A ROTOR ELECTROMETER FOR FRACTIONAL CHARGE SEARCHES
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Innes, W.↗
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THE ROTOR ELECTROMETER: A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR BULK MATTER QUARK SEARCH EXPERIMENTS
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Prince, J.↗
SU-E-T-451: Accuracy and Application of the Standard Imaging W1 Scintillator Dosimeter
Purpose: To evaluate the Standard Imaging W1 scintillator dosimeter in a range of clinical radiation beams to determine its range of possible applications. Methods: The W1 scintillator is a small perturbation-free dosimeter which is of interest in absolute and relative clinical dosimetry due to its small size and water equivalence. A single version of this detector was evaluated in Co-60 and linac photon and electron beams to investigate the following: linearity, sensitivity, precision, and dependence on electrometer type. In addition, depth-dose and cross-plane profiles were obtained in both photon and electron beams and compared with data obtained with wellbehaved ionization chambers. Results: In linac beams the precision and linearity was very impressive, with typical values of 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Performance in a Co-60 beam was much poorer (approximately three times worse) and it is not clear whether this is due to the lower signal current or the effect of the continuous beam (rather than pulsed beam of the linac measurements). There was no significant difference in the detector reading when using either the recommended SI Supermax electrometer or two independent high-quality electrometers, except for low signal levels, where the Supermax exhibited an apparent threshold effect, preventing the measurement of the bremsstrahlung background in electron depth-dose curves. Comparisons with ion chamber measurements in linac beams were somewhat variable: good agreement was seen for cross-profiles (photon and electron beams) and electron beam depth-dose curves, generally within the 0.3% precision of the scintillator but systematic differences were observed as a function of measurement depth in photon beam depth-dose curves. Conclusion: A first look would suggest that the W1 scintillator has applications beyond small field dosimetry but performance appears to be limited to higher doserate and/or pulsed radiation beams. Further work is required to resolve discrepancies compared to ion chambers.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
TH-C-19A-08: PDD Discrepancies at Opposite Biases From Very Small Volume Ion Chambers When Using Water Scanners
Purpose: As more so-called micro ion chambers become commercially available, medical physicists may be inclined to use them during the linear accelerator commissioning process, in an attempt to better characterize the beam in steep dose gradient areas. The purpose of this work is to inform the medical physics community of a non-trivial, anomalous behavior observed when very small chambers are used in certain beam scanning configurations. Methods: A total of six ion chambers (0.007cc to 0.6cc) were used to scan PDDs from a 10×10cm2 field at both +300V and −300V biases. PDDs were scanned using three different water tank scanning systems to determine whether different scanners exhibit the same abnormality. Finally, PDDs were sampled using an external electrometer to bypass the internal electrometer of the scanner to determine the potential contributions of the scanner electronics to the abnormality observed. Results: We observed a reproducible, significant difference (over-response with depth) in PDDs acquired when using very small ion chambers with certain bias and watertank combinations, on the order of 3–5% at a depth of 25 cm in water. This difference was not observed when the PDDs were sampled using the ion chambers in conjunction with an external electrometer. This suggests a contribution of interference produced by the controller box and scanning system, which becomes significant for the very small signals collected by very small ion chambers, especially at depth, as the signal level is reduced even further. Conclusion: Based on the results observed here, if currently available very small ion chambers are used with specific bias and scanning water-tank combinations, erroneous PDD data may be collected. If this data is used as input to the Treatment Planning System, systematic errors on the order of 3%–5% may be introduced into the treatment planning process.
