| 1. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, et al.
(author)
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Backscatter factors and mass energy-absorption coefficient ratios for diagnostic radiology dosimetry
- 2011
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In: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 56:22, s. 7179-7204
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Backscatter factors, B, and mass energy-absorption coefficient ratios, (mu(en)/rho)(omega,) (air), for the determination of the surface dose in diagnostic radiology were calculated using Monte Carlo simulations. The main purpose was to extend the range of available data to qualities used in modern x-ray techniques, particularly for interventional radiology. A comprehensive database for mono-energetic photons between 4 and 150 keV and different field sizes was created for a 15 cm thick water phantom. Backscattered spectra were calculated with the PENELOPE Monte Carlo system, scoring track-length fluence differential in energy with negligible statistical uncertainty; using the Monte Carlo computed spectra, B factors and (mu(en)/rho)(omega), air were then calculated numerically for each energy. Weighted averaging procedures were subsequently used to convolve incident clinical spectra with mono-energetic data. The method was benchmarked against full Monte Carlo calculations of incident clinical spectra obtaining differences within 0.3-0.6%. The technique used enables the calculation of B and (mu(en)/rho)(w), air for any incident spectrum without further time-consuming Monte Carlo simulations. The adequacy of the extended dosimetry data to a broader range of clinical qualities than those currently available, while keeping consistency with existing data, was confirmed through detailed comparisons. Mono-energetic and spectra-averaged values were compared with published data, including those in ICRU Report 74 and IAEA TRS-457, finding average differences of 0.6%. Results are provided in comprehensive tables appropriated for clinical use. Additional qualities can easily be calculated using a designed GUI interface in conjunction with software to generate incident photon spectra.
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| 2. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, et al.
(author)
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Influence of phantom thickness and material on the backscatter factors for diagnostic x-ray beam dosimetry
- 2013
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In: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 58:2, s. 247-260
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most of the existing backscatter factors for the dosimetry of clinical diagnostic x-ray beams have been calculated for 15 cm thick phantoms; these data are used for skin dose determinations which in general ignore the influence of phantom material and thickness. The former should strictly be required whenever dosimetry measurements are made on phantom materials different from those used for the backscatter factor calculations. The phantom or patient thickness is of special importance when skin dose determinations are made for infants or paediatric patients. In this work, the recently published formalism for reference dosimetry and comprehensive database of backscatter factors for clinical beams and water phantoms have been extended using two correction factors which account for phantom material and thickness. These were determined with simulations using the PENELOPE Monte Carlo system, for PMMA to analyse the influence of the phantom material relative to water, and for a broad range of thicknesses of water and PMMA to investigate the role of this parameter in patient dose estimates. The material correction factor was found to be in the range 3-10%, depending on the field size and the HVL. The thickness correction factor was in the range 2-12% for a 5 cm thick phantom and square field sizes between 5 and 35 cm, reaching a plateau of about ±1% for thicknesses beyond 13 cm. Expressions in the form of surface fits over the calculated data are provided which streamline the determination of backscatter factors for arbitrary thicknesses and phantom materials, as well as field sizes. Results demonstrate the inadequacy of using conventional backscatter factors (calculated for 15 cm thick phantoms) without correction factors that take into account the phantom material and its thickness.
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| 3. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, 1985-
(author)
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Key Data for the Reference and Relative Dosimetry of Radiotherapy and Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Beams
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Accurate dosimetry is a fundamental requirement for the safe and efficient use of radiation in medical applications. International Codes of Practice, such as IAEA TRS-398 (2000) for radiotherapy beams and IAEA TRS-457 (2007) for diagnostic radiology beams, provide the necessary formulation for reference and relative dosimetry and the data required for their implementation. Research in recent years has highlighted the shortage of such data for radiotherapy small photon beams and for surface dose estimations in diagnostic and interventional radiology, leading to significant dosimetric errors that in some instances have jeopardized patient’s safety and treatment efficiency.The aim of this thesis is to investigate and determine key data for the reference and relative dosimetry of radiotherapy and radiodiagnostics beams. For that purpose the Monte Carlo system PENELOPE has been used to simulate the transport of radiation in different media and a number of experimental determinations have also been made. A review of the key data for radiotherapy beams published after the release of IAEA TRS-398 was conducted, and in some cases the considerable differences found were questioned under the criterion of data consistency throughout the dosimetry chain (from standards laboratories to the user). A modified concept of output factor, defined in a new international formalism for the dosimetry of small photon beams, requires corrections to dosimeter readings for the dose determination in small beams used clinically. In this work, output correction factors were determined, for Varian Clinac 6 MV photon beams and Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion 60Co gamma-ray beams, for a large number of small field detectors, including air and liquid ionization chambers, shielded and unshielded silicon diodes and diamond detectors, all of which were simulated by Monte Carlo with great detail.Backscatter factors and ratios of mass energy-absorption coefficients required for surface (skin) determinations in diagnostic and interventional radiology applications were also determined, as well as their extension to account for non-standard phantom thicknesses and materials. A database of these quantities was created for a broad range of monoenergetic photon beams and computer codes developed to convolve the data with clinical spectra, thus enabling the determination of key data for arbitrary beam qualities.Data presented in this thesis has been contributed to the IAEA international dosimetry recommendations for small radiotherapy beams and for diagnostic radiology in paediatric patients.
