Browsing by Department "Division of Medical Physics"
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- ItemOpen AccessAssessment of and improvements to a stereophotogrammetric patient positioning system for proton therapy(1999) Hough, Jan K; Vaughan, Christopher Leonard (Kit)This thesis describes the construction and use of the facemask at the National Accelerator Centre (NAC) as used to both immobilise and position patients for precision proton radiotherapy. The precision achieved using the stereophotogrammetric (SPG) positioning system is measured, and the shortcomings and errors in using the facemask by the SPG system are measured and analysed. The implementation of improvements made to the SPG system is reported upon, and alternative means of both supporting the fiducial markers and immobilising the patient are investigated and evaluated. The accuracy of positioning a facemask using the SPG system is 1.4 mm and of positioning a newly designed frame is 1.6 mm. These measurements were made without using a patient. It is estimated that the total uncertainty of positioning a patient's tumour at the isocentre is 1.6 (1SD) mm using the facemask and it is estimated that the precision using the frame will be less than this value. The largest component of this error (1.39 mm) is due to the error in obtaining the CT scanner co-ordinates. These results are comparable to those obtained by other investigators. The movement of patient bony landmarks within the facemask was measured to be 1.0 ± 0.8 mm. Three main recommendations are that the CT scanner co-ordinating procedure be improved, the SPG computer program be rewritten in parts to achieve greater speed and accuracy, and that the new frame be used. The frame is easier to manufacture than the facemask and allows real time monitoring of the position of the patient's head by the SPG system thus allowing faster throughput of patients and better positioning quality control.
- ItemOpen AccessCharacterization of a 6 MV photon beam in terms of primary and scattered dose components(2009) Trauernicht, Christoph Jan; Hering, E R; Nieto-Camero, JaimeThe purpose of this work was to partition the 6 MV photon beam of a Philips SL75-5 linear accelerator into primary and scattered dose components in water. The two quantities that are necessary to define the primary beam component are a reference dose DR and a primary linear attenuation coefficient μ 0. DR describes the magnitude of the primary dose as a fraction of the total dose in a reference field at a reference depth, while μ 0 describes how the primary dose changes with depth in a medium. The scattered component is the difference between the primary and total dose. μ 0 for the beam in water was determined in four different ways, namely through the extrapolation of measured TMRs to zero field size, through linear attenuation measurements, through the fit of a convolution model to CAPDD data and through a method involving a central axis attenuator. The primary dose component was determined in two ways, namely by the extrapolation of the phantom scatter correction factor to zero field size and also by the central axis attenuator method. μ 0 varied from 0.0445 cm-1 to 0.0469 cm-1 with an average of 0.0455 +- 0.0012 cm-1. DR for a 10 cm x 10 cm field at the depth of maximum dose was found to vary between 0.933 Gy/ 100 MU and 0.935 Gy/ 100 MU, with an average of 0.934 Gy/ 100 MU. These values agree very well with values published in the literature. It has thus been shown that the 6 MV photon beam is separable into primary and scattered dose components.
