A monitor unit verification calculation in intensity modulated radiotherapy as a dosimetry quality assurance

In standard teletherapy, a treatment plan is generated with the aid of a treatment planning system, but it is common to perform an independent monitor unit verification calculation (MWC). In exact analogy, we propose and demonstrate that a simple and accurate MUVC in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is possible. We introduce the concept of modified Clarkson integration (MCI). In MCI, we exploit the rotational symmetry of scattering to simplify the dose calculation. For dose calculation along a central axis (CAX), we first replace the incident IMRT fluence by an azimuthally averaged fluence. Second, the Clarkson integration is carried over annular sectors instead of over pie sectors. We wrote a computer code, implementing the MCI technique, in order to perform a MWC for IMRT purposes. We applied the code to IMRT plans generated by CORVUS. The input to the code consists of CORVUS plan data (e.g., DMLC files, jaw settings, MU for each IMRT field, depth to isocenter for each IMRT field), and the output is dose contribution by individual IMRTs field to the isocenter. The code uses measured beam data for Sc, Sp, TPR, (D/MU)(ref) and includes effects from multileaf collimator transmission, and radiation field offset. On a 266 MHz desktop computer, the code takes less than 15 to calculate a dose. The doses calculated with the MCI algorithm agreed within +/-3% with the doses calculated by CORVUS, which uses a 1 cmx1 cm pencil beam in dose calculation. In the present version of MCI, skin contour variations and inhomogeneities were neglected. (C) 2000 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [S0094-2405(00)00308-4].