Gafchromic Films as a Complementary In-field Dosimetric Tool to Monitor Low Photon Radiation Doses (≤50 mSv).

This study elucidated the radiation response characteristics of a Gafchromic radiochromic film subjected to low photon doses of ≤50 mSv, which corresponds to the annual whole body effective dose limit for radiation workers in Canada. Radiochromic films are investigated for possible use as a complementary tool for the Canadian Armed Forces that can be worn in addition to their existing personal dosimetry to quickly assess personal radiation dose received from radiological hazards without reliance on electronics. The films were exposed to varying photon energies emanating from x-ray generators and radioisotopes, specifically cesium-137, cobalt-60, and americium-241.

Evaluation of a Commercially Available Radiochromic Film for Use as a Complementary Dosimeter for Rapid In-field Low Photon Equivalent Radiation Dose (≤50 mSv) Monitoring.

This work investigates the low photon radiation dose (≤50 mSv) response of commercially available radiochromic films as a potential field dosimeter that could be used by the Canadian Armed Forces to complement their existing personal radiation dosimeters. The films were exposed to various photon energies from x-ray devices and radioisotopes (cesium-137, cobalt-60, and americium-241), and their radiation signal was read using three methods: net optical density, UV/visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A complimentary film dosimeter for field usage should, for military use, display a visual color change and detect doses ≤50 mSv.

Predicting head and neck cancer treatment outcomes with pre-treatment quantitative ultrasound texture features and optimising machine learning classifiers with texture-of-texture features.

Aim: Cancer treatments with radiation present a challenging physical toll for patients, which can be justified by the potential reduction in cancerous tissue with treatment. However, there remain patients for whom treatments do not yield desired outcomes. Radiomics involves using biomedical images to determine imaging features which, when used in tandem with retrospective treatment outcomes, can train machine learning (ML) classifiers to create predictive models.

Feasibility of using a single MRI acquisition for fiducial marker localization and synthetic CT generation towards MRI-only prostate radiation therapy treatment planning.

To investigate the feasibility of using a single MRI acquisition for fiducial marker identification and synthetic CT (sCT) generation towards MRI-only treatment planning for prostate external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).Seven prostate cancer patients undergoing EBRT, each with three implanted gold fiducial markers, participated in this study. In addition to the planning CT scan, all patients were scanned on a 3 T MR scanner with a 3D double-echo gradient echo (GRE) sequence.

Investigating coherent normalization and dosimetry for the Am-La K XRF system.

Objectives: Lanthanum (La) retention in bone has been shown to occur in individuals who are orally administered lanthanum carbonate (LaC), a drug to treat hyperphosphatemia. The breakdown of LaC in the gastrointestinal tract into La and carbonate ions results in residual quantities of La being deposited in bone. We previously reported on a non-invasive x-ray fluorescence (XRF) system that was developed to quantify bone La concentrations and applied it to a series of excised cadaver tibiae.