- ItemOpen AccessDetermination of the genetically-significant dose from diagnostic radiology for the South African population, 1990-1991(1995) Maree, Gert Johannes; Hering, Egbert R; Kotzé, WThe International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) determines the policy regarding radiation safety internationally. To the ICRP, hereditary changes as a result of either high or low doses, are of a major concern. The SA Forum for Radiation Protection recommended that a research project to determine the genetically-significant dose (GSD) for the South African population should be done as such a project has never been undertaken to date. This term was at first defined by UNSCEAR in 1958. The National Radiological Protection Board derived a formula from this definition as shown in the NRPB Report, NRPB-R106 (1980). This formula was implemented in the project. It combines the frequency of radiological examinations obtained during the country-wide survey and estimates of gonadal doses for different examination types, together with population and child expectancy data. New procedures, techniques and data processing that were relevant to this project had to be developed because the available information and conditions are unique to South Africa. The task was set to find a model in order to draw the best representative sample of the population and it was determined in a unique way, namely the so-called Dollar Unit Sampling method. A sample of 27 institutions out of a possible 292 (9%) was drawn in comparison, e.g., with the 8% of France and 8% in Great Britain. It was necessary to rely mainly on the calculation of gonad doses due to a shortage of manpower, contrary to other countries that were able to physically measure doses. Information obtained in the survey was used in this regard. The "RADCOMP Entrance Skin Exposure Software Program " of Nuclear Associates was used to produce parametric Free Air Exposure tables based on doses from Table B.3, NCRP Report No. 102. After the skin entrance doses were calculated, it was possible to calculate the gonad doses. A computer program was obtained from the Food and Drug Administration in the USA for this purpose. Data analysis was performed by means of the software package Microsoft Excel version 4.0. The above-mentioned formula was used in order to obtain the final results. The GSD for the total SA-population was calculated as 94.6 μGy. The breakdown of the GSD for the various South African race groups was Asian - 229.0 μGy, Black - 66.5 μGy, Coloured - 112.2 μGy and White - 463.4 μGy.
- ItemOpen AccessDose intercomparisons between computer planning, in-vivo and phantom measurements for Iridium-192 HDR Brachytherapy(2013) Hliziyo, Freedom; Kotzé, T CDuring gynaecological high-dose rate (HDR) intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT), invivo dosimetry is done to monitor the dose received by the bladder and rectum. This study was aimed at validating the need to do in-vivo dosimetry during ICBT. Thirty patients were recruited to participate in the study. Treatment setup data from the thirty patients was used to reproduce applicator and in-vivo diode treatment setups in a water phantom. Radiation doses administered to the patients were replicated in the water phantom to measure the doses at marked dose reference positions.
- ItemOpen AccessInvestigation of the barium enema x-ray examination as a significant contributor to the genetically-significant dose from diagnostic radiology(1997) Engel-Hills, Penelope Claire; Hering, Egbert RThe results of a study conducted by Maree (1995) indicated that the genetically-significant dose (GSD) for the white, female population in South Africa was considerably higher than the GSD for females in Great Britain, France and the United States of America. Further to this finding, Maree's study demonstrated that the barium enema x-ray examination was the major contributor to the GSD for this population group. A study of barium enema examinations was embarked on in order to explain the findings of Maree. The study was designed to include dose-area product measurements on patients having the barium enema procedure. In addition patient data and technique factors were recorded. The x-ray equipment used for the investigation was one digital and two non-digital fluoroscopic systems in the Western Cape. The digital unit utilised an overhead tube as did one of the conventional units. The other unit had an undercouch fluoroscopic tube and an overhead tube used for the standard radiography views. Comparison of the dose-area product measurements demonstrated that the unit having an undercouch tube had a mean dose-area product of 99.69 Gy cm² which culminates in a higher dose to the patient than the equipment utilising an overhead tube. The mean dose-area product of the two units with an overhead tube was 56.57 Gy cm² and 51.94 Gy cm² respectively. Free Air Exposure tables based on "RADCOMP Entrance Skin Exposure Software Program" (Nuclear Associates and Zamenhof, 1990) were used together with average technique factors to calculate skin entrance doses. These skin entrance doses were used to calculate gonad doses with the aid of a computer program from the Food and Drug Administration in the USA (Peterson and Rosenstein, 1989). The results were compared with the results of the barium enema component of the research conducted by Maree. The comparison indicated an average gonad dose for males of 242 μGy x 10⁻¹ (present study) compared to 485 μGy x 10⁻¹ (Maree) and an average gonad dose for females of 11185 μGy x 10⁻¹ (present study) compared to 16111 μGy x 10⁻¹ (Maree). Air-kerma at skin entrance was calculated using dose-area product measurements, recorded during the present study, for individual exposures and screening. These values were used to calculate the gonad dose. A discrepancy was demonstrated between the calculation of gonad dose from calculated as opposed measured skin entrance dose. The average gonad dose calculated by Maree is 16111 μGy x 10⁻¹ and the average gonad dose calculated for the present study using the measured skin entrance dose is 4236 μGy x 10⁻¹. This seems to explain the larger GSD estimated by Maree for the white female patients. A national protocol for measuring patient doses from x-ray examinations is proposed for South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessMeasured dose distributions of iodine-125 sources and the computerised optimisation of their positions in brachytherapy planning(1987) Rae, William Ian Duncombe; Shackleton, DavidThe use of 1-125 seeds in brachytherapy is widespread and becoming increasingly varied. The spatial dose distributions around two types of 1-125 seeds in general use, were measured using a Geiger-Muller chamber. Seeds with the 1-125 adsorbed onto resin spheres had a 10% less anisotropic dose distribution than seeds containing a silver wire with the 1-125 adsorbed onto it. An interpolative method was developed for fast dose calculations taking this anisotropy into account.