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
SU-G-BRB-04: Automated Output Factor Measurements Using Continuous Data Logging for Linac Commissioning
Purpose: Linac commissioning is a time consuming and labor intensive process, the streamline of which is highly desirable. In particular, manual measurement of output factors for a variety of field sizes and energy greatly hinders the commissioning efficiency. In this study, automated measurement of output factors was demonstrated as ‘one-click’ using data logging of an electrometer. Methods: Beams to be measured were created in the recording and verifying (R&V) system and configured for continuous delivery. An electrometer with an automatic data logging feature enabled continuous data collection for all fields without human intervention. The electrometer saved data into a spreadsheet every 0.5 seconds. A Matlab program was developed to analyze the excel data to monitor and check the data quality. Results: For each photon energy, output factors were measured for five configurations, including open field and four wedges. Each configuration includes 72 fields sizes, ranging from 4×4 to 20×30 cm{sup 2}. Using automation, it took 50 minutes to complete the measurement of 72 field sizes, in contrast to 80 minutes when using the manual approach. The automation avoided the necessity of redundant Linac status checks between fields as in the manual approach. In fact, the only limiting factor in such automation is Linac overheating. The data collection beams in the R&V system are reusable, and the simplified process is less error-prone. In addition, our Matlab program extracted the output factors faithfully from data logging, and the discrepancy between the automatic and manual measurement is within ±0.3%. For two separate automated measurements 30 days apart, consistency check shows a discrepancy within ±1% for 6MV photon with a 60 degree wedge. Conclusion: Automated output factor measurements can save time by 40% when compared with conventional manual approach. This work laid ground for further improvement for the automation of Linac commissioning.
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
Poster - 17: Characterization and correction of radiation induced background in scanning water tanks
Purpose: To characterize and correct for radiation-induced background (RIB) observed in the signals from a class of scanning water tanks. Methods: A method was developed to isolate the RIB through detector measurements in the background-free linac console area. Variation of the RIB against a large number of parameters was characterized, and its impact on basic clinical data for photon and electron beams was quantified. Different methods to minimize and/or correct for the RIB were proposed and evaluated. Results: The RIB is due to the presence of the electrometer and connection box in a low background radiation field (by design). The absolute RIB current with a biased detector is up to 2 pA, independent of the detector size, which is 0.6% and 1.5% of the central axis reference signal for a standard and a mini scanning chamber, respectively. The RIB monotonically increases with field size, is three times smaller for detectors that do not require a bias (e.g., diodes), is up to 80% larger for positive (versus negative) polarity, decreases with increasing photon energy, exhibits a single curve versus dose rate at the electrometer location, and is negligible for electron beams. Data after the proposed field-size correction method agree with point measurements from an independent system to within a few tenth of a percent for output factor, head scatter, depth dose at depth, and out-of-field profile dose. Manufacturer recommendations for electrometer placement are insufficient and sometimes incorrect. Conclusions: RIB in scanning water tanks can have a non-negligible effect on dosimetric data.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
SU-E-T-156: Can Sr-90 Check Sources Replace Co-60 Measurements for Monitoring of Reference Chamber Stability?
Purpose: To determine the ultimate precision of a system for monitoring reference-class ion chamber stability using a commercial Sr-90 check source. Methods: A detailed investigation of a commercial Sr-90 check source (PTW48002) was carried out using a series of Farmer-type ionization chambers. Investigations included: positioning repeatability (angular variation as chamber is rotated in source, variation in ionization current with vertical alignment); chamber settling; short and long term repeatability Results: i) Measurement precision – the ionization current was typically 10 pA, and therefore a high-precision electrometer is required to prevent electrometer noise/resolution/leakage biaising the results. ii) Chamber settling - the chamber response stabilizes after approximately 10 minutes, which is longer than reported for linac beams and is likely due to the low doserate of the source.iii) The measured response depended at the 1 % level on the orientation of the chamber with respect to the source. However, consistent positioning resulted in repeatability at the 0.05 % level. Care was also required to ensure that the chamber was consistently positioned vertically with respect to the source. The sensitivity to vertical position was found to be > 1 % per mm.iv)With a uniform procedure the long-term (> 6 month) repeatability was found to be better than 0.1 % for multiple chamber types and potentially a precision of 0.05 % is achievable. Conclusion: A Sr-90 check source is easy to use and is a viable alternative to Co-60 for monitoring reference chamber stability.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
SU-F-T-445: Effect of Triaxial Cables and Microdetectors in Small Field Dosimetry
