Effects of Ionizing Radiation Detector Characteristics on the Results of Measurements of Percent Depth Doses in Small Photon Fields

Abstract

Studies of the dosimetric parameters of small fields of ionizing radiation are extremely important in current clinical dosimetry. This article considers analysis of plots of percent depth dose in small photon fields obtained using an Elekta Synergy medical linear electron accelerator with energies of 6 and 10 MeV using ionization chambers with different active volumes and a semiconductor detector. Comparative data for the following parameters are presented: depth of maximum dose, surface dose, dose at a depth of 10 cm, and various other aspects of the plots. These data were found to depend on the type of detector used in identical measurement conditions. The main features of the detection of dose distributions by different detectors are noted and conclusions are drawn regarding the advantages of using detectors with the smallest available active volumes in clinical dosimetry.