The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dose perturbations for two metallic spinal screw implants in proton beam therapy in the perpendicular and parallel beam geometry. A 5.5 mm (diameter) by 45 mm (length) stainless steel (SS) screw and a 5.5 mm by 35 mm titanium (Ti) screw commonly used for spinal fixation were CT-scanned in a hybrid phantom of water and solid water. The C...

background: accurate small radiation field dosimetry is essential in modern radiotherapy techniques such as stereotactic radiosurgery (srs) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (imrt). precise measurement of dosimetric parameters such as beam profile, percentage depth doses and output factor of these beams are complicated due to the electron disequilibrium and the steep dose gradients. in the p...

Traditionally, total skin electron patients remove all clothing for treatment. It is generally assumed that this is best for the treatment of superficial skin lesions out of concern clothing may significantly perturb dose. We investigate the dosimetric effect of patient gowns and determine the necessity of treating patients naked. Using GAFCHROMIC EBT2 film, dose to a cylindrical phantom was me...

Kilovoltage x-ray beams are used for the treatment of facial cancers when located on the patient's skin or subcutaneous tissue. This is of course due to the sharp depth dose characteristics of these beams delivering much lower doses at depth, than high energy x-ray beams. When treatment is performed, lead shields are often used within the nasal passage, or behind the lips and ears. These shield...

Some dosimeters require a relationship between detector signal and delivered dose. The relationship (characteristic curve or calibration equation) usually depends on the environment under which the dosimeters are manufactured or stored. To compensate for the difference in radiation response among different batches of dosimeters, the measured dose can be scaled by normalizing the measured dose t...

Gafchromic XRCT radiochromic film is a self-developing high sensitivity radiochromic film product which can be used for assessment of delivered radiation doses which could match applications such as computed tomography (CT) dosimetry. The film automatically changes color upon irradiation changing from amber to dark greenish-black depending on the level of exposure. The absorption spectra of Gaf...