Low energy therapeutic x-ray calibration methods

M. M. Zaini,¹ A. R. Schoen,¹ L. M. Arvan,¹ E. I. Marshall,¹ G. E. Robertson,¹ C. G Beck,¹ A. L. Eagle,¹ L. E. Sweeney^1
1Northwest Medical Physics Center, Lynnwood, WA

World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Toronto, Canada (2015).

NMPC also chaired this scientific session.

The application of low energy X-rays has recently increased in the dermatology workspace, with the generating tube potential of these radiation beams spanning from 10 to 70kV. Absolute calibration of these low energy radiation units from three different manufacturers has been conducted. Various low-energy calibration protocols were considered for calibrating the low energy beams of the X-ray tubes from three different manufacturers. These protocols included the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 61 Report (for 40-300 kV beams), the UK Code of Practice from the Institution of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and Biology (IPEMB) for very low-energy X-rays (8-50 kV), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Reports Series No. 398 (for X-ray up to 100 kV), and Report 10 of the Netherlands Commission on Radiation Dosimetry for low energy X-ray (50-100 kV). Review and comparison of the methodology of these protocols, pertaining to the energy range of Grenz-rays to superficial X-rays, are conducted.