Purpose: Advances in radiation treatment especially with smaller fields used in SRS, Gamma knife, Tomotherapy, Cyberknife, and IMRT, require a high degree of precision especially with microdetectors for small field dosimetry (Das et al, Med Ph, 35, 206, 2008; Alfonso et al, Med Phys, 35, 5179, 2008). Due to small signal, the triaxial cable becomes critical in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR) which is studied with microdetectors. Methods: Six high quality triaxial cables, 9.1 meters long from different manufacturers without any defects were acquired along with 5 most popular microdetectors (microdiamond, plastic scintillators, SRS-diode, edge-diode and pinpoint). A dedicated electrometer was used for each combination except W1 which has its own supermax electrometer. A 6MV photon beam from Varian True beam with 100 MU at a 600 MU/min was used. Measurements were made at a depth of 5 cm in water phantom. Field sizes were varied from 0.5 cm to 10 cm square fields. Readings were taken with combination of cables and microdetectors. Results: Signal is dependent on the quality of the connectors, cables and types of microdetector. The readings varied from nC to pC depending on the type of microdetector. The net signal, S, (Sc-Sn), where Sc is signal with chamber and Sn is without chamber is a linear function of sensitive volume, v; (S = α+β•V), where α and β are constants. The standard deviation (SD) in 3 sets of reading with each combination of cable-detector was extremely low <0.02%. As expected the SD is higher in small fields (<3cm). Maximum estimated error was only ±0.2% in cables-detector combinations. Conclusion: The choice of cables has relatively small effect (±0.2%) with microdosimeter and should be accounted in overall error estimation in k value that is needed to convert ratio of reading to dose in small field dosimetry.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
Understanding Artifacts in Impedance Spectroscopy
Four-terminal measurements of impedance spectra have long been troubled by the presence of high frequency artifacts that typically indicate unphysically large inductive behavior. In this paper, we follow up on the observation of Fleig et al., that voltage and current are necessarily measured in different locations of the potentiostat circuit, and that, typically, the electrometer input is a virtual ground. In this case, the capacitance of coaxial cables that connect sample electrodes to the potentiostat provides a high frequency conduction path to ground, so that some of the current that passes through the sample bypasses the electrometer. In four-electrode measurements, this mechanism produces the observed inductive artifacts. We examine a variety of simulated samples, with calculations compared to measurements of relevant circuits, to quantitatively investigate the nature of the artifacts. Model results agree with measurements when the leakage capacitances are properly included in the circuit analyses. With understanding of the origin of the inductive artifacts, the four-electrode method can be effectively utilized, enabling a combination of two-, three- and four-electrode measurements to be used to best advantage. Finally, using this combination of electrode configurations, temperature dependent measurements of SrTiO 3 , Y 2 O 3 -stabilized ZrO 2 , and In 2 O 3 films deposited on YSZ substrates are presented.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
A Micro-Thermionic Ionization Source for Chemical Detection
The major goal of this project was to develop an ionization-based detector that could be integrated into the portable gas chromatography systems currently produced by Defiant Technologies. This new detector would allow Defiant to analyze a broader range of analytes and enter new markets. There was also an interest in testing the new ionization source in an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) that is produced by Sandia National Laboratories. Not only could this eliminate the need for a radioactive material in the IMS, it would offer Defiant the opportunity to add a whole new product line to their chemical analysis systems. Significant progress was made in the development of a thermionic ionization source (TIS) and detector. Using a MEMs heater was an attractive concept, but it proved to be an unfruitful approach because of the fragility of the devices at elevated temperatures. A rugged alternative heater was developed using nichrome wire and alumina tubes. These heaters are simple to make, and, for low quantity production, will be considerably cheaper to construct than MEMs devices. This work has provided a firm basis for follow-on projects. There is now a solid concept for constructing heater elements where, prior to this work, there was only the hope that MEMs heaters would work. In addition, the electrometer that was developed works better than the commercial rack-mounted system that was originally used in this study. Overcoming these two obstacles provides a clear technical approach for product development. There will be follow on efforts at Defiant Technologies to refine the development of the thermal ionization detector. Designs are being made to combine the TIS and electrometer electronics into a single package with a simple-to-replace TIS element. Further work will also focus on integrating this new detector into portable gas chromatography products and testing to optimize the performance.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
Direct detection of a transport-blocking trap in a nanoscaled silicon single-electron transistor by radio-frequency reflectometry
The continuous downscaling of transistors results in nanoscale devices which require fewer and fewer charged carriers for their operation. The ultimate charge controlled device, the single-electron transistor (SET), controls the transfer of individual electrons. It is also the most sensitive electrometer, and as a result the electron transport through it can be dramatically affected by nearby charges. Standard direct-current characterization techniques, however, are often unable to unambiguously detect and resolve the origin of the observed changes in SET behavior arising from changes in the charge state of a capacitively coupled trap. Using a radio-frequency (RF) reflectometry technique, we are able to unequivocally detect this process, in very close agreement with modeling of the trap's occupation probability.
