Optimization of solid tank design for fan-beam optical CT based 3D radiation dosimetry

Optical computed tomography (CT) is one of the leading modalities for imaging gel dosimeters for 3D radiation dosimetry. There exist multiple scanner designs that have showcased excellent 3D dose verification capabilities of optical CT gel dosimetry. However, due to multiple experimental and reconstruction based factors there is currently no single scanner that has become a preferred standard. A significant challenge with setup and maintenance can be attributed to maintaining a large refractive index bath (1–15 l). In this work, a prototype solid 'tank' optical CT scanner is proposed that minimizes the volume of refractive index bath to between 10 and 35 ml. A ray-path simulator was created to optimize the design such that the solid tank geometry maximizes light collection across the detector array, maximizes the volume of the dosimeter scanned, and maximizes the collected signal dynamic range. An objective function was created to score possible geometries, and was optimized to find a local maximum geometry score from a set of possible design parameters. The design parameters optimized include the block length x _bl, bore position x _bc, fan-laser position x _lp, lens block face semi-major axis length x _ma, and the lens block face eccentricity x _be. For the proposed design it was found that each of these parameters can have a significant effect on the signal collection efficacy within the scanner. Simulations scores are specific to the attenuation characteristics and refractive index of a simulated dosimeter. It was found that for a FlexyDos3D dosimeter, the ideal values for each of the five variables were: x _bl = 314 mm, x _bc = 6.5 mm, x _lp = 50 mm, x _ma = 66 mm, and x _be = 0. In addition, a ClearView^™ dosimeter was found to have ideal values at: x _bl = 204 mm, x _bc = 13 mm, x _lp = 58 mm, x _ma = 69 mm, and x _be = 0. The ray simulator can also be used for further design and testing of new, unique and purpose-built optical CT geometries. (paper)