Characterization of a new low-dose and low-energy Gafchromic film LD-V1

Purpose: To characterize the dose-response, energy dependence, postexposure changes, orientation dependence, and spatial capabilities of LD-V1, a new low-dose Gafchromic film for low-energy x-ray dosimetry.

Methods: A single sheet of LD-V1 Gafchromic film was cut into 15 × 20 mm² rectangles with a notch to track orientation. Eight different doses between 5 and 320 mGy were delivered by an MXR-160/22 x-ray tube using x-ray beams of 90, 100, and 120 kVp filtered with 3 mm of Al and 2 mm of Ti. The 120 kVp films were scanned at 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 168 h postexposure in portrait orientation and additionally scanned in landscape orientation at 24 h. The 90 and 100 kVp films were scanned at 24 h postexposure in portrait orientation. Lastly, a 20 × 200 mm² strip of film was irradiated using a thin-slit imaging collimator and scanned 24 h postexposure to test the film performance in an x-ray imaging application.

Results: Of the three color channels, the red channel was found to produce a dose-response curve with a large range of net optical density (netOD) values across the considered dose range. A prominent energy dependence was discovered, resulting in dose discrepancies on the scale of 17 mGy between 90 and 120 kVp for a dose of 80 mGy. The measured postexposure changes suggest that the calibration irradiation-to-scan time should be longer than 12 h with a ± 4 h scanning time window for dose errors of <0.5%. An average dose difference of 3.4% was found between the two scanning orientations. Lastly, noise of 4% was measured in the thin slit collimator film for a dose of 30 mGy.

Conclusions: We have characterized the LD-V1 film for low-energy, low-dose x-ray dosimetry. Energy, scan-time, and orientation dependencies should be considered when using this film.