Energy spectra, angular spread and dose distributions of electron beams from various accelerators used in radiotherapy

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Energy spectra, angular spread and dose distributions of electron beams from various accelerators used in radiotherapy

PIRS-0439
G.X. Ding and D.W.O. Rogers
Institute for National Measurement Standards
National Research Council of Canada
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6
TEL: (613) 993-2715
FAX: (613) 952-9865

E-mail: gding@irs.phy.nrc.ca
or
E-mail: dave@irs.phy.nrc.ca (drogers at physics.carleton.ca since Dec 2003)

ABSTRACT
Using the EGS4 Monte Carlo code, BEAM, we have simulated electron beams used in radiotherapy. The simulation covers electron beams from various accelerators, including the NRC research accelerator, a Varian Clinac 2100C, a Philips SL75-20, a Siemens KD2, an AECL Therac 20, and a Scanditronix MM50. The simulated realistic beams are stored in phase-space data files. A phase-space data file contains details of each particle's information at the phantom surface. The phase-space files are used as inputs to the EGS4 code DOSXYZ to calculate dose distributions in water phantoms. The phase-space files are also analyzed to obtain the characteristics of the electron beams. This report systematically presents detailed information and characteristics of up to 5 electron beams from each of these medical accelerators. The accuracy of the simulated clinical beams is demonstrated by comparing the calculated dose distributions with measured dose distributions in water phantoms. These beams with an energy range of 5 - 50 MeV are commonly used for radiotherapy in cancer clinics. The comprehensive beam data presented here enhance our knowledge on many aspects of clinical electron beams.

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Dave Rogers' generic account
Fri Jun 16 11:40:47 EDT 1995