Purpose The goal of this work is to provide a large and consistent set of data for detector‐specific output correction factors, kQitalicclin,Qitalicref0.166667emfitalicclin,fref, for small static fields for seven solid‐state detectors and to determine field output factors, ΩQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref, using EBT3 radiochromic films and W1 plastic scintillator as reference detectors on two different linear accelerators and four megavoltage photon beams. Consistent measurement conditions and recommendations given in the International Code of Practice TRS‐483 for small‐field dosimetry were followed throughout the study. Methods ΩQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref were determined on two linacs, Elekta Versa HD and Varian TrueBeam, for 6 and 10 MV beams with and without flattening filter and for nine fields ranging from 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 to 10 × 10 cm2. Signal readings obtained with EBT3 radiochromic films and W1 plastic scintillator were fitted by an analytical function. Volume averaging correction factors, determined from two‐dimensional (2D) dose matrices obtained with EBT3 films and fitted to bivariate Gaussian function, were used to correct measured signals. kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref were determined empirically for six diodes, IBA SFD, IBA Razor, PTW 60008 P, PTW 60012 E, PTW 60018 SRS, and SN EDGE, and a PTW 60019 microDiamond detector. Results Field output factors and detector‐specific kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref are presented in the form of analytical functions as well as in the form of discrete values. It is found that in general, for a given linac, small‐field output factors need to be determined for every combination of beam energy and filtration (WFF or FFF) and field size as the differences between them can be statistically significant (P < 0.05). For different beam energies, the present data for kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref are found to differ significantly (P < 0.05) from the corresponding data published in TRS‐483 mostly for the smallest fields (<1.5 cm). For the PTW microDiamond detector, statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref values were found for all investigated beams on an Elekta Versa HD linac for field sizes 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 and 0.8 × 0.8 cm2. Significant differences in kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref between beams of a given energy but with and without flattening filters are found for measurements made in small fields (<1.5 cm) at a given linac. Differences in kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref are also found when measurements are made at different linacs using the same beam energy filtration combination; for the PTW microDiamond detector, these differences were found to be around 6% and were considered as significant. Conclusions Selection of two reference detectors, EBT3 films and W1 plastic scintillator, and use of an analytical function, is a novel approach for the determination of ΩQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref for small static fields in megavoltage photon beams. Large set of kQitalicclin,Qitalicreffclin,fref data for s...

Purpose: Different multichannel methods for film dosimetry have been proposed in the literature. Two of them are the weighted mean method and the method put forth by Micke et al and Mayer et al. The purpose of this work was to compare their results and to develop a generalized channel-independent perturbations framework in which both methods enter as special cases. Methods: Four models of channel-independent perturbations were compared: weighted mean, Micke-Mayer method, uniform distribution and truncated normal distribution. A closed-form formula to calculate film doses and the associated Type B uncertainty for all four models was deduced.To evaluate the models, film dose distributions were compared with planned and measured dose distributions. At the same time, several elements of the dosimetry process were compared: film type EBT2 versus EBT3, different waiting-time windows, reflection mode versus transmission mode scanning, and planned versus measured dose distribution for film calibration and for γ-index analysis.The methods and the models described in this study are publicly accessible through IRISEU. Alpha 1.1 (http://www.iriseu.com). IRISEU. is a cloud computing web application for calibration and dosimetry of radiochromic films. Results: The truncated normal distribution model provided the best agreement between film and reference doses, both for calibration and γ-index verification, and proved itself superior to both the weighted mean model, which neglects correlations between the channels, and the Micke-Mayer model, whose accuracy depends on the properties of the sensitometric curves.With respect to the selection of dosimetry protocol, no significant differences were found between transmission and reflection mode scanning, between 75 ± 5 min and 20 ± 1 h waiting-time windows or between employing EBT2 or EBT3 films. Significantly better results were obtained when a measured dose distribution was used instead of a planned one as reference for the calibration, and when a planned dose distribution was used instead of a measured one as evaluation for the γ-analysis. Conclusions:The truncated normal distribution model of channel-independent perturbations was found superior to the other three models under comparison and we propose its use for multichannel dosimetry.

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Purpose: A dosimetric system formed by Gafchromic EBT2 radiochromic film and Epson Expression 10000XL flatbed scanner was commissioned for dosimetry. In this paper, several open questions concerning the commissioning of radiochromic films for dosimetry were addressed: a) is it possible to employ this dosimetric system in reflection mode; b) if so, can the methods used in transmission mode also be used in reflection mode; c) is it possible to obtain accurate absolute dose measurements with Gafchromic EBT2 films; d) which calibration method should be followed; e) which calibration models should be used; f) does three-color channel dosimetry offer a significant improvement over single channel dosimetry. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify these questions.Methods: In this study, films were scanned in reflection mode, the effect of surrounding film was evaluated and the feasibility of EBT2 film dosimetry in reflection mode was studied. EBT2's response homogeneity has been reported to lead to excessive dose uncertainties. To overcome this problem, a new plan-based calibration method was implemented. Plan-based calibration can use every pixel and each of the three color channels of the scanned film to obtain the parameters of the calibration model. A model selection analysis was conducted to select lateral correction and sensitometric curve models. The commonly used calibration with fragments was compared with red-channel plan-based calibration and with three-channel plan-based calibration.Results: No effect of surrounding film was found in this study. The film response inhomogeneity in EBT2 films was found to be important not only due to differences in the fog, but also due to differences in sensitivity. The best results for lateral corrections were obtained using absolute corrections independent of the dose. With respect to the sensitometric curves, an empirical polynomial fit of order 4 was found to obtain results equivalent to a gamma-distributed single hit model based on physical assumptions. Three-channel dosimetry was found to be substantially superior to red-channel dosimetry.Conclusions: Reflection mode with Gafchromic EBT2 radiochromic film was found to be a viable alternative to transmission mode. The same methods that are used in transmission mode can be followed in reflection mode. A novel plan-based method was developed for calibration and multichannel dosimetry. This novel method offers 2 increased robustness against film response inhomogeneities and reduces considerably the time required for calibration. a) nmendez@onko-i.si 3

Background: Craniospinal irradiation (CSI) is considered technically challenging because the