation
- 11.02 - ICRU Reports 50 and 62
- 11.03 - 2D And 3D Planning
- 11.04 - Principles Of IMRT
- 11.05 - Patient Data Acquisition
- 11.06 - Choice of beam and modifiers
- 11.07 - Field Junctioning
- 11.08 - Calculation Of Monitor Units
- 11.09 - Dose Calculation Algorithms
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11.10 - Accuracy Of Treatment Planning And Delivery
- 11.10.1 - Patient Immobilisation And Monitoring
- 11.10.2 - Image Guided Radiotherapy
- 11.10.3 - Consistency Of Contours During Treatment
- 11.10.4 - Accuracy And Tolerance
- 11.10.5 - Determination Of Accuracy
- 11.10.6 - Types Of Errors
- 11.10.7 - Avoidance And Detection Of Dose Delivery Errors
- 11.10.8 - Errors Due To Computer Control
- 11.10.9 - In Vivo Dosimetry