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Title: Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71

Abstract

A protocol is presented for the calculation of monitor units (MU) for photon and electron beams, delivered with and without beam modifiers, for constant source-surface distance (SSD) and source-axis distance (SAD) setups. This protocol was written by Task Group 71 of the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and has been formally approved by the AAPM for clinical use. The protocol defines the nomenclature for the dosimetric quantities used in these calculations, along with instructions for their determination and measurement. Calculations are made using the dose per MU under normalization conditions, D{sub 0}{sup ′}, that is determined for each user's photon and electron beams. For electron beams, the depth of normalization is taken to be the depth of maximum dose along the central axis for the same field incident on a water phantom at the same SSD, where D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU. For photon beams, this task group recommends that a normalization depth of 10 cm be selected, where an energy-dependent D{sub 0}{sup ′} ≤ 1 cGy/MU is required. This recommendation differs from the more common approach of a normalization depth of d{sub m}, with D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU, althoughmore » both systems are acceptable within the current protocol. For photon beams, the formalism includes the use of blocked fields, physical or dynamic wedges, and (static) multileaf collimation. No formalism is provided for intensity modulated radiation therapy calculations, although some general considerations and a review of current calculation techniques are included. For electron beams, the formalism provides for calculations at the standard and extended SSDs using either an effective SSD or an air-gap correction factor. Example tables and problems are included to illustrate the basic concepts within the presented formalism.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9]
  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905 (United States)
  2. Department of Radiation Physics, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States)
  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232 (United States)
  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 (United States)
  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States)
  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298 (United States)
  7. Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Centers of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 (United States)
  8. Department of Medical Physics, Fletcher-Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vermont 05401 (United States)
  9. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22250963
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Medical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 41; Journal Issue: 3; Other Information: (c) 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE; ELECTRON BEAMS; ENERGY DEPENDENCE; PHANTOMS; PHOTON BEAMS; RADIOTHERAPY

Citation Formats

Gibbons, John P., E-mail: john.gibbons@marybird.com, Antolak, John A., Followill, David S., Huq, M. Saiful, Klein, Eric E., Lam, Kwok L., Palta, Jatinder R., Roback, Donald M., Reid, Mark, and Khan, Faiz M. Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1118/1.4864244.
Gibbons, John P., E-mail: john.gibbons@marybird.com, Antolak, John A., Followill, David S., Huq, M. Saiful, Klein, Eric E., Lam, Kwok L., Palta, Jatinder R., Roback, Donald M., Reid, Mark, & Khan, Faiz M. Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71. United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4864244
Gibbons, John P., E-mail: john.gibbons@marybird.com, Antolak, John A., Followill, David S., Huq, M. Saiful, Klein, Eric E., Lam, Kwok L., Palta, Jatinder R., Roback, Donald M., Reid, Mark, and Khan, Faiz M. 2014. "Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71". United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4864244.
@article{osti_22250963,
title = {Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71},
author = {Gibbons, John P., E-mail: john.gibbons@marybird.com and Antolak, John A. and Followill, David S. and Huq, M. Saiful and Klein, Eric E. and Lam, Kwok L. and Palta, Jatinder R. and Roback, Donald M. and Reid, Mark and Khan, Faiz M.},
abstractNote = {A protocol is presented for the calculation of monitor units (MU) for photon and electron beams, delivered with and without beam modifiers, for constant source-surface distance (SSD) and source-axis distance (SAD) setups. This protocol was written by Task Group 71 of the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and has been formally approved by the AAPM for clinical use. The protocol defines the nomenclature for the dosimetric quantities used in these calculations, along with instructions for their determination and measurement. Calculations are made using the dose per MU under normalization conditions, D{sub 0}{sup ′}, that is determined for each user's photon and electron beams. For electron beams, the depth of normalization is taken to be the depth of maximum dose along the central axis for the same field incident on a water phantom at the same SSD, where D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU. For photon beams, this task group recommends that a normalization depth of 10 cm be selected, where an energy-dependent D{sub 0}{sup ′} ≤ 1 cGy/MU is required. This recommendation differs from the more common approach of a normalization depth of d{sub m}, with D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU, although both systems are acceptable within the current protocol. For photon beams, the formalism includes the use of blocked fields, physical or dynamic wedges, and (static) multileaf collimation. No formalism is provided for intensity modulated radiation therapy calculations, although some general considerations and a review of current calculation techniques are included. For electron beams, the formalism provides for calculations at the standard and extended SSDs using either an effective SSD or an air-gap correction factor. Example tables and problems are included to illustrate the basic concepts within the presented formalism.},
doi = {10.1118/1.4864244},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22250963}, journal = {Medical Physics},
issn = {0094-2405},
number = 3,
volume = 41,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}