Radiation Therapy

or
Radiotherapy
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 Revision - RADIATION
DOSIMETERS
Ionization chamber dosimeters.

Film dosimeters.

Luminescence dosimeters (TLD/OSLD/RPLD).

Semiconductor dosimeters.
Other dosimeters
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OTHER DOSIMETRY SYSTEMS

• Alanine/EPR Dosimeters

• Plastic scintillator dosimeters

• Diamond dosimeters

• Gel dosimeters 3
 Radiotherapy – Radiation theraphy
• Cancer treatment that uses high doses of
radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
• Dose: The amount of medicine taken, or
radiation given, at one time.
• Radiation can damage cells. It is used to
diagnose and treat some types of cancer.
• The cell is a smallest unit that can live on its
own and that makes up all living organisms and
the tissues of the body.
• The human body has more than 30 trillion cells.
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How Radiation Therapy Works Against
Cancer
At high doses, radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth
by damaging their DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid).
• The molecules inside cells that carry
genetic information and pass it from
one generation to the next.
• DNA is made up of four building blocks
called nucleotides: Adenine (A),
Thymine (T), Guanine (G), and
Cytosine (C).
• The nucleotides attach to each other
(A with T, and G with C) to form
chemical bonds which connect the 5

two DNA strands.

How Radiation Therapy Works Against
Cancer
Radiation therapy kills
cancer cells or slows their
growth by damaging their
• Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged
beyond repair stop dividing or die.
• When the damaged cells die, they are
broken down and removed by the body.
• Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells
right away.
• It takes days or weeks of treatment before
DNA is damaged enough for cancer cells
to die.
• Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or
months after radiation therapy ends. 6
Types of Radiotherapy
External Beam radiotherapy

Internal radiotherapy
(Brachy therapy) 7
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External Beam radiotherapy Internal radiotherapy

 External Beam radiotherapy
• A type of radiation therapy that uses a
machine to aim high-energy rays at the
cancer from outside of the body.
• Also called external radiation therapy.
• The radiation coming from a machine
that aims at cancer cell.
• It is a local treatment, which means it
treats a specific part of your body.

Types of Beams Used in Radiation Therapy

i) Photons (ii) Electrons (iii) Proton & Heavy ions 9
 i) Photons in radiotherapy

• Most radiation therapy machines use photon

beams.
• Photon beams can reach tumors deep in the
body.
• Photons are also used in x-rays, but x-rays use
lower doses.
• As they travel through the body, photon
beams scatter little bits of radiation along
their path.
• These beams do not stop once they reach the 10

tumor, but go into normal tissue past it.

 ii) Electrons in radiotherapy

• Electrons are particles with a negative charge.

• Electron beams cannot travel very far through body tissues.
• Therefore, their use is limited to tumors on the skin or near the 11

surface of the body.

 iii) Proton beam in radiotherapy
• Protons are particles with a positive charge.
• Proton beams can also reach tumors deep in the body.
• proton beams do not scatter radiation on their path through the body
and they stop once they reach the tumor.

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 iii) Carbon beam or Heavy ions in radiotherapy

• Carbon ions are particularly heavy and loaded

with energy; thus, this radiation is also called
heavy ion therapy.
• With carbon ion irradiation, charged carbon
nuclei are directed at the tumor.
• The biological effectiveness of carbon ions is even
greater than that of protons and is used for
certain types of cancer.
• Fundamentally, ion radiation therapy has hardly
any side effects.
• Rarely, some side effects typical of radiation
therapy occur, and that depends on the body 13

region that is irradiated.

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Flow Chart

Difference

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 Internal radiotherapy or Brachytherapy
• Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation therapy in
which seeds, ribbons, or capsules that contain a radiation
source are placed in your body, in or near the tumor.
• Brachytherapy is a local treatment and treats only a
specific part of your body.
• Low-dose rate (LDR) implants: In this type of
brachytherapy, the radiation source stays in place for 1 to
7 days.
• High-dose rate (HDR) implants: In this type of
brachytherapy, the radiation source is left in place for just
10 to 20 minutes at a time and then taken out.
• Permanent implants: After the radiation source is put in
place, the catheter is removed. 16
 Treatment team
 Physicians/Oncologist – Oversees treatment
 Radiation therapist – Administers daily radiation
 Radiation Physicists – Proper tailoring of treatment
 Dosimetrists - To calculate proper dose of
radiation given to the tumour
 Nurses – Cares for the patient and educate the
family
 Family and friends – Moral/Financial support and patient care
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Role of Dosimetrist
• He/she has an overall knowledge of math, physics, anatomy
& physiology, radiobiology, and the overall characteristics and
clinical relevance of radiation oncology treatment machines
and equipment.
• The medical dosimetrist maintains a delicate balance
between delivering the prescription the physician has
written, while ensuring the patient will not lose important
healthy organ function.
• Dosimetrist performs calculations for the accurate delivery of
the radiation oncologist's prescribed dose, documents
pertinent information in the patient record, and verifies the
mathematical accuracy of all calculations using a system
established by the Medical Physicist.
• The application of specific methods of radiation
measurement including ion chamber, Luminescent 18
dosimeters (TLD or OSLD or RPLD), or film measurement as
directed by the medical physicist.
SUMMARY
 Radiotherapy
 Internal radiation therapy (Brachytherapy)
 External radiotherapy
 Photon – gamma and x-rays
 Protons and carbon (heavy ion therapy)
 Electron beam
 Treatment team – dosimetrists
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THANK YOU

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