Use of a Flexible Two-Dimensional Textile Dosimeter with a Kilogray Dose Range to Measure the Dose Distribution for a 60Co Source

TL;DR

A flexible textile dosimeter is developed to measure radiation dose distribution from a 60Co source on non-planar surfaces.

Contribution

A cotton-based dosimeter using NBT compound is introduced for high-dose-rate 60Co source characterization.

Findings

The dosimeter can measure doses between 0.8–45 kGy using the green channel of RGB scans.

The dosimeter effectively characterizes dose distribution on metal implant models and shielded structures.

The system is suitable for non-planar surfaces and high-dose-rate experiments.

Abstract

The two-dimensional (2D) measurement of radiation dose distribution on non-planar surfaces requires the use of a flexible dosimeter. This work concerns the use of a unique cotton textile-based dosimeter to characterize the dose distribution of a 60Co source used in the research and sterilization of products. Alternatively, for high-dose-rate experiments, an electron beam accelerator has been used. The dosimeter was prepared by the padding-squeezing-drying of a cotton textile made of cellulose, where a 10% solution of nitrotetrazolium blue chloride (NBT) was used for the padding process. NBT served as a radiation-sensitive compound, which transformed into a purple-brown NBT formazan upon exposure to ionizing radiation. The NBT dosimeter is scanned after irradiation using a flatbed scanner, and the data is processed using dedicated software packages, which together constitute a 2D dose distribution measurement system. The green channel of the RGB color model contributes the most to the color change of the dosimeter. The calibration relation obtained for the green channel showed that the dosimeter responds to doses of 0.8–45 kGy. Conversions of the green channel signal were performed using the calibration relation to analyze the 2D dose at a large distance and close to a 60Co source shielded by a solid metal and a cylindrical metal structure with holes. Additionally, the dose distribution was assessed using a dosimeter placed on metal implant models undergoing radiation serialization. This work demonstrates the potential of such a dosimeter for characterizing high-dose-rate 60Co sources and measuring the dose distribution on non-planar surfaces.

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