Program Information
Using PRIMO, a PENELOPE-Based Software, to Improve the Small Field Dosimetry of Linear Accelerators
H Benmakhlouf1*, L Brualla2 , P Andreo1 , J Sempau3 , (1) Department of Medical Physics, Karolinska University Hospital, (2) NCTeam, Strahlenklinik, Universitatsklinikum Essen, (3) Institut de Tecniques Energetiques, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Presentations
SU-F-T-367 (Sunday, July 31, 2016) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To calculate output correction factors for Varian Clinac 2100iX beams for seven small field detectors and use the values to determine the small field output factors for the linacs at Karolinska university hospital.
Methods: Phase space files (psf) for square fields between 0.25cm and 10cm were calculated using the PENELOPE-based PRIMO software. The linac MC-model was tuned by comparing PRIMO-estimated and experimentally determined depth doses and lateral dose-profiles for 40cmx40cm fields. The calculated psf were used as radiation sources to calculate the correction factors of IBA and PTW detectors with the code penEasy/PENELOPE.
Results: The optimal tuning parameters of the MC-linac model in PRIMO were 5.4 MeV incident electron energy and zero energy spread, focal spot size and beam divergence. Correction factors obtained for the liquid ion chamber (PTW-T31018) are within 1% down to 0.5 cm fields. For unshielded diodes (IBA-EFD, IBA-SFD, PTW-T60017 and PTW-T60018) the corrections are up to 2% at intermediate fields (>1cm side), becoming down to -11% for fields smaller than 1cm. The shielded diode (IBA-PFD and PTW-T60016) corrections vary with field size from 0 to -4%. Volume averaging effects are found for most detectors in the presence of 0.25cm fields.
Conclusion: Good agreement was found between correction factors based on PRIMO-generated psf and those from other publications. The calculated factors will be implemented in output factor measurements (using several detectors) in the clinic. PRIMO is a user-friendly general code capable of generating small field psf and can be used without having to code own linac geometries. It can therefore be used to improve the clinical dosimetry, especially in the commissioning of linear accelerators. Important dosimetry data, such as dose-profiles and output factors can be determined more accurately for a specific machine, geometry and setup by using PRIMO and having a MC-model of the detector used.
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