Doped silica fibre thermoluminescence measurements of radiation dose in the use of Ra.

Using tailor-made sub-mm dimension doped-silica fibres, thermoluminescent dosimetric studies have been performed for α-emitting sources of RaCl (the basis of the Bayer Healthcare product Xofigo®). The use of RaCl in the palliative treatment of bone metastases resulting from late-stage castration-resistant prostate cancer focuses on its favourable uptake in metabolically active bone metastases. Such treatment benefits from the high linear energy transfer (LET) and associated short path length (<100µm) of the α-particles emitted by Ra and its decay progeny.

Gamma irradiated thermoluminescence response of Ge-doped SiO2 fibre.

Over the past decade and more, considerable interest has been shown in the thermoluminescence (TL) properties of silica-based single-mode optical fibres, in particular investigating potential ionising radiation dosimetry applications. Herein, study has been made of TL glow curve, dose response, reproducibility and fading of 6mol% Ge-doped silica, fabricated in-house and produced in the form of cylindrical fibres. Three different pairings of doped-core and silica cladding diameters were produced: (40, 241)µm, (80, 483)µm and (100, 604)µm.