Novel 6MV X-ray photoneutron detection and dosimetry of medical accelerators.

PURPOSE: Dosimetry of fast, epithermal and thermal photoneutrons in 6MV X-ray beams of two medical accelerators were studied by novel dosimetry methods.

METHODS: A Siemens ONCOR and an Elekta COMPACT medical accelerators were used. Fast, epithermal and thermal photoneutron dose equivalents in 10cm×10cm 6MV X-rays fields were determined in air and on surface of a polyethylene phantom in X and Y directions. Polycarbonate dosimeters as bare or with enriched (10)B convertors (with or without cadmium covers) were used applying a 50Hz-HV electrochemical etching method.

RESULTS: Fast, epithermal and thermal photoneutron dose equivalents were efficiently determined respectively as ∼1145.8, ∼45.3 and ∼170.6μSv in air and ∼1888.5, ∼96.1 and ∼640.6μSv on phantom per 100Gy X-rays at the isocenter of Siemens ONCOR accelerator in air. The dose equivalent is maximum at the isocenter which decreases as distance from it increases reaching a constant level. Tissue-to-air ratios are constants up to 15cm from the isocenter. No photoneutrons was detected in the Elekta COMPACT accelerator.

CONCLUSIONS: Fast, epithermal and thermal photoneutron dosimetry of 6MV X-rays were made by novel dosimetry methods in a Siemens ONCOR accelerator with sum dose equivalent per Gy of ∼0.0014% μSv with ∼0.21MeV mean energy at the isocenter; i.e. ∼150 times smaller than that of 18MV X-rays. This observation assures clinical safety of 6MV X-rays in particular in single-mode machines like Elekta COMPACT producing no photoneutrons due to no "beryllium exit window" in the head structure.