The Woodruff School

SUMMARY

Current brachytherapy treatment planning systems are unable to accurately calculate dose distributions in the vicinity of brachytherapy sources having active lengths much greater than 5 mm. While low dose-rate 137Cs sources are dosimetrically characterized using antiquated along-away tables with simple linear-linear interpolation errors in dose calculation exceeding 30% occur due to algorithm inadequacy. The method presented in this thesis permits dosimetric characterization of elongated brachytherapy sources with active lengths 0 < L < 10 cm for implementation on an FDA-approved clinical TPS. Low- and high-energy photon-emitting sources of Pd-103 and Ir-192, respectively, were examined.

SUBJECT:	M.S. Thesis Presentation

BY:	Elizabeth Bannon

TIME:	Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:00 a.m.

PLACE:	Boggs, 3-47

TITLE:	Dosimetric Characterization of Elongated Brachytherapy Sources Using Monte Carlo Methods

COMMITTEE:	Dr. Mark J. Rivard, Co-Chair (Tufts Medical Center) Dr. Chris Wang, Co-Chair (NRE/MP) Dr. Sang Cho (NRE/MP)

SUMMARY Current brachytherapy treatment planning systems are unable to accurately calculate dose distributions in the vicinity of brachytherapy sources having active lengths much greater than 5 mm. While low dose-rate 137Cs sources are dosimetrically characterized using antiquated along-away tables with simple linear-linear interpolation errors in dose calculation exceeding 30% occur due to algorithm inadequacy. The method presented in this thesis permits dosimetric characterization of elongated brachytherapy sources with active lengths 0 < L < 10 cm for implementation on an FDA-approved clinical TPS. Low- and high-energy photon-emitting sources of Pd-103 and Ir-192, respectively, were examined.