New model for an epoxy-based brachytherapy source to be used in spinal cancer treatment

Highlights: • Cold methodology for radiation source fabrication in epoxy resin is described. • Two molds were tested: commercial silicone and Teflon (better agreement). • Average dose by Monte-Carlo simulation for the regular plaque was 16.44 cGy/s. • 0.01 cm thickness variation led to differences of up to 12% in the dose rate. The present work described the cold fabrication of a P-32 radioactive source to be used in CNS cancer using epoxy resin. The epoxy plaque fabricated with Teflon mold presented better agreement. MCNP simulation evaluated the radiation dose. Special attention was given to factors that can impact dose distribution. Average dose was 16.44 ± 2.89% cGy/s. Differences of less than 0.01 cm in thickness within the plaque lead to differences of up to 12% in the dose rate.