
Leakage reduction for the Siemens ModuLeaf
Author(s) -
Siochi R. Alfredo
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied clinical medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.83
H-Index - 48
ISSN - 1526-9914
DOI - 10.1120/jacmp.v10i2.2894
Subject(s) - leakage (economics) , siemens , pinnacle , materials science , collimator , linear particle accelerator , multileaf collimator , field size , rectangle , louver , optics , nuclear medicine , physics , mathematics , geometry , radiation treatment planning , beam (structure) , engineering , medicine , radiation therapy , mechanical engineering , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics
The ModuLeaf, an add‐on miniature multileaf collimator (MMLC) for the Siemens ONCOR linear accelerator, provides high resolution field shaping with a maximum interleaf leakage dose of 1.50% at 6 MV. However, beyond the maximum treatment field size, the distribution of leakage and scatter along the y‐axis is different from that of the x‐axis, with maximum leakage values of 1.53% and 0.39%, respectively. Such differences cannot be modeled in the Pinnacle treatment planning system. Also, within the 10 cm × 12 cm treatment region, leakage from the crack between closed leaf ends was 3.76%. To resolve these issues, gaps in the ModuLeaf frame were filled with lead sheets, and the Siemens MLC was operated in MLC mode (rather than bank mode). As a result, a rectangle of 10.4 cm × 11 cm was formed with the MLC leaves closed behind the Y jaws, whose opening was 10.4 cm. This significantly reduced the difference between the leakage patterns in the x and y directions, with maximum leakage doses of 0.43% outside the treatment region and 1.67% near the crack between abutting ModuLeaf leaves. The modification also reduced the mean square error between Pinnacle profiles and measured profiles in the tail region. PACS number: 87.56.jk