- ItemOpen AccessMicrodosimetry for a fast neutron therapy beam(1993) Binns, Peter Justin
- ItemOpen AccessThe neutron sensitivities of Geiger-Müller counters(1984) Jones, D T LNeutron beams are always accompanied by gamma rays. Because neutrons and gamma rays have different biological effects, it is essential that the neutron and gamma dose components be determined when neutron beams are used for radiotherapy and radiobiology. Since gamma ray dosimeters almost always also respond to neutrons, it is generally not possible to use two different devices to measure the separate dose components. The separate doses are usually determined by making measurements with two instruments which have different sensitivities to the two types of radiation and deducing the separate components from these measurements. One instrument usually has approximately equal sensitivity to both neutrons and gamma rays while the other has a low sensitivity to neutrons. The latter instrument is often a Geiger-Müller (G-M) counter. Although its neutron sensitivity (kᵤ) is low, it must be measured for accurate dose determinations. Previous u measurements of the neutron sensitivities of such counters have not always been in good agreement. In the present work the neutron sensitivities of two types of G-M counters, viz. ZP1320 and ZP1300 have been measured at neutron energies between 0.72 and 7.42 MeV. An absolute measurement of the neutron sensitivity of the ZP1320 counter was made at 3 MeV using the associated particle technique while the neutron sensitivities of both counters were measured at several energies using the pulsed beam time-of-flight technique. For the latter measurements a NE213 scintillation counter was used to measure the neutron flux. The detection efficiencies of this counter were calculated and the validity of the calculations were confirmed by measurements using the associated particle technique. The neutron sensitivities obtained in the present work are in reasonable agreement with most previous measurements. All available data for similar types of counters were fitted with a function of the form kᵤ(E) = a Eᵇ. The values of the fitting parameters were ZP1320 (0.72 to 7.42 MeV) : a = 0.10 ± 0.01, b = 1.32 ± 0.05 and ZP1300 (0.57 to 15.65 MeV) a = 0.25 ± 0.01, b = 1.32 -+ 0.05 b = 0.78 ± 0.03.
- ItemOpen AccessRadiation dose optimization in interventional radiology and cardiology using diagnostic reference levels(2016) De Vos, Hendrik Johannes; Trauernicht, Christoph Jan; Kotzé, T CThe International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) advises that in principle Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL) could be used in fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures to avoid unnecessary stochastic radiation risk. The increase in complexity of interventional procedures, combined with a lack of specialist training on radiation techniques, poses a significant risk to patients. These risks have not gone unnoticed by government authorities worldwide and in 2015 the South African Department of Health: Directorate Radiation Control issued requirements to license holders of interventional fluoroscopy units, requiring that a medical physicist optimize their radiation usage using DRLs. The Dose Area Product (DAP) quantity measured for each patient represents a dosimetry index, the value of which for the purpose of improvement should be optimized against the DRL. In this dissertation, I aim to establish if DRLs in the South African private healthcare interventional theatres are high compared to international levels and whether DRLs will optimize the doses used.
