Influencing Factors on Reproducibility and Stability of MRI NIPAM Polymer Gel Dosimeter

Introduction: At present, the polymer gel dosimeter is considered to be the best possible dosimeter for measuring 3-dimesional radiation dose distribution in radiotherapy. These gels are normally toxic; therefore, manufacturing, handling and discarding them require special attention. In order to find less toxic recipe, N-isopropyle acrylamide polymer gel (NIPAM) was introduced. In this study, the reproducibility and stability of NIPAM polymer gel dose response together with some influencing factors related to MR imaging were studied. Methods: The NIPAM gel was prepared according to a method, described by senden et al in 2006. The gels were irradiated approximately 2 h after manufacturing and MR images of the gel were made 24 h after irradiation. The effects of different batches, post-irradiation time and the MRI room temperature on reproducibility and stability of polymer gel dose response were explored by analyzing the NMR response (R2) of the gel. Results: In a fixed temperature, the response of the gel was found to be stable 24 h after irradiation. The results showed that the dose response of the NIPAM polymer gel is highly reproducible in the same and different batches of chemical. No inhomogeneity was observed for magnetic fields in the specified position of measurements and 5°C fluctuation was recorded for MRI room temperature. Conclusion: Fluctuation in MRI room temperature necessitates that stringent attention to be paid to controlling the gel temperature at the time of imaging. The new formulation of polymer gel ensures stability of the gels’ spatial resolution and makes it a suitable dosimeter for distant or remote measurements.