Simulation study of the influence of water equivalent ratio energy dependence of absorber materials on measurement of multilayer ionization chamber

BackgroundThe Multilayer Ionization Chamber (MLIC) is an instrument in rapidly measuring the proton depth dose distribution, which is crucial for enhancing the efficiency of beam commissioning and daily quality assurance in treatment rooms.PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of the Wate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: GU Shuaizhe, CHEN Zhiling, LIN Ye, LIU Qi, BAI Haobo, ZOU Yuhang, LI Xiufang, LI Deming
Format: Article
Language:zho
Published: Science Press 2024-11-01
Series:He jishu
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.hjs.sinap.ac.cn/zh/article/doi/10.11889/j.0253-3219.2024.hjs.47.110201/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:BackgroundThe Multilayer Ionization Chamber (MLIC) is an instrument in rapidly measuring the proton depth dose distribution, which is crucial for enhancing the efficiency of beam commissioning and daily quality assurance in treatment rooms.PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of the Water Equivalent Ratio (WER) energy dependence of various absorber materials on MLIC measurements, thereby improving the accuracy of depth dose distribution measurements.MethodsBased on the fixed beam source parameters in the beam therapy room of Shanghai Advanced Proton Facility (SAPT), a physical model of MLIC was constructed using Monte-Carlo method. The simulation environment was validated by comparison of the measured and simulated integrated depth dose curve. The WER for three absorber materials i.e., Aluminum, PMMA, and FR-4, was calculated by simulation across different energies and thicknesses. Then, proton pencil beams of varying energies were simulated incident on MLIC, and the depth dose distribution of MLIC made from these materials was analyzed whilst the MLIC composed of water absorber was served as a reference.ResultsSimulation results show that the energy dependence of WER significantly influences the range parameters of the depth dose distribution, which was measured by MLIC within the clinical proton radiotherapy energy spectrum, with an impact exceeding 60%, and has a lower effect on the width and the distal dose falling region length of the Bragg peak. By adopting the appropriate WER values, the disparities in depth dose distribution parameters between MLIC made from different absorber materials and that composed of water absorber can be greatly reduced. Notably, for PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate), the range discrepancy is minimized to 0.220 mm.ConclusionsThe depth dose distribution measured by MLIC is notably affected by the energy dependence of WER, underscoring the importance of considering WER's energy dependence in clinical proton therapy. The study is valuable for guiding experiment tests and optimized design of MLIC.
ISSN:0253-3219