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| 4. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, et al.
(author)
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Monte Carlo calculated and experimentally determined output correction factors for small field detectors in Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion beams
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The measurement of output factors (OF) for the small beams of the Leksell Gamma Knife® (LGK) is a challenge for the physicist due to the over- or underestimation of these factors by a vast majority of commercially available detectors. Output correction factors, introduced in the new international formalism published by Alfonso et al. (2008) standardizes the determination of OFs for small photon beams by correcting the detector reading ratios with output correction factors in order to yield the correct OF. Output correction factors have, in this work, been determined for LGK Perfexion™ 60Co γ-ray beams by Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and measurements. The MC calculations were performed using the MC system PENELOPE scoring the doses to the active volumes of the detectors and to a small volume of water. Two silicon diodes, one liquid ionization chamber (LIC), one alanine and one TLD detector were included in the MC derivation of the output correction factors. The LIC resulted in correction factors within ±0.4% and was therefore selected as the reference detector for the measurements. Twelve detectors were used in the experimental determination of the output correction factors by normalizing their detector readings to those of the LIC. The MC-calculated and experimentally determined output correction factors for the silicon diodes resulted in up to a -4% correction for the smallest collimator size. The air ionization chamber measurements resulted in extremely large output correction factors, due to the well-known effect of partial volume averaging (PVA). The natural diamond detector resulted in 6% correction for the 4 mm collimator, also due to PVA, whereas the smaller synthetic diamond detector resulted in a correction within ±1%. The LIC, requiring the smallest correction, was used to explore machine-to-machine differences in the OFs by performing measurements in four LGK units with different dose rates. This resulted in OFs within ±0.6% and ±0.3% for the 4 mm and 8 mm collimators, respectively, favouring the use of generic OFs. Using these experimentally derived correction factors, OFs can now be measured using a wide range of commercially available detectors.
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| 5. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, et al.
(author)
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Monte Carlo calculated and experimentally determined output correction factors for small field detectors in Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion beams
- 2015
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In: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 60:10, s. 3959-3973
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The measurement of output factors (OF) for the small photon beams generated by Leksell Gamma Knife (R) (LGK) radiotherapy units is a challenge for the physicist due to the under or over estimation of these factors by a vast majority of the detectors commercially available. Output correction factors, introduced in the international formalism published by Alfonso (2008 Med. Phys. 35 5179-86), standardize the determination of OFs for small photon beams by correcting detector-reading ratios to yield OFs in terms of absorbed-dose ratios. In this work output correction factors for a number of detectors have been determined for LGK Perfexion (TM) Co-60 gamma-ray beams by Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and measurements. The calculations were made with the MC system PENELOPE, scoring the energy deposited in the active volume of the detectors and in a small volume of water; the detectors simulated were two silicon diodes, one liquid ionization chamber (LIC), alanine and TLD. The calculated LIC output correction factors were within +/- 0.4%, and this was selected as the reference detector for experimental determinations where output correction factors for twelve detectors were measured, normalizing their readings to those of the LIC. The MC-calculated and measured output correction factors for silicon diodes yielded corrections of up to 5% for the smallest LGK collimator size of 4 mm diameter. The air ionization chamber measurements led to extremely large output correction factors, caused by the well-known effect of partial volume averaging. The corrections were up to 7% for the natural diamond detector in the 4 mm collimator, also due to partial volume averaging, and decreased to within about +/- 0.6% for the smaller synthetic diamond detector. The LIC, showing the smallest corrections, was used to investigate machine-to-machine output factor differences by performing measurements in four LGK units with different dose rates. These resulted in OFs within +/- 0.6% and +/- 0.2% for the 4 mm and 8 mm collimators, respectively, providing evidence for the use of generic OFs for these LGK beams. Using the experimentally derived output correction factors, OFs can be measured using a wide range of commercially available detectors.
