Application of Gel Dosimetry

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing complexity of modern radiotherapy necessitates improved performance from dosimetric systems used for quality assurance. In recent decades, gel dosimeters have emerged as a promising technology for the experimental validation of individualized, complex treatment plans. Clinical and metrological interest in these devices is motivated by their high tissue equivalency and inherent three-dimensional radiation response. Notably, gel dosimeters might enable the manufacturing of personalized anthropomorphic phantoms, accurately replicating patient anatomy and tissue inhomogeneities, which is crucial for individualized dosimetry.

The inherent multidisciplinary nature of gel dosimetry, spanning medical physics, radiation chemistry, and advanced imaging, has fueled significant interest from researchers. Current research focuses on developing novel gel formulations with reduced toxicity, enhanced stability, and adjustable sensitivity, as well as on the validation of gel measurements with respect to reference data. Simultaneously, the optimization of readout techniques, also leveraging advanced imaging modalities, is also being actively pursued. However, challenges such as achieving accurate three-dimensional absolute calibration, ensuring response reproducibility, maintaining spatial and temporal stability, and mitigating quenching effects with high-LET particles still hinder the widespread clinical adoption of gel dosimeters.

Despite these obstacles, ongoing research offers significant opportunities for fundamental scientific advancement, potentially solidifying gel dosimetry's role in the future of radiation therapy quality assurance.

For this Special Issue, we invite submissions covering all aspects of gel dosimetry, including experimental studies on novel concepts and formulations, investigations into radiation chemistry, optimization and validation campaigns, advancements in imaging techniques, and computational studies.

Dr. Gabriele Magugliani
Dr. Eros Mossini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.