Measurement of neutron dose in the compensator IMRT treatment

Abstract

A radiation treatment delivery technique, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), has found widespread use in the treatment of cancers. One of IMRT implementing methods is IMRT compensator based, which the modulation are done by high Z materials. When photons with energies higher than 8MV interact with high Z material in path, Photoneutrons are produced. In this study, the effect of compensator on photoneutron production was investigated. The Monte Carlo code MCNPX was used to calculate the neutron dose equivalent as a function of the depth in phantom with and without compensator. Measurements were made using CR-39 track-etched detectors. CR-39 detectors, were cut in dimensions of 2.5×2.5 cm2 by laser, placed in different depths of slab phantom and then irradiated by 18MV photons. Same procedure was performed with the compensator present and absent. The measured data were compared with MCNP calculations. In both experimental and simulation results, neutron dose equivalent when compensator used, was less than non-compensator field. The calculated neutron dose equivalent was maximum at surface and decreased exponentially by increasing depth, but in experimental data, the neutron dose equivalent reached a maximum at approximately 3cm depth in the phantom and beyond which decreased with depth.CR-39 calibration was carried out in air, by considering that neutron energy spectrum changes toward thermal neutrons by depth in phantom increasing, it is suggested that for measuring equivalent neutron dose at phantom depth, should have proper neutron calibration in terms of energy spectrum.