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| 6. |
- Benmakhlouf, Hamza, et al.
(author)
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Output correction factors for nine small field detectors in 6 MV radiation therapy photon beams : A PENELOPE Monte Carlo study
- 2014
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In: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : Wiley. - 0094-2405 .- 2473-4209. ; 41:4, s. 041711-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: To determine detector-specific output correction factors, k(Qclin,Qmsr)(fclin,fmsr) in 6 MV small photon beams for air and liquid ionization chambers, silicon diodes, and diamond detectors from two manufacturers. Methods: Field output factors, defined according to the international formalism published by Alfonso et al. [Med. Phys. 35, 5179-5186 (2008)], relate the dosimetry of small photon beams to that of the machine-specific reference field; they include a correction to measured ratios of detector readings, conventionally used as output factors in broad beams. Output correction factors were calculated with the PENELOPE Monte Carlo (MC) system with a statistical uncertainty (type-A) of 0.15% or lower. The geometries of the detectors were coded using blueprints provided by the manufacturers, and phase-space files for field sizes between 0.5 x 0.5 cm(2) and 10 x 10 cm(2) from a Varian Clinac iX 6 MV linac used as sources. The output correction factors were determined scoring the absorbed dose within a detector and to a small water volume in the absence of the detector, both at a depth of 10 cm, for each small field and for the reference beam of 10 x 10 cm(2). Results: The Monte Carlo calculated output correction factors for the liquid ionization chamber and the diamond detector were within about +/- 1% of unity even for the smallest field sizes. Corrections were found to be significant for small air ionization chambers due to their cavity dimensions, as expected. The correction factors for silicon diodes varied with the detector type (shielded or un-shielded), confirming the findings by other authors; different corrections for the detectors from the two manufacturers were obtained. The differences in the calculated factors for the various detectors were analyzed thoroughly and whenever possible the results were compared to published data, often calculated for different accelerators and using the EGSnrc MC system. The differences were used to estimate a type-B uncertainty for the correction factors. Together with the type-A uncertainty from the Monte Carlo calculations, an estimation of the combined standard uncertainty was made, assigned to the mean correction factors from various estimates. Conclusions: The present work provides a consistent and specific set of data for the output correction factors of a broad set of detectors in a Varian Clinac iX 6 MV accelerator and contributes to improving the understanding of the physics of small photon beams. The correction factors cannot in general be neglected for any detector and, as expected, their magnitude increases with decreasing field size. Due to the reduced number of clinical accelerator types currently available, it is suggested that detector output correction factors be given specifically for linac models and field sizes, rather than for a beam quality specifier that necessarily varies with the accelerator type and field size due to the different electron spot dimensions and photon collimation systems used by each accelerator model. (C) 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- dos Santos Matias, Lucilio, et al.
(author)
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Characterization of the radiation field surrounding the Leksell Gamma Knife® and shielding applications
- 2023
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In: Applied Radiation and Isotopes. - 0969-8043 .- 1872-9800. ; 198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study is to improve the characterization and modeling of the radiation field surrounding the Leksell Gamma Knife®-PerfexionTM. The improved characterization of the radiation field enables more accurate shielding calculations to be performed for the areas adjacent to the treatment room. With the aid of a high-purity germanium detector and a satellite dose rate meter, ?-ray spectra and ambient dose equivalent H*(10) data were acquired at various locations in the field of a Leksell Gamma Knife unit in a treatment room at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden. These measurements were used to validate the results of the PEGASOS Monte Carlo simulation system with a PENELOPE kernel. The levels of the radiation that passes through the shielding of the machine (leakage radiation) are shown to be much lower than what is suggested by various bodies, e.g. the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, to be used when calculating radiation shielding barriers. The results clearly indicate that Monte Carlo simulations may be used in structural shielding design calculations for γ? rays from the Leksell Gamma Knife.
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| 9. |
- Ghazal, Mohammed, et al.
