PURPOSE In order to keep the acceptable level of the radiation oncology linear accelerators, it is necessary to apply a reliable quality assurance (QA) program. MATERIALS AND METHODS The QA protocols, published by authoritative organizations, such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), determine the quality control (QC) tests which should be performed on the medical lin...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) gated by active breathing control (ABC), which may be useful for image guidance in the presence of respiration. Comparisons were made between conventional ABC-CBCT (stop and go), fast ABC-CBCT (a method to speed up the acquisition by slowing the gantry instead of stopping during free breat...

Aim of the study Our objective was to quantify the accuracy of dose calculation in the build-up region of the tangential field of the breast for a TiGRT treatment planning system (TPS). Material and methods Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) chips were arranged in a RANDO phantom for the dose measurement. TiGRT TPS was also used for the dose calculation. Finally, confidence limit values were o...

Purpose: Fiber carbon is the most common material used in treating couch as it causes less beam attenuation than other materials. Beam attenuation replaces build-up region, reduces skin-sparing effect and causes target volume under dosage. In this study, we aimed to evaluate beam attenuation and variation of build-up region in 550 TxT radiotherapy couch.Materials and Methods: In this study, we ...

Introduction: Dose distribution can be affected by diverse parameters, such as beam orientations, and collimator angles. These parameters should respect and maintain the international recommended levels during the realization of the quality assurance protocols of linear accelerators. This study aimed at evaluating the dosimetric effects on treatment quality considering...

PURPOSE To develop a collimator trajectory optimization paradigm for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and evaluate this technique in paraspinal stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). METHOD AND MATERIALS We propose a novel VMAT paradigm, Coll-VMAT, which integrates collimator rotation with synchronized gantry rotation, multileaf collimator (MLC) motion, and dose-rate modulation. A...

Highly attenuating radiation treatment couches are no longer useful in the present era of radiotherapy utilizing IMRT and IGRT. Carbon fibers couch tops with its high tensile strength and low density present a useful alternative. The objective of the current study was to quantify the attenuation of megavoltage photons through a Brainlab imaging couch top and headrest at various angles and field...

PURPOSE Fiber carbon is the most common material used in treating couch as it causes less beam attenuation than other materials. Beam attenuation replaces build-up region, reduces skin-sparing effect and causes target volume under dosage. In this study, we aimed to evaluate beam attenuation and variation of build-up region in 550 TxT radiotherapy couch. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we...

Amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) have been investigated and used for dosimetry in radiotherapy for several years. The presence of a phosphor scintillator layer in the structure of these EPIDs has made them sensitive to low-energy scattered and backscattered radiation. In this study, the backscattered radiation from the walls, ceiling, and floor of a linac bunker has b...

Noncoplanar radiation fields from a linear accelerator can be used to deliver radiation dose distributions that are superior to those delivered using coplanar radiation fields. Noncoplanar radiation field arrangements are especially valuable when delivering stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Noncoplanar radiation fields, however, are geometrically more challenging to deliver than copla...