Inorganic scintillator detectors for real-time verification during brachytherapy

Widespread use of real-time dose measurement technology to verify brachytherapy (BT) treatments is currently limited because only few detectors exhibit the large dynamic range and signal intensities that is required to accurately report the data. Inorganic scintillator detectors (ISDs) are promising for real-time BT verification because they can exhibit large signal intensities. Luminescence properties of ISDs based on ruby, Y2O3:Eu and CsI:Tl were compared with BCF-60 plastic scintillators to determine their potential for BT verification. Measurements revealed that ISDs can exhibit signal intensities 1800 times larger than BCF-60 and that the Cerenkov and fluorescence light contamination is negligible. The favourable luminescence properties of ISDs opens the possibility to manufacture simplified detector systems that can lead to more widespread real-time verification during BT treatment deliveries.