(author)
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6-MV small field output factors: intra-/intermachine comparison and implementation of TRS-483 using various detectors and several linear accelerators
- 2019
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In: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : WILEY. - 0094-2405 .- 2473-4209. ; 46:11, s. 5350-5359
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose To investigate the applicability of output correction factors reported in TRS-483 on 6-MV small-field detector-reading ratios using four solid-state detectors. Also, to investigate variations in 6-MV small-field output factors (OF) among nominally matched linear accelerators (linacs). Methods The TRS-483 Code of Practice (CoP) introduced and provided output correction factors to be applied to measured detector-reading ratios to obtain OFs for several small-field detectors. Detector readings for 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm to 8 cm x 8 cm fields were measured and normalized to that of 10 cm x 10 cm field giving the detector-reading ratios. Three silicon diodes, IBA PFD, IBA EFD (IBA, Schwarzenbruck, Germany), PTW T60017, and one microdiamond, PTW T60019 (PTW, Freiburg, Germany), were used. Output correction factors from the CoP were applied to measured detector-reading ratios. Measurements were performed on six Clinac and six TrueBeam linacs (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, USA). An investigation of the relationship between the size of small fields and corresponding detector-reading ratio among the linacs was performed by measuring lateral dose profiles for 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm fields to determine the full width half maximum (FWHM). The relationship between the linacs focal spot size and the small-field detector-reading ratio was investigated by measuring 10 cm x 10 cm lateral dose profiles and determining the penumbra width reflecting the focal spot size. Measurement geometry was as follows: gantry angle = 0 degrees, collimator angle = 0 degrees, source-to surface distance (SSD) = 90 cm, and depth in water = 10 cm. Results For a given linac and 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm field, the deviations in detector-reading ratios among the detectors were 9%-15% for the Clinacs and 4%-5% for the TrueBeams. Use of output correction factors reduced these deviations to 6%-12% and 3%-4%, respectively. For field sizes equal to or larger than 0.8 cm x 0.8 cm, the deviations were corrected to 1% using output correction factors for both Clinacs and TrueBeams. For a given detector and 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm field, the deviations in detector-reading ratios among the linacs were 11%-17% for the Clinacs and 5-6% for the TrueBeams. For 1 cm x 1 cm the deviations were 1%-2% for Clinacs and 1% for TrueBeams. For field sizes larger than 1 cm x 1 cm the deviations were within 1% for both Clinacs and TrueBeams. No relationship between FWHMs and detector-reading ratios for 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm was observed. For Clinacs, larger 10 cm x 10 cm penumbra width yielded lower 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm detector-reading ratio indicating an effect of the focal spot size. For TrueBeams, the spread of penumbra widths was lower compared to Clinacs and no similar relationship was observed. Conclusions Output correction factors from the TRS-483 CoP are not sufficient for accurate determination of OF for 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm fields but are applicable for 0.8 cm x 0.8 cm to 8 cm x 8 cm fields. Nominally matched Clinacs and TrueBeams show large differences in detector-reading ratios for fields smaller than 1 cm x 1 cm.
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| 10. |
- Häger, Wille, et al.
(author)
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Experimental investigation of TRS-483 reference dosimetry correction factors for Leksell Gamma Knife (R) Icon (TM) beams
- 2021
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In: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : Wiley. - 0094-2405 .- 2473-4209. ; 48:1, s. 434-444
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Radiosurgery using the Leksell Gamma Knife (R) (LGK) Icon (TM) is an established technique used for treating intracranial lesions. The largest beam field size the LGK Icon can produce is a 16 mm diameter sphere. Despite this, reference dosimetry on the LGK Icon is typically performed using ionization chambers calibrated in 10 x 10 cm(2) fields. Furthermore, plastic phantoms are widely used instead of liquid water phantoms. In an effort to resolve these issues, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with American Association of Physicists in medicine (AAPM) recently published Technical Report Series No. 483 (TRS-483) as a Code of Practice for small-field dosimetry. TRS-483 includes small-field correction factors, k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref), intended to account for the differences between setups when using small-field modalities such as the LGK Icon, and conventional setups. Since the publication of TRS-483, at least three new sets of values of k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref) for the LGK Icon have been published. The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the published values of k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref) for commonly used phantom and ionization chamber (IC) models for the LGK Icon.Methods: Dose-rates from two LGK units were determined using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and Certified Medical Grade Solid Water (R) (SW) phantoms, and PTW 31010 and PTW 31016 ICs. Correction factors were applied, and the resulting dose-rates compared. Relative validity of the correction factors was investigated by taking the ratios of dose-rate correction factor products. Additionally, dose-rates from the individual sectors were determined in order to calculate the beam attenuation caused by the ABS phantom adapter.Results and Conclusions: It was seen that the dose-rate is underestimated by at least 1% when using the ABS phantom, which was attributed to fluence perturbation caused by the IC and phantom adapter. Published correction factors k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref) account for these effects to varying degree and should be used. The SW phantom is unlikely to underestimate the dose-rate by more than 1%, and applying k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref) could not be shown to be necessary. Out of the two phantom models, the ABS phantom is not recommended for use in LGK reference dosimetry. The use of newly published values of k(Qmsr,Q0)(fmsr,fref) should be considered.
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