Relative Dosimetry - Theory and Practice
Commissioning a linear accelerator for clinical use poses great challenges to a medical physicist as the quality of the beam data acquired may affect the radiation outcome.
This three-day training course covers all major aspects of LINAC commissioning in theory and practice. It aims to provide participants with a fundamental knowledge of the physics, procedures and techniques required for beam data acquisition for the treatment planning system. Particular emphasis is placed on the proper and efficient use of the appropriate dosimetry equipment, setup issues, typical problems encountered during the commissioning phase as well as relative dose measurements in small fields.
The training course is held in a well-equipped dedicated university hospital by experienced professionals, offering attendees an ideal environment for practicing the various LINAC commissioning measurements.
With its mix of lectures, case studies and hands-on sessions, it primarily targets medical physicists with no or little experience in the commissioning of medical linear accelerators who want to acquire the necessary knowledge and techniques in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
Course contents
- Dosimetric system for beam data acquisition: PTW water phantom and MEPHYSTO mc² software - overview, special tools, efficient use
- Detectors as ionization instruments: thimble chambers, plane parallel chambers, diodes (P and E), diamonds, 2D arrays
- Signal quality - optimizing measuring times in terms of relative noise
- Influence of dose rate dependency - introduction to dose rate dependency and dose per pulse dependency and their influence on relative dose measurements
- Photon beam calculations - differences between TPR and PDD
- Dosimetry and calibration of electron beams: ionization against dose, plane-parallel chambers, beam specifiers
- Analysis of the acquired beam data: beam profiles, PDDs, output factors
- Dynamic beams
- Non-standard beams: small fields, FFF beams, out-of-field dose scatter factors (Sc, Scp, Sp) for treatment planning systems
- Differences between different treatment planning systems
- Hands-on training in the LINAC room: acquiring and evaluating beam data

More Information
- Target Audience: Medical physicists (MPE)
- Number of Particpants: min. 5, max. 10 participants
- Course Language: English