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
Studies on hydrogen plasma and dust charging in low-pressure filament discharge
The effect of working gas pressure and dust charging on electron energy probability function has been studied for hydrogen plasma in a multi-dipole dusty plasma device. A cylindrical Langmuir probe is used to evaluate the plasma parameters and electron energy probability function (EEPF) for different working pressures. For lower energy range (below 10 eV), the EEPF follows a bi-Maxwellian shape at very low pressure (6 × 10{sup −5} mbar), while elevating the working pressure up to ∼2 × 10{sup −3} mbar, the shape of the EEPF transforms into a single Maxwellian. Some dip structures are observed at high energy range (ε > 10 eV) in the EEPF of hydrogen plasma at all the working conditions. In presence of dust particles, it is observed that the shape of the EEPF changes due to the redistribution of the high and low-energy electron populations. Finally, the effect of working pressure on charge accumulation on dust particles is studied with the help of a Faraday cup and electrometer. From the observations, a strong influence of working pressure on plasma parameters, EEPF and dust charging is observed.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Effect of 200 keV Ar{sup +} implantation on optical and electrical properties of polyethyleneterepthalate (PET)
In the present paper we have discussed the effect of 200 keV Ar{sup +} ions on the electrical and optical properties of PET samples. PET samples were implanted with 200 keV Ar{sup +} ions to various doses ranging from 1×10{sup 15} to 1×10{sup 17} Ar{sup +} cm{sup 2}. The changes in the electrical and optical properties of pristine and implanted PET specimens have been studied by using Keithley electrometer and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity has found to be increased with increasing ion dose. The optical studies have revealed the drastic alterations in optical band gap from 3.63 eV to 1.48 eV and also increase in number of carbon atoms per cluster from 215 to 537. Further, the change in the electrical conductivity and optical band gap has also been correlated with the formation of conductive islands in the implanted layers of PET.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
SU-E-J-24: An Evaluation of the Stability of Image Quality Parameters of Varian On-Board Imaging (OBI) and EPID Imaging Systems
Purpose: Quality assurance of the image quality for image guided localization systems is crucial to ensure accurate visualization and localization of target volumes. In this study, the long term stability of selected image parameters was assessed and evaluated for CBCT mode, planar radiographic kV mode and the radiographic MV EPID mode. Methods: The CATPHAN, QckV-1 and QC-3 phantoms were used to evaluate the image quality parameters. The planar radiographic images were analyzed in PIPSpro™ with spatial resolution (f30, f40, f50) being recorded. For OBI CBCT, High quality head Full-Fan acquisition and Pelvis Half-Fan acquisition modes were evaluated for Uniformity, Noise, Spatial Resolution, HU constancy and geometric distortion. Dose and kVp for the OBI were recorded using the Unfors RaySafe Xi system with the R/F High Detector for planar kV and the CT detector for CBCT. Dose for the MV EPID was recorded using a PTW975 Semiflex Ion Chamber, PTW Unidos electrometer and SolidWater™. Results: For each metric, values were normalized to the mean and the standard deviations were recorded. For the planar radiographic spatial resolution the f30, f40, f50 were 0.015, 0.008, 0.004 and 0.006, 0.009, 0.018 for the kV and MV, respectively. The standard deviation of the dose for kV was 0.010 and 0.005 for the MV. The standard deviations for Full and half fan were averaged together and the following standard deviations for each metric were recorded: 0.075(uniformity), 0.071(noise), 0.006(AP-Geometric Distortion), 0.005(LAT-Geometric Distortion), 0.058(mean slice thickness), 0.098(f30),0.101(f40),0.124(f50), 0.031(Lung/PMP-HU constancy), 0.063(Water/poly-HU constancy), 0.015(Bone/Derlin-HU constancy),0.006(Dose-Center), 0.004(Dose-Periphery). Using these, tolerances can be reported as a warning and action threshold of 1σ and 2σ. Conclusion: A study was performed to assess the stability of the basic image quality parameters recommended by TG-142 for the Varian OBI and EPID Imaging systems. The two systems show consistent imaging and dosimetric properties over the evaluated time frame.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
