title: Evaluation of the incident directional dependence of radiochromic film by use of Monte Carlo simulation and measurement.
abstract: In high-precision radiotherapy, absolute and relative doses are evaluated for patient-specific intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) quality assurance (QA). In our institution, we use GAFCHROMIC EBT3 (EBT3) for relative dose evaluation in IMRT QA. We usually use two directional film configurations, which are in the axial and sagittal planes. The QA in our institution shows some differences between the gamma pass rates in the axial and sagittal directions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incident directional dependence of EBT3 by using the percent depth dose (PDD) and the off-center ratio (OCR) between EBT3 films positioned perpendicular to the beam axis and along the beam axis. Furthermore, we compared the PDD in EBT3 films positioned perpendicular to the beam axis and the PDD by using an ionization chamber. In addition, PDDs in water phantoms with and without EBT3 films were calculated by Monte Carlo simulation. The results showed that the PDD in EBT3 films positioned perpendicular to the beam axis increased with the depth from the phantom surface. Monte Carlo simulation showed the same trend as did the film measurements. The OCR results were slightly different at dose levels below 20 %. The OCR in EBT3 films positioned along the beam axis was higher than that perpendicular to the beam axis. Thus, we conclude that EBT3 film has incident directional dependence. In IMRT QA, the gamma analysis results may be affected by the incident directional dependence of EBT3 film.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan. yuuki-y@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuasa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiinoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanzaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hanazawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibuya
mesh_terms: D005373:Film Dosimetry; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated
keywords: Directional dependence; IMRT; Quality assurance; Radiochromic film