BACKGROUND
Hydrated electrons, which are short-lived products of radiolysis in water, increase the optical absorption of water, providing a
… (see more)pathway toward near-tissue-equivalent clinical radiation dosimeters. This has been demonstrated in high-dose-per-pulse radiochemistry research, but, owing to the weak absorption signal, its application in existing low-dose-per-pulse radiotherapy provided by clinical linear accelerators (linacs) has yet to be investigated.
PURPOSE
The aims of this study were to measure the optical absorption associated with hydrated electrons produced by clinical linacs and to assess the suitability of the technique for radiotherapy (⩽ 1 cGy per pulse) applications.
METHODS
40 mW of 660-nm laser light was sent five passes through deionized water contained in a 10 × 4 ×