Characterization of GafChromic EBT2 film dose measurements using a tissue-equivalent water phantom for a Theratron® Equinox Cobalt-60 teletherapy machine

Purpose In vivo dosimetry is a quality assurance tool that provides post-treatment measurement of the absorbed dose as delivered to the patient. This dosimetry compares the prescribed and measured dose delivered to the target volume. In this study, a tissue-equivalent water phantom provided the simulation of the human environment. The skin and entrance doses were measured using GafChromic EBT2 film for a Theratron (R) Equinox Cobalt-60 teletherapy machine. Methods We examined the behaviors of unencapsulated films and custom-made film encapsulation. Films were cut to 1 cm x 1 cm, calibrated, and used to assess skin dose depositions and entrance dose. We examined the response of the film for variations in field size, source to skin distance (SSD), gantry angle and wedge angle. Results The estimated uncertainty in EBT2 film for absorbed dose measurement in phantom was +/- 1.72%. Comparison of the measurements of the two film configurations for the various irradiation parameters were field size (p = 0.0193, alpha = 0.05, n = 11), gantry angle (p = 0.0018, alpha = 0.05, n = 24), SSD (p = 0.1802, alpha = 0.05, n = 11) and wedge angle (p = 0.6834, alpha = 0.05, n = 4). For a prescribed dose of 200 cGy and at reference conditions (open field 10 cm x 10 cm, SSD = 100 cm, and gantry angle = 0o), the measured skin dose using the encapsulation material was 70% while that measured with the unencapsulated film was 24%. At reference irradiation conditions, the measured skin dose using the unencapsulated film was higher for open field configurations (24%) than wedged field configurations (19%). Estimation of the entrance dose using the unencapsulated film was within 3% of the prescribed dose. Conclusions GafChromic EBT2 film measurements were significantly affected at larger field sizes and gantry angles. Furthermore, we determined a high accuracy in entrance dose estimations using the film.

Automated summary

In this study, GafChromic EBT2 film was used to measure the skin and entrance doses of a teletherapy machine. The measurements were significantly affected by larger field sizes and gantry angles, but the film provided accurate estimations of the entrance dose.