Evaluation of spatial resolution in image acquisition by optical flatbed scanners for radiochromic film dosimetry

Introduction: Radiochromic films are two-dimensional dosimeters that do not require developing and give values of absorbed dose with accuracy and precision. Since this dosimeter colours directly after irradiation, it can be digitized with commercial optical flatbed scanners to obtain a calibration curve that links blackening of the film with dose. Although the film has an intrinsic high spatial resolution, the scanner determines the actual resolution of this dosimeter, in particular the "dot per inch" (dpi) parameter. The present study investigates the effective spatial resolution of a scanner used for Gafchromic (R) XR-QA2 film (designed for radiology Quality Assurance) analysis. Material and methods: The quantitative evaluation of the resolution was performed with the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) method, comparing the nominal resolution with the experimental one. The analysis was performed with two procedures. First, the 1951 USAF resolution test chart, a tool that tests the performance of optical devices, was used. Secondly, a combined system of mammography X-ray tube, XR-QA2 film and a bar pattern object was used. In both cases the MTF method has been applied and the results were compared. Results: The USAF and the film images have been acquired with increasing dpi and a standard protocol for radiochromic analysis, to evaluate horizontal and vertical and resolution. The effective resolution corresponds to the value of the MTF at 50%. In both cases and for both procedures, it was verified that, starting from a dpi value, the effective resolution saturates. Conclusion: The study found that, for dosimetric applications, the dpi of the scanner have to be adjusted to a reasonable value because, if too high, it requires high scanning and computational time without providing additional information.