Automated TLD system for tumor dose estimation from exit dose measurements in external ream radiotherapy

Purpose: An automated TLD facility has been commissioned and calibrated, and techniques have been developed for the measurement of exit doses in external beam radiotherapy, to enable the routine estimation of delivered tumor doses. Methods and Materials: An automated TLD system, originally intended for use in diagnostic radiology and radiation protection, has been evaluated and configured for the measurement of exit doses in radiotherapy. Linearity, optimum heating cycles and calibration procedures have been determined. At the photon energies used, encapsulated lithium fluoride chips provide insufficient buildup to ensure electronic equilibrium, necessitating calibration to allow for oblique exit surfaces. Expressions are derived to allow the calculation of delivered tumor doses. Results: Under the calibration conditions described, the uncertainty in a single TLD measurement is approximately +/-2% (+/- 1 standard deviation). Over the dose range 0.4-1.5 Gy, TL response is linear. The total heating cycle time, including annealing, is 75 s. Measurements of R-exit (the ratio of exit dose with and without full backscatter), used in the estimation of tumor doses, decreases with field size for small fields and varies only slightly for field sizes greater than 7 X 7 cm. Lack of electronic equilibrium leads to a decrease in R-exit with increasing exit surface obliquity for all energies considered. Application of the technique to a simulated treatment showed good agreement between estimated and applied tumor doses, when surface obliquity was taken into account. Conclusion: This work describes the commissioning and calibration of an automated TLD facility and demonstrates that exit surface measurements using TLD chips used under conditions where electronic equilibrium was not established, have the potential for identifying discrepancies in delivered tumor doses. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.