Passively scattered proton beam entrance dosimetry with a plastic scintillation detector.

We tested the feasibility of using plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) for proton entrance dosimetry. A PSD built with BCF-12 scintillating fiber was used to measure the absolute entrance dose of a passively scattered proton beam for energies ranging from 140 to 250 MeV, and for a range of spread out Bragg peak (SOBP) widths at two energies, to quantify the effect of ionization quenching on the response of the detector and to determine the necessity of Cerenkov radiation correction in proton beams. The overall accuracy and precision of the PSD was evaluated by measuring lateral beam profiles and comparing the results with profiles measured using film. The PSD under-responded owing to ionization quenching, exhibiting approximately a 7% loss of signal at the highest energy studied (250 MeV) and a 10% loss of signal at the lowest energy studied (140 MeV). For a given nominal energy, varying the SOBP width did not significantly alter the response of the PSD. Cerenkov radiation contributed negligibly to the PSD signal and can be safely ignored without introducing more than 1% error in the measured dose. Profiles measured with the PSD and film agreed to within the uncertainty of the detector, demonstrating good relative accuracy. Although correction factors were necessary to account for ionization quenching, the magnitude of the correction varied minimally over a broad range of energies; PSDs therefore represent a practical detector for proton entrance dosimetry.