Photon beam skin dose analyses for different clinical setups

A comprehensive set of data on skin dose for 8 MV and 18 MV photon beams from a medical linear accelerator was measured using a parallel-plate chamber to document the effect of field size, source-to-surface distance (SSD), off-axis distance, acrylic block tray, wedge (external standard wedge), Lipowitz's metal block, multileaf collimator (MLC), and dynamic wedge. The skin dose increased as field size increased from 5 x 5 cm(2) to 40 x 40 cm(2) (6% to 38% for 8 MV and 5% to 44% for 18 MV beam). With the use of an acrylic block tray, the skin dose increased for all field sizes (7% to 59% for 8 MV and 5% to 62% for 18 MV beam), but the increase was minimal for small fields. The skin dose with a wedge showed a much more complex trend. It was generally lower than the dose for an open field, but higher in the case of large fields and higher degree wedges. When both wedge and block tray were used, the tray was a major contributor to the skin dose because some of the contaminant electrons from the wedge assembly were absorbed by the block tray. Field-shaping blocks increased the skin dose, but, interestingly, the block tray reduced the skin dose for small blocked fields treated with a high-energy photon beam. The effect of an MLC on skin dose was very similar to that of a Lipowitz's metal block, but its magnitude was less. The skin dose was higher for dynamic wedge fields than it was for standard wedge fields. As SSD decreased, the skin dose increased, and this effect was dominant in larger field sizes. The SSD effect was enhanced in the presence of an acrylic block tray. The skin dose off-axis was the same as at the central axis, or smaller. A similar pattern of behavior of the skin dose is expected for photon beams from other linear accelerators. (C) 1998 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [S0094-2405(98)01806-9].