Validation and automation of the DYNJAWS component module of the BEAMnrc Monte Carlo code

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to validate and automate the use of DYNJAWS; a new component module (CM) in the BEAMnrc Monte Carlo (MC) user code. The DYNJAWS CM simulates dynamic wedges and can be used in three modes; dynamic, step-and-shoot and static. The step-and-shoot and dynamic modes require an additional input file defining the positions of the jaw that constitutes the dynamic wedge, at regular intervals during its motion. A method for automating the generation of the input file is presented which will allow for the more efficient use of the DYNJAWS CM. Wedged profiles have been measured and simulated for 6 and 10 MV photons at three field sizes (5 cm × 5 cm, 10 cm × 10 cm and 20 cm × 20 cm), four wedge angles (15°, 30°, 45° and 60°), at d (max) and at 10 cm depth. Results of this study show agreement between the measured and the MC profiles to within 3% of absolute dose or 3 mm distance to agreement for all wedge angles at both energies and depths. The gamma analysis suggests that dynamic mode is more accurate than the step-and-shoot mode. The DYNJAWS CM is an important addition to the BEAMnrc code and will enable the MC verification of patient treatments involving dynamic wedges.

A Comparison of physical and dosimetric properties of lung substitute materials

“…In this study, BEAMnrc-2010 (v4-2.3.1) code system was used to calculate the dose. 23 The CPU used for the simulation was Intel (R), i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80 G Hz (four cores). EGSnrc-based BEAMnrc code was used to generate the phase space files for the linac, and the EGSnrcbased DOSXYZnrc code was use to calculated the dose in the virtual phantom.…”

Soft tissue and water substitutes for megavoltage photon beams: An EGSnrc‐based evaluation

“…First, linac head modeling with BEAMnrc and, secondly, phantom dose calculations in DOSXYZnrc for various soft‐tissue– and water‐equivalent materials. The linac head of a Varian Clinac 2100 (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) was simulated according to the vendor's specification as reported earlier (17) . The incident electron beam was modeled as an elliptical Gaussian profile with 0.1 cm width (source 19 in BEAMnrc).…”

A comparison of Monte Carlo, anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) and Acuros XB algorithms in assessing dosimetric perturbations during enhanced dynamic wedged radiotherapy deliveries in heterogeneous media

“…17,18 For simulating EDWs, the DYNJAWS component module in BEAMnrc was employed. Jaw sequencing files were generated as per methodology developed by Kakakhel et al 19 Incident electron beam was modelled as a Gaussian profile using source 19. Photon cut-off and electron cut-off values of 0•01 MV and 0•7 MeV were used, respectively.…”