Polymer gel dosimetry using computed tomography

Abstract Polymer gel dosimeter (PGD) is a type of integrating chemical dosimeter that, with the use of a suitable phantom, can be used for evaluation of the absorbed dose (dose distribution) deposited into a polymer gel by various irradiation modalities. Using suitable compounds of gel and appropriate parameters affecting the quality of the final image, evaluation using computed tomography (CT) should become a more advantageous alternative to magnetic resonance (MR), which is the most frequently applied method for the purposes of polymer gel dosimetry so far. In our work, several compositions of polymer gels (PG) were tested; evaluation was made via CT and MR, and values of dose and relative dose resolution were calculated. The optimal protocol for CT imaging and comparison of results from CT and MR are discussed.