Characteristics of the Therapy spectrum beams used in the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory at the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission

Abstract

The SSDL (Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory) at the LAEC (Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission) has different calibration methods for various types of dosimeters used in industrial, military and medical fields. The calibration is performed using different beams of X- rays (low and medium energy) and Gamma radiation delivered by a Cesium 137 source. The SSDL laboratory in charge of calibration services uses different protocols for the determination of high and low air kerma rate and for narrow and wide series. In order to perform this calibration, it is very important to identify all the beam characteristics for the different types of sources and qualities of radiation. The following work describes the methods used for the determination of different beam characteristics and calibration coefficients with their uncertainties in order to enhance the radiation protection of workers and patient applications in the fields of medical diagnosis and industrial X-Ray. All the characteristics of the X-Ray beams are determined for the therapy spectrum series where the inherent filtration, the current intensity, the high voltage and the total uncertainty are the specific characteristics of these X-Ray beams. An X-Ray software is developed in order to visualize the reference values according to the characteristics of each beam.