Development of a scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter for measuring the entrance surface dose in diagnostic radiology

Abstract

As a direct method, a scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter (SFOD) was fabricated using an organic scintillator, a plastic optical fiber, and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to measure entrance surface doses (ESDs) in diagnostic radiology. In this study, we measured the scintillating lights, which are altered by to the exposure parameters, such as the tube potential, current-time product, and focus-surface distance (FSD), with an SFOD placed on the top of an acrylic and aluminum chest phantom to provide a backscatter medium. The scintillating light signals of the SFOD were compared with the ESDs obtained using conventional dosimeters. The ESDs that were measured using the dose-area product (DAP) meter, as an indirect method, and a semiconductor dosimeter, as a direct method, were distinguished according to differences in the measurement position and the method used. In the case of the two direct methods with the SFOD and the semiconductor dosimeter, the output light signals of the SFOD were similar to the ESDs of the semiconductor dosimeter. It is expected that the SFOD will be a useful dosimeter for diagnostic radiology due to its many advantages, including its small size, lightweight, substantial flexibility, remote sensing, real-time monitoring, and immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI). (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.