Dosimetry characterization of 32P catheter-based vascular brachytherapy source wire

Dosimetry measurements and Monte Carlo simulations for a catheter-based P-32 endovascular brachytherapy source wire are described. The measured dose rates were obtained using both radiochromic dye film and an automated plastic scintillator. The investigated source has dimensions of 27 mm in length and 0.24 mm in diameter, and is encapsulated in NiTi. For the radiochromic film measurements, calibrated radiochromic dye film was irradiated at distances between 1 and 5 mm from the source axis in A-150 plastic, and read out with a high-resolution scanning densitometer. The depth-dose curve measured in A-150 is then converted to that in water using correction factors obtained from Monte Carlo calculations. For the scintillator system, direct measurements in water were acquired at distances between 1 and 6 mm from the center of the source, along the perpendicular bisector of the source axis. The scintillator was calibrated in terms of absorbed-dose rate in a reference beta-particle field at multiple depths. The measured dose rates obtained from the film and scintillator measurements were then normalized to the measured source activity, i.e., to convert the measured data to units of cGy/s/mCi. Theoretical dosimetry calculations of the catheter-based P-32 wire geometry were also obtained from Monte Carlo simulations using the Electron Gamma Shower code (EGS4), the Monte Carlo N-particle transport code (MCNP4B), and CYLTRAN from the integrated Tiger Series codes (ITS v.3) and found to be in good agreement. The results of both measurements and calculations are expressed as absorbed-dose rate in water per unit of contained activity (cGy/s/mCi). Comparisons indicate that the measured and calculated dosimetry are in good agreement (<10%) within the relevant treatment distances (1-5 mm). This work fully characterizes the radiation held around a novel P-32 beta brachytherapy source in water. The depth-dose curve can be used to calculate the dose to the vessel wall from a 27 mm 32P source wire centered within the vessel lumen. (C) 2000 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [S0094-2405(00)00108-5].