Program Information
Evaluation of a New Stereotactic Diode for Small Field Dosimetry
J Kralik*, P Kosterin , R Mooij , T Solberg , University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Presentations
SU-E-T-376 (Sunday, July 12, 2015) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To evaluate the performance of a new stereotactic diode for dosimetry of small photon fields.
Methods: A new stereotactic diode, consisting of an unshielded p-type silicon chip, and with improved radiation hardness energy dependence was recently developed (IBA Dosimetry, Schwarzenbruch, Germany). The diode has an active volume of 0.6 mm dia. x 0.02 mm thick. Two new diodes were evaluated, one which was pre-irradiated to 100kGy with 10 MeV electrons and another which received no prior irradiation. Sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, and linearity as a function of dose were assessed. Beam profiles and small field output factors were measured on a CyberKnife (CK) and compared with measurements using two commercially available diodes.
Results: The new diodes exhibit linear behavior (within 0.6%) over a dose range 0.02 – 50 Gy; a commercially available device exhibits excursions of up to 4% over the same range. The sensitivity is 4.1 and 3.8 nC/Gy for the un-irradiated and pre-irradiated diodes, respectively. When irradiated with 150 Gy in dose increments of 5, 20 and 35 Gy, both new diodes provide a stable response within 0.5%. Output factors measured with the two new diodes are identical and compare favorably with other commercially available diodes and published data. Similarly, no differences in measured field size or penumbra were observed among the devices tested.
Conclusion: The new diodes show excellent stability and sensitivity. The beam characterization in terms of output factors and beam profiles is consistent with that obtained with commercially available diodes.
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