Imaging and dosimetry of synchrotron microbeam with aluminum oxide fluorescent detectors

For the first time, fluorescence nuclear track detectors (FNTDs) were investigated for measuring synchrotron microbeams. Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) uses highly collimated, quasi-parallel arrays of X-ray microbeams that show preferential damage to tumors, causing little or no appreciable damage to normal tissues. To measure microbeam radiation, perspective detectors must have high spatial resolution and a wide dynamic range because of the dose distributions and range of doses used. FNTDs are optically stable, can be read with diffraction limited resolution, and provide a wide dynamic range. High spatial resolution dose profiles of microbeams are presented. Peak-to-valley dose ratios measured by FNTDs are consistent with published data. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.