scholarly journals Experimental analysis of correction factors for reference dosimetry in a magnetic field

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 803-805
Author(s):  
Nicole Brand ◽  
Stefan Pojtinger ◽  
Savas Tsitsekidis ◽  
Daniela Thorwarth ◽  
Oliver S. Dohm

AbstractToday, hybrid systems of linear accelerator and MRI scanner are clinically available. Therefore it is important to investigate the feasibility of reference dosimetry with ionization chambers in the presence of a magnetic field and determine correction factors. In this work, correction factors under various conditions that influence the chamber response were experimentally investigated, using a conventional 6 MV linear accelerator together with a stand-alone magnet. We found that the correction factor for a PTW31010 ionization chamber ranges from 0.9873 to 1.009 depending on the magnetic field strength, magnetic field orientation and magnetic field size. The phantom material also does have an influence on the measured signal. Therefore, reference dosimetry with ionization chambers in the presence of a magnetic field is feasible, but requires dedicated correction factors, which depend on the experimental setup.

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-275
Author(s):  
Stefan Pojtinger ◽  
Oliver S. Dohm ◽  
Daniela Thorwarth

AbstractThe interest in hybrid systems combining magnetic resonance imaging and medical linear accelerator (MR-Linac) is rapidly increasing due to the clinical availability of different systems. Reference dosimetry is a critical issue for integrating these devices into clinical practice. However, the response of ionization chambers changes according to the distinct orientation of the chamber with respect to the magnetic field. In this study, we have carried out Monte Carlo simulations to identify an optimal orientation for thimble type chambers in MRgRT reference dosimetry. Our findings suggest that an orientation where the chamber axis is parallel to the magnetic field axis should be preferred.


Author(s):  
Tuba Tekin ◽  
Isabel Blum ◽  
Bjoern Delfs ◽  
Ann-Britt Schönfeld ◽  
Bjoern Poppe ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective This study investigates the perturbation correction factors of air-filled ionization chambers regarding their depth and magnetic field dependence. Focus has been placed on the displacement or gradient correction factor Pgr. Besides, the shift of the effective point of measurement Peff that can be applied to account for the gradient effect has been compared between the cases with and without magnetic field. Approach The perturbation correction factors have been simulated by stepwise modifications of the models of three ionization chambers (Farmer 30013, Semiflex 3D 31021 and PinPoint 3D 31022, all from PTW Freiburg). A 10 cm x 10 cm 6 MV photon beam perpendicular to the chamber’s axis was used. A 1.5 T magnetic field was aligned parallel to the chamber’s axis. The correction factors were determined between 0.4 and 20 cm depth. The shift of Peff from the chamber's reference point Pref, ∆z, was determined by minimizing the variation of the ratio between dose-to-water Dw(zref+∆z) and the dose-to-air Dair(zref) along the depth. Main Results The perturbation correction factors with and without magnetic field are depth dependent in the build-up region but can be considered as constant beyond the depth of dose maximum. Additionally, the correction factors are modified by the magnetic field. Pgr at the reference depth is found to be larger in 1.5 T magnetic field than in the magnetic field free case, where an increase of up to 1% is obserbed for the largest chamber (Farmer 30013). The magnitude of ∆z for all chambers decreases by 40% in a 1.5 T magnetic field with the sign of ∆z remains negative. Significance In reference dosimetry, the change of Pgr in a magnetic field can be corrected by applying the magnetic field correction factor kB Qmsr when the chamber is positioned with its Pref at the depth of measurement. However, due to the depth dependence of the perturbation factors, it is more convenient to apply the ∆z-shift during chamber positioning in relative dosimetry.


2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 944-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotfi Mhamdi ◽  
Nejib Mhamdi ◽  
Naceur Mhamdi ◽  
Philippe Lejeune ◽  
Nicole Jaffrezic ◽  
...  

This preliminary study focused on the effect of exposure to 0.5 T static magnetic fields on Escherichia coli adhesion and orientation. We investigated the difference in bacterial adhesion on the surface of glass and indium tin oxide-coated glass when exposed to a magnetic field either perpendicular or parallel to the adhesion surface (vectors of magnetic induction are perpendicular or parallel to the adhesion surface, respectively). Control cultures were simultaneously grown under identical conditions but without exposure to the magnetic field. We observed a decrease in cell adhesion after exposure to the magnetic field. Orientation of bacteria cells was affected after exposure to a parallel magnetic field. On the other hand, no effect on the orientation of bacteria cells was observed after exposure to a perpendicular magnetic field.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1207-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Janhunen

