A prototype of an extrapolation chamber for beta radiation beams of 90Sr+90Y

Extrapolation chamber is the only primary standard dosimeter for beta radiation. With the aim to test new configurations and materials using easily-available and low-cost materials and fulfill the need of a chamber for scientific metrological purposes, in this paper the prototype of an extrapolation chamber has been built and its performance has been investigated in the beta radiation field of 90Sr+90Y. The main differences between the chamber and commercially available chambers are the geometry, constituent material and configuration. The obtained results were compared with those of the calibration certificate of the source and an agreement within 4 % was verified. The depth-dose curve was also obtained and compared with the curve published in ISO 6980, showing a good agreement. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulation was undertaken using MCNP4C code and the relative difference of 0.3 % was observed compared to the experiment. All of the results proved the suitability of the chamber in the beta radiation field of 90Sr+90Y.

[1]  S. Klevenhagen Determination of absorbed dose in high-energy electron and photon radiation by means of an uncalibrated ionization chamber. , 1991, Physics in medicine and biology.

[2]  A. J. Przeslak,et al.  Medical electrical equipment: Dosimeters with ionization chambers as used in radiotherapy , 1983 .

[3]  M Bambynek,et al.  Development of a multi-electrode extrapolation chamber as a prototype of a primary standard for the realization of the unit of the absorbed dose to water for beta brachytherapy sources , 2002 .

[4]  L. Caldas,et al.  Characteristics of an extrapolation chamber for β-ray protection level measurements , 1999 .

[5]  L. P. Neves,et al.  Characterization of an extrapolation chamber for low-energy X-rays: experimental and Monte Carlo preliminary results. , 2012, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[6]  P. Andreo,et al.  Absorbed Dose Determination in External Beam Radiotherapy: An International Code of Practice for Dosimetry based on Standards of Absorbed Dose to Water , 2001 .

[7]  N G Trott,et al.  Design and operation of an extrapolation chamber with removable electrodes. , 1966, The International journal of applied radiation and isotopes.

[8]  J. Brunzendorf Determination of depth-dose curves in beta dosimetry. , 2012, Radiation protection dosimetry.

[9]  Pat Perry,et al.  1. Introduction to health and safety , 2003 .

[10]  S. K. Stephenson Introduction to Health Physics , 1969 .

[11]  Anne Marsden,et al.  International Organization for Standardization , 2014 .

[12]  E. Podgoršak,et al.  Calibration of photon and electron beams with an extrapolation chamber. , 1997, Medical physics.

[13]  L. Caldas,et al.  Performance of a prototype of an extrapolation minichamber in various radiation beams. , 2007, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[14]  R. Loevinger EXTRAPOLATION CHAMBER FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF BETA SOURCES , 1953 .

[15]  C. Davis,et al.  Extrapolation chamber mounted on perspex for calibration of high energy photon and electron beams from a clinical linear accelerator , 2009, Journal of medical physics.

[16]  L. Caldas,et al.  A special mini-extrapolation chamber for calibration of 90Sr+90Y sources , 2005, Physics in Medicine and Biology.

[17]  J. Purdy,et al.  "Measurements of surface dose using build-up curves" obtained with an extrapolation chamber. , 1975, Radiology.

[18]  L. Caldas,et al.  Comparison of calibration results for an extrapolation chamber obtained with different 90Sr+90Y secondary standard sources. , 2012, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[19]  J. S. Laughlin,et al.  Absolute calibration of a cobalt-60 gamma-ray beam. , 1955, Radiology.