Dosimetric verification for radiotherapy quality audit under reference and non-reference conditions in Jiangsu province

Abstract

Objective To verify the methodology for auditing dosimetric parameters in reference and non-reference conditions with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs).Methods Under reference and non-reference conditions,the established TLD methods were used to observe the absorbed dose variations with depth,SSD,field size and 45 wedges for 10 photon beams at 5 hospitals.Dosimetric parameters,including doses at Dmax points in axis,on 5 electron beams of 9 MeV were measured.The measurement results were compared between the TLDs and plane parallel ionization chambers.Results For 6 MV photon beams,the relative deviation of between finger ionization chamber method and TLD chips was in the range of-1.7％ to 5.4％ under on-axis non-reference conditions,and-6.3％ to-0.6％ under off-axis non-reference conditions,respectively,all within the range of ≤ ± 7％ as required by the IAEA.The relative deviation between plane parallel chamber and TLD method was-2.3％ to 3.7％,within ± 5％ as required by the IAEA.Conclusions It is convenient and feasible to use TLD method for quality audits of dosimetric parameters in radiotherapy. Key words: Thermoluminescent dosimeter; Reference and non-reference conditions; Finger ionization chamber; Plane parallel ionization chamber; Radiotherapy dose