Radiotherapy dosimetry based on plastic optical fibre sensors

The use of a PMMA based plastic optical fibre in radiotherapy dosimetry is presented. The optical fibre tip is coated with a scintillation material, terbium-doped gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S:Tb), which fluoresces under ionising radiation. The emitted signal penetrates the fibre and propagates along the fibre where it is remotely monitored using a fluorescence spectrometer. The results demonstrate good repeatability, with a maximum percentage error of 0.59% and the response is independent of dose rate.