Encrypted login | home

Program Information

Out-Of-Field Dose Comparison for TrueBeam Low Energy Beams for Extended Distances: Measurement Vs Monte Carlo Simulation


K Wijesooriya

K Wijesooriya1,2*, N Liyanage2 , M Kaluarachchi3 , D Sawkey4 , (1) University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville, VA, (2) University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, (3) University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, (4) Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA

Presentations

SU-F-T-658 (Sunday, July 31, 2016) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall


Purpose:Patient dose far from the treatment field is comprised of scatter from within the patient, and treatment head leakage. We quantify the treatment head leakage for TrueBeam linear accelerator for 6X and 6X-FFF beams by comparing measurements to Monte Carlo simulations for a variety of jaw sizes and collimator rotations. This work is conceptually similar to that of Kry et al. (Medical Physics 2006; 33: 4405), who considered a Clinac linear accelerator.

Methods:Measurements were made using an EXRADIN A101 ion chamber positioned in the patient plane, at distances up to 100 cm from isocenter.

Simulations were done using VirtuaLinac, the GEANT4-based Monte Carlo model of the TrueBeam treatment head, and an in-house (U. Virginia) GEANT4-based code. In-house code modelled an ion chamber with build-up, based on a CT scan of the chamber. VirtuaLinac included a detailed model of the treatment head shielding, and was run on the Amazon Web Services cloud to generate spherical phase space files surrounding the treatment head. These phase space files were imported into the in-house code.



Results:Initial comparisons between measurements and simulation showed an excess of dose in the in-plane direction, away from the gantry, in the simulations. This was traced to an incomplete model of the shielding—specifically, the component holding the primary collimator was smaller in the model than in the TrueBeam. Modifications were made to VirtuaLinac to more closely match the engineering drawings.

In the in-plane direction, the lowest out of field dose was away from gantry (negative abscissa values) at around 60 cm from isocenter, for fields smaller than 10x10 cm2. Out of field dose decreased with decreasing jaw size. Flattening-filter free beam produced out-of-field doses as low as 65% of those with flattened beam.


Conclusion:Doses determined from simulation and measurement were in close agreement.

Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Funding support from the Jefferson Trust Foundation


Contact Email: