Dosimetric properties of fluoroscopic EPID for transit dosimetry

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate dose response of fluoroscopic EPID for transit dosimetry applications. Properties studied included warm up time, build-up thickness evaluation, dose history, linearity, stability, and short and long-term reproducibility of EPID response, as well as field size dependence. Pixel value matrices of electronic portal images in DICOM format were analysed in central and 8 off axis points using customised written codes in Matlab. In order to do this, nine 26×26 pixel matrices were selected as regions of interest, the regions represented by these arrays were 1×1 and 0·65×0·65 cm2 at the EPID and isocentre level, respectively. Necessary warm up time for stable operation of EPID is 30 minutes, and there is no need for extra build-up layer to increase the dose response. Linearity tests indicate charged coupled device camera of EPID saturates at 50 cGy level, and does not have linear relationship with dose. Reproducibility and stability of the measurements were excellent and the detector showed same signal with a maximum deviation of <0·3% both in short and long terms. Results of dosimetric evaluation have shown the TheraView fluoroscopic EPID can be used for transit dosimetry purposes.