Monitor backscatter factors for the Varian 21EX and TrueBeam linear accelerators: measurements and Monte Carlo modelling
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Linac backscattered radiation (BSR) into the monitor chamber affects the chamber's signal and has to be accounted for in radiotherapy dose calculations. In Monte Carlo (MC) calculations, the BSR can be modelled explicitly and accounted for in absolute dose. However, explicit modelling of the BSR becomes impossible if treatment head geometry is not available. In this study, monitor backscatter factors (MBSFs), defined as the ratio of the charge collected in the monitor chamber for a reference field to that of a given field, have been evaluated experimentally and incorporated into MC modelling of linacs with either known or unknown treatment head geometry. A telescopic technique similar to that by Kubo (1989 Med. Phys. 16 295-98) was used. However, instead of lead slits, a 1.8 mm diameter collimator and a small (2 mm diameter) detector positioned at extended source to detector distance were used. This setup provided a field of view to the source of less than 3.1 mm and allowed for MBSF measurements of open fields from 1 × 1 to 40 × 40 cm(2). For the fields with both X and Y dimensions exceeding 15 cm, a diode detector was used. A pinpoint ionization chamber was used for smaller fields. MBSFs were also explicitly modelled in MC calculations using BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc codes for 6 and 18 MV beams of a Varian 21EX linac. A method for deriving the D(ch)(forward) values that are used in MC absolute dose calculations was demonstrated. These values were derived from measured MBSFs for two 21EX and four TrueBeam energies. MBSFs were measured for 6 and 18 MV beams from Varian 21EX, and for 6 MV, 10 MV-FFF, 10 MV, and 15 MV beams from Varian TrueBeam linacs. For the open field sizes modelled in this study for the 21EX, the measured MBSFs agreed with MC calculated values within combined statistical (0.4%) and experimental (0.2%) uncertainties. Variation of MBSFs across field sizes was about a factor of two smaller for the TrueBeam compared to 21EX Varian linacs. Measured MBSFs and the derived [Formula: see text] factors allow for the incorporation of the BSR effect into accurate radiotherapy dose calculations without explicit backscatter modelling.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".