Reference photon dosimetry data and reference phase space data for the 6 MV photon beam from Varian Clinac 2100 series linear accelerators

The current study presents the reference photon dosimetry data (RPDD) and reference phase space data (RPSD) for the 6 MV photon beam from Varian 2100 series linear accelerators. The RPDD provide the basic photon dosimetry data, typically collected during the initial commissioning of a new linear accelerator, including output factors, depth dose data, and beam profile data in air and in water. The RPSD provide the full phase space information, such as position, direction, and energy for each particle generated inside the head of any particular linear accelerator in question. The dosimetric characteristics of the 6 MV photon beam from the majority of the aforementioned accelerators, which are unaltered from the manufacturer's original specifications, can be fully described with these two data sets within a clinically acceptable uncertainty (similar to +/-2%). The current study also presents a detailed procedure to establish the RPDD and RPSD using measured data and Monte Carlo calculations. The RPDD were constructed by compiling our own measured data and the average data based on the analysis of more than 50 sets of measured data from the Radiological Physics Center (RPC) and 10 sets of clinical dosimetry data obtained from 10 different institutions participating in the RPC's quality assurance monitoring program. All the measured data from the RPC and the RPC-monitored institutions were found to be within a statistically tight range (i.e., 1sigma approximate to 1% or less) for each dosimetric quantity. The manufacturer's standard data, except for in-air off-axis factors that are available only from the current study, were compared with the RPDD, showing that the manufacturer's standard data could also be used as the RPDD for the photon beam studied in this study. The RPSD were obtained from Monte Carlo calculations using the BEAmnrc/ DOSXYZnrc code system with 6.2 MeV (a spread of 3% full width at half maximum) and 1.0 mm full width at half maximum as the values of the energy and radial spread of a Gaussian electron pencil beam incident on the target, respectively. The RPSD were capable of generating Monte Carlo data that agreed with the RPDD within the acceptance criteria adopted in the current study (e.g., 1% or 1 mm for depth dose). A complete set of the RPDD and RPSD from the current study is available from the RPC website (http://rpc.mdanderson.org) or via mass storage media such as DVD or CD-ROM upon request. (C) 2005 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.