Calibration of a novel four-dimensional diode array

Purpose: The aim of this work is to develop effective calibration methods for a novel four-dimensional (4D) diode array for pretreatment verification of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and rotational therapy. Methods: A novel 4D diode array (ArcCHECK, Sun Nuclear, Melbourne, FL) was developed to meet the needs of appropriate and efficient quality assurance for IMRT and especially rotational radiotherapy. The diode array presents a consistent detector image in beam's eye view at arbitrary gantry angles due to isotropic arrangement of diodes in a three-dimensional (3D) cylindrical phantom. The 50 ms simultaneous update of all diodes on the detector array (fourth dimension) makes it capable of time-resolved beam delivery analysis with any rotational delivery techniques. The calibration procedure consisted of delivering and measuring a series of calibration beams with 5.8 degrees angular spacing surrounding the cylindrical diode array. Correction factors for diode intrinsic sensitivity and directional response dependence were derived from these measurements. A real-time algorithm to derive gantry angles based on the detector signal was developed to interpolate and apply the corresponding angular correction factors. Results: The calibration was validated with ion chamber scanned beam profiles in a 3D water tank. Excellent agreement was observed between diode array measurement and treatment planning system calculation. The accuracy of the gantry angle derivation algorithm was within 1 which caused a less than 0.2% dosimetric uncertainty. Conclusions: With the proposed calibration method and the automatic gantry angle derivation algorithm, the 4D diode array achieved isotropic detector response and is suitable for both IMRT and rotational therapy pretreatment verification. (C) 2010 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [DOI: 10.1118/1.3266769]