Dose-rate constant and air-kerma strength evaluation of a new 125-I brachytherapy source using Monte-Carlo

Brachytherapy is a modality of radiotherapy which treats tumors using ionizing radiation with sources located close to the tumor. The sources can be produced from several radionuclides in various formats, such as Iodine-125 seeds and Iridium-192 wires. In order to produce a new Iodine-125 seed in IPEN/CNEN and ensure its quality, it is essential to describe the dosimetry of the seed, so when applied in a treatment the lowest possible dose to neighboring healthy tissues can be reached. The report by the AAPM's Task Group 43 U1 is a document that indicates the dosimetry procedures in brachytherapy based on physical and geometrical parameters. In this study, dose-rate constant and air-kerma strength parameters were simulated using the Monte Carlo method radiation transport code MCNP4C. The air-kerma strength is obtained from an ideal modeled seed, since its actual value should be measured for seeds individually in a specialized lab with a Wide-Angle Free-Air Chamber (WAFAC). Dose-rate constant and air-kerma strength are parameters that depends on intrinsic characteristics of the source, i.e. geometry, radionuclide, encapsulation, and together they define the dose-rate to the reference point, defined as the dose-rate to a point 1 cm away from the geometric center of the source, in its transverse plane. This study presents the values found for these parameters with associated statistical uncertainty, and is part of a larger project that aims the full dosimetry of this new seed model, including experimental measures. (author)