IAEA Training Material on Radiation Protection in Radiotherapy

RADIATION PROTECTION IN RADIOTHERAPY

Part 10: Optimization of protection in External Beam Radiotherapy PRACTICAL EXERCISE

IAEA Post Graduate Educational Course Radiation Protection and Safe Use of Radiation Sources

Objectives of Part 10

Be familiar with the design considerations as stipulated by appendix II in the BSS Be able to apply these design considerations in the context of radiotherapy equipment Be aware of relevant international standards and other documents which provide specification for external beam radiotherapy equipment

Radiotherapy

Part 10, Practical 2

IAEA Training Material on Radiation Protection in Radiotherapy

Part 10 : External Beam Radiotherapy

Practical 2: Calibration of a megavoltage photon beam using TRS 277

IAEA Post Graduate Educational Course Radiation Protection and Safe Use of Radiation Sources

Contents
Rationale for calibration Step by step procedure to be followed for calibration of a photon beam from a medical linear accelerator following IAEA TRS 277 Interpretation of results

Radiotherapy

Part 10, Practical 2

IAEA TRS 277

Assumes user has a calibration factor for exposure NX or airKERMA NK for the ion chamber/ electrometer combination in use Determines absolute dose to water
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What Minimum Equipment is Needed?

Linear accelerator with front pointer Water phantom, spirit level Calibrated ionization chamber and electrometer combination IAEA TRS 277 protocol

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Background

Calibration Chain

Primary Standard Lab: Calibration Cobalt Beam Secondary Standard Lab: Transfer of calibration factor to the users instrument using Cobalt radiation in air User: Determination of dose in water in users beam
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Radiotherapy

Assume you have a NE 2505/3 3A ion chamber and Farmer electrometer

Chamber volume 0.6cc Internal radius 3.15mm Internal length 24mm Get KERMA factor: Nk = 9.08 10-3 Gy/div

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First step: conversion of KERMA (in air) factor from SSDL to Absorbed dose to air chamber factor ND
ND = NK (1-g) kattkm with

If Exposure factor NX is known:

g the fraction of brehmsstrahlung generated in water for 60Co = 0.003 katt attenuation in wall correction km material (i.e. non-air) correction for wall and build-up cap

NK = NX (W/e) (1 - g)-1

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TRS 277 work sheet

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Want to calibrate a 6MV X Ray beam

SAD = 100cm Dmax = 1.5cm

Elekta

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Require beam quality

To be specified as TPR2010 = ratio of dose at isocentre with 20cm attenuation to the same with 10cm attenuation

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Want to calibrate a 6MV X Ray beam

SAD = 100cm Dmax = 1.5cm TPR2010 = 0.67

Elekta

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Effective point of measurement in chamber

Up stream of the physical centre

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Perform measurement in water phantom

PTW small water phantom

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Fill with water to correct depth Let temperature equilibrate (>1 hour) Level phantom Insert chamber Ensure linac settings and beam orientation correct
15

Reference conditions

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Want to calibrate a 6MV X Ray beam

SAD = 100cm Dmax = 1.5cm TPR2010 = 0.67 d = 5cm FS 10x10cm2 effective point of measurement 0.75r upstream

Elekta
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Need correction for

Temperature (the higher the less molecules in chamber) Pressure (the higher the more molecules in chamber)

PTp = P0/P (T + 273.2)/(T0 + 273.2)

with P and T the measured pressure (in kPa) and temperature (in oC) and P0 = 101.3kPa and T = 20oC as reference conditions
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Radiotherapy

Need also correction for recombination of ions in the chamber

Effect depends on radiation quality, dose rate and high voltage applied to the chamber Protocol provides a method to calculate it based on two chamber readings with different high voltages applied:
assume here: ps = 1.003 (i.e. we lose 0.3% of the generated ions due to recombination)

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Corrections of electrometer reading

Mu = Mraw pTP kh ps

with

Mu and Mraw the corrected and the raw reading pTP and ps the temperature, pressure and recombination correction kh a humidity correction - in most circumstances kh can be assumed to be 1

Please note that in electron beams also a polarity correction is required

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Calculation of absorbed dose to water, Dw at effective point of measurement Peff

Dw (Peff) = Mu ND sw,air pu
with Mu ND the corrected reading and the absorbed dose to air factor as discussed before sw,air the stopping power ratio between water and air to correct dose to air to dose to water pu a perturbation correction factor

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Stopping power ratios

From TRS 277 Energy dependent

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Perturbation correction

From TRS 277 Fig14 depends on chamber wall material for 2505/3A material is graphite pu = 0.993 for TPR2010=0.67

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Set-up of chamber

5cm chamber

95cm

Focus Chamber Distance (Peff) = 100cm Depth = 5cm water FS 10x10cm2 TPR2010 = 0.67 NE 2505/3A chamber 100 monitor units

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Questions:
Where is Peff compared to the geometric centre of the chamber? What is the stopping power ratio?

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IAEA Worksheet

Filled in for 60-Co !!!

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Please fill in the same sheet for your 6MV linac

Conditions and readings on the next page...

Final information
T = 22oC, p = 99.3kPa Uncorrected readings: 84.5, 84.2, 84.3 and 84.3

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Questions?

Lets get started...

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Result: 0.858 Gy per 100 monitor units

What is your reaction? Shut down the unit?

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Need to find out what the dose normalisation conditions are!

The centre has used as reference conditions a depth of 10cm (as recommended e.g. by several planning systems) TPR ratio between 10 and 5cm depth: TPR105 = 0.847 Therefore, the dose at reference point for the centre is 1.013 Gy per 100mu

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