A 128 pixel linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance

New radiotherapy techniques require detectors able to verify and monitor the clinical beam with high spatial resolution and fast response. Room temperature organic liquid ionization detectors are becoming an alternative to standard air ionization chambers, due to their tissue equivalent behavior, their sensibility and small directional dependence. A liquid isooctane filled ionization linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance has been designed, built and tested. The detector consists of 128 pixels, each of them with an area of 1.7 mm x 1.7 mm and a gap of 0.5 mm. The small pixel size makes the detector ideal for high gradient beam profiles like those present in Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. The gap and the polarization voltage have been chosen in order to guarantee a linear relationship between the dose rate and the readout signal at high dose rates. As readout electronics we use the X-ray Data Acquisition System with the Xchip developed by the CCLRC. In the first device tests we have confirmed linearity up to a 6.7 Gy/min dose rate with a deviation less than 1%. A profile with a signal-to-noise ratio around 500 can be obtained for a 4 Gy/min dose rate with a 10 ms integration time. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.