SU-E-T-66: Characterization of Radiation Dose Associated with Dark Currents During Beam Hold for Respiratory-Gated Electron Therapy

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to estimate the radiation dose contributed by dark currents associated with the respiratory-gated electron therapy during beam hold. The secondary aim was to determine clinical benefits of using respiratory-gated electron therapy for left-sided breast cancer patients with positive internal mammary nodes (IMN). Methods: Measurements of the dark current-induced dose in all electron modes were performed on multiple Siemens and Varian linear accelerators by manually simulating beam-hold during respiratory gating. Dose was quantified at the machine isocenter by comparing the collected charge to the known output for all energies ranging from 6 to 18 MeV for a 10cm × 10cm field at 100 SSD with appropriate solid-water buildup. Using the Eclipse treatment planning system, we compared the additional dose associated with dark current using gated electron fields to the dose uncertainties associated with matching gated photon fields and ungated electron fields. Dose uncertainties were seen as hot and cold spots along the match line of the fields. Results: The magnitude of the dose associated with dark current is highly correlated to the energy of the beam and the amount of time the beam is on hold. For lower energies (6–12 MeV), there wasmore » minimal dark current dose (0.1–1.3 cGy/min). Higher energies (15–18 MeV) showed measurable amount of doses. The dark current associated with the electron beam-hold varied between linear accelerator vendors and depended on dark current suppression and the age of the linear accelerator. Conclusion: For energies up to 12 MeV, the dose associated with the dark current for respiratorygated electron therapy was shown to be negligible, and therefore should be considered an option for treating IMN positive left-sided breast cancer patients. However, at higher energies the benefit of respiratory gating may be outweighed by dose due to the dark current.« less