Dose linearity and uniformity of Siemens ONCOR impression plus linear accelerator designed for step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiation therapy

For step-and-shoot type delivery of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), beam stability characteristics during the first few monitor units need to be investigated to ensure the planned dose delivery. This paper presents the study done for Siemens ONCOR impression plus linear accelerator before commissioning it for IMRT treatment. The beam stability for 6 and 15 MV in terms of dose monitor linearity, monitor unit stability and beam uniformity is investigated in this work. Monitor unit linearity is studied using FC65G chamber for the range 1-100 MU. The dose per MU is found to be linear for small monitor units down to 1 MU for both 6 and 15 MV beams. The monitor unit linearity is also studied with portal imaging device for the range 1-20 MU for 6 MV beam. The pixel values are within ±1σ confidence level up to 2 MU; for 1 MU, the values are within ±2σ confidence level. The flatness and symmetry analysis is done for both energies in the range of 1-10 MU with Kodak diagnostic films. The flatness and symmetry are found to be within ±3% up to 2 MU for 6 MV and up to 3 MU for 15 MV.