Abstract. Plasma brake is a thin, negatively biased tether that has been proposed as an efficient concept for deorbiting satellites and debris objects from low Earth orbit. We simulate the interaction with the ionospheric plasma ram flow with the plasma-brake tether by a high-performance electrostatic particle in cell code to evaluate the thrust. The tether is assumed to be perpendicular to the flow. We perform runs for different tether voltage, magnetic-field orientation and plasma-ion mass. We show that a simple analytical thrust formula reproduces most of the simulation results well. The interaction with the tether and the plasma flow is laminar (i.e. smooth and not turbulent) when the magnetic field is perpendicular to the tether and the flow. If the magnetic field is parallel to the tether, the behaviour is unstable and thrust is reduced by a modest factor. The case in which the magnetic field is aligned with the flow can also be unstable, but does not result in notable thrust reduction. We also correct an error in an earlier reference. According to the simulations, the predicted thrust of the plasma brake is large enough to make the method promising for low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite deorbiting. As a numerical example, we estimate that a 5 km long plasma-brake tether weighing 0.055 kg could produce 0.43 mN breaking force, which is enough to reduce the orbital altitude of a 260 kg object mass by 100 km over 1 year.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 3411-3419 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Martini ◽  
K. Mursula

Abstract. We study here the recently proposed measure of local geomagnetic activity called the IHV (Inter-Hour Variability) index calculated for the Eskdalemuir (ESK) station. It was found earlier that the ESK IHV index depicts an artificial, step-like increase from 1931 to 1932. We show here that this increase is due to the fact that the values of the magnetic field components of the ESK observatory stored at the World Data Center are two-hour running averages of hourly data stored in ESK yearbooks. Two-hour averaging greatly reduces the variability of the data which leads to artificially small values of the IHV index in 1911–1931. We also study the effect of two-hour averaging upon hourly mean and spot values using 1-minute data available for recent years, and calculate the correction factors for the early years, taking into account the weak dependence of correction factors on solar activity. Using these correction factors, we correct the ESK IHV indices in 1912–1931, and revise the estimate of the centennial change based on them. The effect of correction is very significant: the centennial increase in the ESK IHV-raw (IHV-cor) index in 1912–2000 changes from 73.9% (134.4%) before correction to 10.3% (25.3%) thereafter, making the centennial increase at ESK quite similar to other mid-latitude stations. Obviously, earlier long-term studies based on ESK IHV values are affected by the correction and need to be revised. These results also strongly suggest that the ESK yearbook data should be digitized and the hourly ESK data at WDC should be replaced by them.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1247-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Turc ◽  
D. Fontaine ◽  
P. Savoini ◽  
E. K. J. Kilpua

Abstract. Magnetic clouds (MCs) are large-scale magnetic flux ropes ejected from the Sun into the interplanetary space. They play a central role in solar–terrestrial relations as they can efficiently drive magnetic activity in the near-Earth environment. Their impact on the Earth's magnetosphere is often attributed to the presence of southward magnetic fields inside the MC, as observed in the upstream solar wind. However, when they arrive in the vicinity of the Earth, MCs first encounter the bow shock, which is expected to modify their properties, including their magnetic field strength and direction. If these changes are significant, they can in turn affect the interaction of the MC with the magnetosphere. In this paper, we use data from the Cluster and Geotail spacecraft inside the magnetosheath and from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) upstream of the Earth's environment to investigate the impact of the bow shock's crossing on the magnetic structure of MCs. Through four example MCs, we show that the evolution of the MC's structure from the solar wind to the magnetosheath differs largely from one event to another. The smooth rotation of the MC can either be preserved inside the magnetosheath, be modified, i.e. the magnetic field still rotates slowly but at different angles, or even disappear. The alteration of the magnetic field orientation across the bow shock can vary with time during the MC's passage and with the location inside the magnetosheath. We examine the conditions encountered at the bow shock from direct observations, when Cluster or Geotail cross it, or indirectly by applying a magnetosheath model. We obtain a good agreement between the observed and modelled magnetic field direction and shock configuration, which varies from quasi-perpendicular to quasi-parallel in our study. We find that the variations in the angle between the magnetic fields in the solar wind and in the magnetosheath are anti-correlated with the variations in the shock obliquity. When the shock is in a quasi-parallel regime, the magnetic field direction varies significantly from the solar wind to the magnetosheath. In such cases, the magnetic field reaching the magnetopause cannot be approximated by the upstream magnetic field. Therefore, it is important to take into account the conditions at the bow shock when estimating the impact of an MC with the Earth's environment because these conditions are crucial in determining the magnetosheath magnetic field, which then interacts with the magnetosphere.


1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 2761-2764 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. V. Coroniti ◽  
E. W. Greenstadt ◽  
S. L. Moses ◽  
B. T. Tsurutani ◽  
E. J. Smith

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