Absorbed Dose Determination in External Beam Radiotherapy:

An International Code of Practice for Dosimetry based on Standards of Absorbed Dose to Water
IAEA Technical Reports Series (TRS) 398
Worksheet for heavy-ion beams

This file contains the electronic version of the expressions, data and interpolation routines needed for the
implementation of the IAEA Code of Practice (CoP) TRS-398.

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Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics Section

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
P.O. Box 100
A-1400 Vienna
Austria

E-mail: dosimetry@iaea.org
Fax:+43 1 26007 21662
 Worksheet for the determination of the absorbed dose to water
in a heavy-ion beam
User: Date:

1. Radiation treatment unit and reference conditions for Dw,Q determination

Heavy ion therapy unit
Nominal energy: MeV
Nominal dose rate: MU min-1 ion used:
Reference phantom: water Width of the SOBP: g cm-2
Reference field size: cm x cm Reference SSD: cm
Reference depth zref : g cm-2

2. Ionization chamber and electrometer

Ion. chamber model Attix RMI 449 Serial No.: ✘ pp cyl
Chamber wall material: Kapton thickness: 0.005 g cm-2
Waterproof sleeve material: thickness: g cm-2
Phantom window material: thickness: g cm-2

Absorbed-dose-to-water calibration factor N D , w= ✘ Gy/nC Gy/rdg

Calibration quality Q0: Co-60

Reference conditions for calibration

P 0: 101.3 kPa T 0: 20.0 °C Rel. humidity: 50 %
Pol. potential V1: V
Calibration polarity: ✘ +ve -ve ✘ corrected for polarity effect
User polarity: ✘ +ve -ve

Calibration laboratory: Date:

Electrometer model: Serial no.:
Calib. separately from chamber: yes ✘ no Range setting:
yes Calibration laboratory: Date:

3. Dosimetry reading a and correction for influence quantities

Uncorrected dosimeter reading at V1 and user polarity: ✘ nC rdg
Corresponding accelerator monitor units: MU
Ratio of dosimeter reading and monitor units: M1 = ✘ nC/MU rdg/MU
(i) P: 101.3 kPa T: 20.0 °C Rel. humidity: 50 %
( 273 .2+T ) P0
k T , P= = 1.000
( 273 .2+T 0 ) P

(ii) Electrometer calibration factor kelec : nC/rdg ✘ dimensionless

(iii) Polarity correction b rdg at +V1: M+ = rdg at -V1: M- =

|M +|+|M −|
k pol = =
2M

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(iv) Recombination correction (two-voltage method)
Polarizing voltages: V1 (normal) = V V2 (reduced) = V
Readings at each V:
c M1 = M2 =
Beam type: pulsed ✘ pulsed-scanned
Voltage ratio V1 / V2 = Read. ratio M1 / M2 =
a0 = a1 = a2 =
2
M1 M1
k s=a0 + a1
( ) ( )
M2
+a 2
M2
= d,e

(v) Recombination correction (initial recombination): f

Pol. voltage: V1 = V2 = V3 = V4 =
Average readings
each voltage M1 = M2 = M3 = M4 =

M∞
M¥= k ini
∞ = =
M1
Corrected dosimeter reading at the voltage V1:

M Q=M 1 k TP k elec k pol k s k ini = ✘ nC / MU rdg / MU

4. Absorbed dose rate to water at the reference depth, zref

Beam quality correction factor for user quality Q: kQ = 0.9900
taken from ✘ Table 34 Other, specify:

Absorbed-dose calibration of monitor at zref:

Dw , Q (z ref )=M Q N D , w k Q= Gy / MU

Notes:

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a All readings should be checked for leakage and corrected if necessary
b M in the denominator of kpol denotes reading at the user polarity. Preferably, each reading in the equation should
be the average of the ratios of M (or M+ or M-) to the reading of an external monitor, Mem.
c Strictly, readings should be corrected for polarity effect (average with both polarities). Preferably, each reading in
the equation should be the average of the ratios of M1 or M2 to the reading of an external monitor, Mem.
d
It is assumed that the calibration laboratory has performed a recombination correction. Otherwise the factor

k 's=k s /k s , Qo should be used instead of ks. When Q0 is Co, ks,Qo (at the calibration laboratory)
60

will normally be close to unity and the effect of not using this equation will be negligible in most cases.

M 1 / M 2 −1
e Check that k s−1≈
V 1 /V 2 −1

k s−1=
M 1 / M 2 −1
=
V 1 / V 2 −1

f Calculation of M¥ (i.e. linear interpolation of data) is done only when:

- M1 and V1 are given
-at least two points are given

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