SU-E-J-110: TG 51 Dosimetry : With Or Without Lead
TG-51 Dosimetry: With or Without Lead. Purpose: In this project, an analytical method has been introduced for adjustment of the TG-51 recommended KQ in order to produce accurate dosimetric data for high energy photons without the lead foil. Methods: These investigations were performed using a 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm CIVCO water tank, A12 EXRADIN Water proof Farmer Chamber, a Standard Imaging MAX 4000 electrometer, and 1 mm thick lead foil from Standard Imaging. Complete TG-51 was performed every month with and without lead. The results were analyzed and an analytical model has been developed for comparing the values of KQ. TG-51 Table I was used to obtain KQ values. Results: The dosimetric evaluations were obtained for Varian Linear accelerators Model 21ix and 21ex. These results indicates that the measured data with lead foil in place as recommended by TG-51 is in excellent agreement (within 0.1%) with the calculated data obtained by the new model, from our dosimetry data without-lead. If equation 15 of the TG-51 report is used without any adjustments, it will lead to differences of about 1.6 % (on the average) in relative data which will Resultin differences of about 0.3 % (on the average) in the KQ Values. The KQ value for 18 MV obtained consistently with the equation of TG-51 “with lead” and “without lead” were 0.971 and 0.974, respectively. The 0.3 % higher results for KQ without lead eventually will lead to 0.3% larger output. However, by considering this model the KQ value was found to be 0.971 for dosimetry without lead. Conclusion: The analytical model that was introduced in this project was able to reproduce the dosimetric data of the high energy linear accelerators to within 0.1% without the use of the lead foil.
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
SU-E-T-298: Small Field Total Scatter Factors Using a Commercial Scintillator Detector: Calibration Parameters Are Not Independent of Field Size
Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy in total scatter factor (Sc,p) determination for small fields using commercial plastic scintillator detector (PSD). The manufacturer's spectral discrimination method to subtract Cerenkov light from the signal is discussed. Methods: Sc,p for field sizes ranging from 0.5 to 10 cm were measured using PSD Exradin (Standard Imaging) connected to two channel electrometer measuring the signals in two different spectral regions to subtract the Cerenkov signal from the PSD signal. A Pinpoint ionisation chamber 31006 (PTW) and a non-shielded semiconductor detector EFD (Scanditronix) were used for comparison. Measures were performed for a 6 MV X-ray beam. The Sc,p are measured at 10 cm depth in water for a SSD=100 cm and normalized to a 10'10 cm{sup 2} field size at the isocenter. All detectors were placed with their symmetry axis parallel to the beam axis.We followed the manufacturer's recommended calibration methodology to subtract the Cerenkov contribution to the signal as well as a modified method using smaller field sizes. The Sc,p calculated by using both calibration methodologies were compared. Results: Sc,p measured with the semiconductor and the PinPoint detectors agree, within 1.5%, for field sizes between 10'10 and 1'1 cm{sup 2}. Sc,p measured with the PSD using the manufacturer's calibration methodology were systematically 4% higher than those measured with the semiconductor detector for field sizes smaller than 5'5 cm{sup 2}. By using a modified calibration methodology for smalls fields and keeping the manufacturer calibration methodology for fields larger than 5'5cm{sup 2} field Sc,p matched semiconductor results within 2% field sizes larger than 1.5 cm. Conclusion: The calibration methodology proposed by the manufacturer is not appropriate for dose measurements in small fields. The calibration parameters are not independent of the incident radiation spectrum for this PSD. This work was partially financed by grant 2012 of Barcelona board of the AECC.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
