Energy dependence and dose response of Gafchromic EBT2 film over a wide range of photon, electron, and proton beam energies.
OBJECTIVE
Since the Gafchromic film EBT has been recently replaced by the newer model EBT2, its characterization, especially energy dependence, has become critically important. The energy dependence of the dose response of Gafchromic EBT2 film is evaluated for a broad range of energies from different radiation sources used in radiation therapy.


METHODS
The beams used for this study comprised of kilovoltage x rays (75, 125, and 250 kVp), 137Cs gamma (662 KeV), 60Co gamma (1.17-1.33 MeV), megavoltage x rays (6 and 18 MV), electron beams (6 and 20 MeV), and proton beams (100 and 250 MeV). The film's response to each of the above energies was measured over the dose range of 0.4-10 Gy, which corresponds to optical densities ranging from 0.05 to 0.74 for the film reader used.


RESULTS
The energy dependence of EBT2 was found to be relatively small within measurement uncertainties (1 sigma = +/- 4.5%) for all energies and modalities.


CONCLUSIONS
For relative and absolute dosimetry of radiation therapy beams, the weak energy dependence of the EBT2 makes it most suitable for clinical use compared to other films.
Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030, USA. barjomandy@madanderson.org
Bijan
B
Arjomandy
Ramesh
R
Tailor
Aman
A
Anand
Narayan
N
Sahoo
Michael
M
Gillin
Karl
K
Prado
Milos
M
Vicic
D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004583:Electrons; D005373:Film Dosimetry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017785:Photons; D011522:Protons; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D013997:Time Factors
D011522:Protons