Controlling Quality of Radiotherapy Treatments

A portable, low-cost device can measure the ionizing radiation people are exposed during radiotherapy or other procedures involving radiation.

Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR, Spain) and Hospital Virgen de las Nieves (Granada, Spain) developed the new device to verify the exact dose of radiation administered to patients, as well as keeping historical records. The device does not require connection to an electrical source or a monitoring unit, and is made of low-cost and reusable electronic components. Furthermore, the device's design has metrological characteristics, which make certain that it performs correctly at high temperatures, and the detector's minuscule size can measure the radiation quickly in different areas of the body.

"The potential harm ionizing radiations can cause means that, in order to obtain clinical benefits and reduce the onset of unwanted adverse effects as much as possible, they must be used under strict quality control,” said lead author Manuel Vilches Pacheco, of the medical physics and radiology department at Hospital Virgen de las Nieves.

Portal imaging systems which facilitate accurate pre-treatment patient positioning prior to radiation treatment and provide ongoing verification of the accuracy of position during subsequent treatments, have greatly improved in the last five years and are widely used today. This is not the case for systems used for in vivo dose measurement, which has been limited to a few centers. This is largely due to the amount of effort required to place the device onto the patient, and as it interferes noticeably with the treatment, it can considerably modify the distribution of the administered dose.


Related Links:
University of Granada
Hospital Virgen de las Nieves