Development and operation of a pixel segmented liquid-filled linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance.

A liquid isooctane (C(8)H(18)) filled ionization linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance has been designed, built and tested. The detector consists of 128 pixels, each of them with an area of 1.7 mm x 1.7 mm and a gap of 0.5 mm. The small pixel size makes the detector ideal for high gradient beam profiles such as those present in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and radiosurgery. As the read-out electronics we use the X-ray Data Acquisition System with the Xchip developed by the CCLRC. Studies concerning the collection efficiency dependence on the polarization voltage and on the dose rate have been made in order to optimize the device operation. In the first tests, we have studied dose rate and energy dependences. Dose rate dependence was found to be lower than 2.1% up to 5 Gy min(-1), and energy dependence lower than 2.5% up to 20 cm depth in solid water. Output factors and penumbras for several rectangular fields have been measured with the linear array and were compared with the results obtained with a 0.125 cm(3) air ionization chamber and radiographic film, respectively. Finally, we have acquired profiles for an IMRT field and for a virtual wedge. These profiles have also been compared with radiographic film measurements. All the comparisons show a good correspondence. The device has proved its capability to verify on-line therapy beams with good spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.