The comparison of the proton dose distribution calculated with the treatment planning system and measured with alanine detectors in the eye phantom irradiated under therapeutic conditions

Abstract The paper describes the applicability of commercially available alanine detectors produced by Synergy Health for verification of the dose distribution calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS) used in proton eye radiotherapy – Eclipse Ocular Proton Planning (EOPP) program, version 8.9.06, Varian Medical Systems. The TPS-planned dose distribution at selected points in the eye phantom is compared to the dose registered by alanine detectors at these points during a simulated therapeutic irradiation at the proton eye radiotherapy facility in the Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics (IFJ PAN), Krakow, Poland. The phantom was irradiated to obtain, a typical for choroidal melanoma, fraction dose of 15 CGE (13,64 Gy) at the tumor location. The dose registered with alanine pellets located inside the simulated tumor volume demonstrates a good agreement with the TPS-planned dose. The typical for proton radiotherapy, steep dose fall-off outside the treated area is registered by the alanine pellets however, it is difficult to assess it quantitatively, because the dose related EPR signal is registered from the entire pellet volume.