An empirical relationship for determining photon beam quality in TG-21 from a ratio of percent depth doses

A key component of the Radiological Physics Center's (RPC) on-site dosimetry review visits are photon beam calibrations for which determination of the energy of the x rays is a key element. The ratio of ionizations, TPR20/TPR10, for a 10 cm x 10 cm field at depths of 20 and 10 cm for a constant SCD is used as a quantitative measure of beam quality in the Task Group 21 protocol. The RPC has measured both TPR20/TPR10 and the corresponding ratio of percent depth dose (D-20/D-10) at a constant SSD for 685 photon beams (4-25 MV) for most makes and models of accelerators. A strong correlation between TPR20/TPR10 and D-20/D-10 is presented which allows the determination of the TPR ratio from the measurement of the ratio of percent depth doses. An analysis of the uncertainty introduced in the TG-21 factors ((L) over bar/p, P-wall, P-repl) caused by the spread in the measured data and translated into the determination of the TPR ratio results in an insignificant error (< 0.3%). This empirical relationship provides an alternate technique for quantifying the beam quality defined in the TG-21 protocol without surrendering any loss of precision in output calibration. This technique may be found by those who calibrate at a fixed SSD to be an easier and quicker method. (C) 1998 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.