SU-E-I-20: Comprehensive Quality Assurance Test of Second Generation Toshiba Aquilion Large Bore CT Simulator Based On AAPM TG-66 Recommendations
Purpose: AAPM radiation therapy committee task group No. 66 (TG-66) published a report which described a general approach to CT simulator QA. The report outlines the testing procedures and specifications for the evaluation of patient dose, radiation safety, electromechanical components, and image quality for a CT simulator. The purpose of this study is to thoroughly evaluate the performance of a second generation Toshiba Aquilion Large Bore CT simulator with 90 cm bore size (Toshiba, Nasu, JP) based on the TG-66 criteria. The testing procedures and results from this study provide baselines for a routine QA program. Methods: Different measurements and analysis were performed including CTDIvol measurements, alignment and orientation of gantry lasers, orientation of the tabletop with respect to the imaging plane, table movement and indexing accuracy, Scanogram location accuracy, high contrast spatial resolution, low contrast resolution, field uniformity, CT number accuracy, mA linearity and mA reproducibility using a number of different phantoms and measuring devices, such as CTDI phantom, ACR image quality phantom, TG-66 laser QA phantom, pencil ion chamber (Fluke Victoreen) and electrometer (RTI Solidose 400). Results: The CTDI measurements were within 20% of the console displayed values. The alignment and orientation for both gantry laser and tabletop, as well as the table movement and indexing and scanogram location accuracy were within 2mm as specified in TG66. The spatial resolution, low contrast resolution, field uniformity and CT number accuracy were all within ACR’s recommended limits. The mA linearity and reproducibility were both well below the TG66 threshold. Conclusion: The 90 cm bore size second generation Toshiba Aquilion Large Bore CT simulator that comes with 70 cm true FOV can consistently meet various clinical needs. The results demonstrated that this simulator complies with the TG-66 protocol in all aspects including electromechanical component, radiation safety component, and image quality component. Employee of Toshiba America Medical Systems.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
SU-E-I-24: Method for CT Automatic Exposure Control Verification
Purpose: Design of a phantom and a simple method for the automatic exposure control (AEC) verification in CT. This verification is included in the computed tomography (CT) Spanish Quality Assurance Protocol. Methods: The phantom design is made from the head and the body phantom used for the CTDI measurement and PMMA plates (35×35 cm2) of 10 cm thickness. Thereby, three different thicknesses along the longitudinal axis are obtained which permit to evaluate the longitudinal AEC performance. Otherwise, the existent asymmetry in the PMMA layers helps to assess angular and 3D AEC operation.Recent acquisition in our hospital (August 2014) of Nomex electrometer (PTW), together with the 10 cm pencil ionization chamber, led to register dose rate as a function of time. Measurements with this chamber fixed at 0° and 90° on the gantry where made on five multidetector-CTs from principal manufacturers. Results: Individual analysis of measurements shows dose rate variation as a function of phantom thickness. The comparative analysis shows that dose rate is kept constant in the head and neck phantom while the PMMA phantom exhibits an abrupt variation between both results, being greater results at 90° as the thickness of the phantom is 3.5 times larger than in the perpendicular direction. Conclusion: Proposed method is simple, quick and reproducible. Results obtained let a qualitative evaluation of the AEC and they are consistent with the expected behavior. A line of future development is to quantitatively study the intensity modulation and parameters of image quality, and a possible comparative study between different manufacturers.
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