- ItemOpen AccessRadioactive lead studies in the human(1980) Blake, Keith Charles Hughes; Mann, Michael DThe differing susceptibility of individuals to the toxic effects of chronic lead exposure has never been fully understood. As the major intake of lead in the human is from food and beverages, any variation between individuals of the quantity of lead absorbed from the gut, and of the distribution and excretion of this lead, may account for the differences in individual susceptibility. The food and beverages themselves may have an influence, and to investigate their effects on absorption, distribution and excretion of lead, experiments were performed on normal subjects using a short-lived radionuclide of lead, ²⁰³Pb, and instruments generally available in Nuclear Medicine. Lead absorption between different individuals showed a wide variation when ²⁰³Pb was taken as a single dose between meals. The effect of fasting was to increase absorption and reduce the variation. This suggested that food with the lead in the gut was mainly responsible for the variation in lead absorption between individuals. This was confirmed when ²⁰³Pb was mixed into a control meal and eaten by fasted subjects. Lead absorption was again low and variable. In contrast, ²⁰³Pb taken in distilled water was avidly absorbed with little variation between subjects. The absorption of lead in water could be appreciably more than lead in food amongst the general population. Minerals were found to be mainly responsible for affecting absorption when one subject ingested ²⁰³Pb in control meals from which one dietary constituent at a time was omitted. The effect of minerals in reducing absorption of lead was greatest when they were ingested in distilled water. Lead in water with a low mineral content, such as 'soft' water, could be a hazard to population groups living in 'soft' water areas. There were also indications from these experiments that dietary constituents may affect the distribution and excretion of lead. Calcium and phosphorous were found to reduce the absorption of ²⁰³Pb to approximately the same level as that produced by the total minerals. Calcium reduced absorption more than phosphorous when these minerals were ingested separately with ²⁰³Pb. Paired kinetic experiments showed that calcium and phosphorous ingested at the same time as ²⁰³Pb affected its distribution in the body but not its rate of excretion. Using the data from the kinetic experiments, a compartmental model was developed which adequately described the kinetics of orally ingested ²⁰³Pb. The model suggested that calcium is mainly responsible for reducing absorption of lead from the gut, but that the effect of phosphorous is to increase soft tissue levels of lead at the expense of red cell lead. As susceptibility is related to soft tissue levels of lead, this suggests that the 'protective' effect of calcium in the gut is reduced. This could not be confirmed, however, as the kinetic data were insufficient for the model to distinguish the tissues particularly vulnerable to lead toxicity in the soft tissue compartment. It was concluded that the calcium and phosphorous in the diet could influence susceptibility to lead toxicity through changes in the absorption of food and water lead and in the distribution of lead in the body. The results suggest that the prophylactic effect of calcium on lead absorption should be recognised and applied in this time of increased environmental levels of lead.
- ItemOpen AccessThe use of thermoluminescent dosimeters for In-vivo dosimetry in a fast neutron therapy beam(2000) Bhengu, Khumbulani John; Jones, Dan T L; Langen, Katja MThermoluminescent detectors (TLD-700) have been investigated for absorbed dose measurements in a p(66)/Be neutron therapy beam at the National Accelerator Centre. Chips were selected based on their reproducibility and chip individual neutron calibration factors were derived. The dose non-linearity was determined in peak 5 and peak 6 and dose non-linearity corrections were performed. The sensitivity of TLD-700 chips with depth and off-axis distance was determined. In-vivo dose measurements were performed on seven patients (9 fields). In the entrance in-vivo dose measurements, a maximal deviation of 3.2 % was detected and a systematic difference of 1.7 % was observed. On the exit side, a maximal deviation of -7.3 % was detected and a systematic difference of -5.1 % was observed. The glow curve peak 6/5 ratio was investigated and found to correlate with the qualitative variations of the average LET in the neutron beam.
- ItemOpen AccessValidation of Monte Carlo-based calculations for small irregularly shaped intra-operative radiotherapy electron beams(2015) Lazarus, Graeme Lawrence; Hering, Egbert; Du Plessis, F C PThe objective was to implement a Monte Carlo-based Intra-operative radiation therapy programme at the institution of the author.