Verification and uniformity control of doses for Sr/Y intravascular brachytherapy sources using radiochromic film dosimetry

Intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT) is a useful treatment modality for the recurrence of in-stent restenosis following drug-eluting stents (DES) or IVBT failure. The objective of this study was to measure the dose rate of (90)Sr/(90)Y IVBT sources for comparison with that given by the manufacturer and to control the dose uniformities of these sources along the source axis. The dose rates of (90)Sr/(90)Y beta sources were measured with a radiochromic film in a custom-made phantom. The films for calibration were irradiated using (60)Co photon beams. The results for the three sources were 4.5%, 2.3%, and 3.5% higher than the corresponding certificate values. Maximum and minimum of the dose rates varied within +/-10% of those at source center; and maximum dose discrepancy for the first (90)Sr/(90)Y source train was 8.2%; for the second source train, 7.1%; and for the third source train, 5.1%. Our study showed that the dose rates given by the manufacturer for the three (90)Sr/(90)Y IVBT sources were reliable and dose uniformities were within +/-10% along two thirds of the treatment length.