Radiation therapy dosimetry system

highlights
• Pre-treatment delivery and phantom dosimetry in brachytherapy treatments were analyzed.
• Dose distribution in the head and neck was estimated by physical and mathematical dosimetry.
• Electron beam flattening was acquired by means of mathematical, physical and “in vivo” dosimetry.
• Integral dosimetry (INDOS) has been suggested as a routine dosimetric method in all radiation therapy treatments.

New therapeutic treatments generally aim to increase therapeutic efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Many aspects of radiation dosimetry have been studied and developed particularly in the field of external radiation. The success of radiotherapy relies on monitoring the dose of radiation to which the tumor and the adjacent tissues are exposed. Radiotherapy techniques have evolved through a rapid transition from conventional three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatments or radiosurgery and robotic radiation therapy. These advances push the frontiers in our effort to provide better patient care by improving the precision of the absorbed dose delivered. This paper presents state-of-the art radiation therapy dosimetry techniques as well as the value of integral dosimetry (INDOS), which shows promise in the fulfillment of radiation therapy dosimetry requirements.