Miniaturised, low-cost device to monitor radiation exposure during
radiotherapy
18 November 2007 A team from the Department of Electronics and Computer
Science at the University of Granada (UGR), together with the Department of
Radiology at the Hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada, have developed a
portable and low-cost device which can measure the ionizing radiation a
patient is exposed to during, for example, radiotherapy.

The device that will make possible quality control of
radiotherapy treatments Ionizing radiation plays a vital role in
the treatment and diagnosis of malignant neoplastic illnesses as well as in
the diagnosis of other pathologies. However, according to Manuel Vilches
Pacheco from the Medical Physics and Radiology Department at the Hospital
Virgen de las Nieves in Granada, “The potential harm ionizing radiations can
cause means that, in order to obtain clinical benefits and reduce the onset
of unwanted adverse effects as much as possible, they must be used under
strict quality control”. This makes it important to develop instruments
which can verify the final result by carrying out a direct follow-up of
treatments administered to patients, such as image registration (portal
imaging system) or the in vivo measurement of the exact dose administered to
patients. In vivo control Portal imaging systems have greatly
improved in the last five years and are widely used today. This is not the
case for systems used for in vivo dose measurement which, in a significant
number of patients and treatment sessions, “has been limited to a few
centres”. This is because a great amount of effort is required to place the
device onto the patient and as it interferes noticeably with the treatment
it can considerably modify the distribution of the administered dose. The
new device is made of low-cost and reusable electronic devices, does not
require an electricity connection or a reading supply unit and it minimizes
treatment disorders. This is “something that was impossible until now,”
according to Alberto Palma López, Department of Electronics and Computer
Science at the University of Granada. Furthermore, the device’s design has
metrological characteristics which ensures that it performs correctly at
high temperatures. This means the room does not need to be specially
adapted. The detector’s minuscule size can measure the radiation quickly in
different areas of the body as well as keep a historical record of the
patient. Significant progress has been made in encouraging the widespread
use in vivo dosimetry control, an important element among patients
undergoing radiotherapy. However, its use can be extended to other
radiological practices such as diagnosis by x-ray or for the protection of
professionals exposed to a radioactive environment. To top
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