Purpose: To demonstrate the suitability of optically stimulated luminescence detectors (OSLDs) for accurate simultaneous measurement of the absolute point dose and dose-weighted linear energy transfer (LET_D) in an anthropomorphic phantom for experimental validation of daily adaptive proton therapy.
Methods: A clinically realistic intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) treatment plan was created based on a CT of an anthropomorphic head-and-neck phantom made of tissue-equivalent material. The IMPT plan was optimized with three fields to deliver a uniform dose to the target volume covering the OSLDs. Different scenarios representing inter-fractional anatomical changes were created by modifying the phantom. An online adaptive proton therapy workflow was used to recover the daily dose distribution and account for the applied geometry changes. To validate the adaptive workflow, measurements were performed by irradiating Al₂O₃:C OSLDs inside the phantom. In addition to the measurements, retrospective Monte Carlo simulations were performed to compare the absolute dose and dose-averaged LET (LET_D) delivered to the OSLDs.
Results: The online adaptive proton therapy workflow was shown to recover significant degradation in dose conformity resulting from large anatomical and positioning deviations from the reference plan. The Monte Carlo simulations were in close agreement with the OSLD measurements, with an average relative error of 1.4% for doses and 3.2% for LET_D. The use of OSLDs for LET determination allowed for a correction for the ionization quenched response.
Conclusion: The OSLDs appear to be an excellent detector for simultaneously assessing dose and LET distributions in proton irradiation of an anthropomorphic phantom. The OSLDs can be cut to almost any size and shape, making them ideal for in-phantom measurements to probe the radiation quality and dose in a predefined region of interest. Although we have presented the results obtained in the experimental validation of an adaptive proton therapy workflow, the same approach can be generalized and used for a variety of clinical innovations and workflow developments that require accurate assessment of point dose and/or average LET.