A simple method for determining dosimetric leaf gap with cross-field dose width for rounded leaf-end multileaf collimator systems

PURPOSE: The dosimetric leaf gap (DLG) and multileaf collimator (MLC) transmission are two important systematic parameters used to model the rounded MLC leaf ends effect when commissioning an Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS). Determining the optimal DLG is a time consuming process. This study develops a simple and reliable method for determining the DLG using the cross-field dose width. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A Varian TrueBeam linac with 6 MV, 10 MV, 6 MV flattening filter free (FFF) and 10 MV FFF photon beams and equipped with the 120 Millennium MLC and the Eclipse™ TPS was used in this study. Integral sliding fields and static slit MLC field doses with different gap widths were measured with an ionization chamber and GAFCHROMIC EBT3 films, respectively. Measurements were performed for different beam energies and at depths of 5 and 10 cm. DLGs were derived from a linear extrapolation to zero dose and intercepting at the gap width axis. In the ion chamber measurements method, the average MLC leaf transmission to the gap reading for each gap (R(gT)) were calculated with nominal and cross-field dose widths, respectively. The cross-field dose widths were determined according to the dose profile measured with EBT3 films. Additionally, the optimal DLG values were determined using plan dose measurements, as the value that produced the closest agreement between the planned and measured doses. DLGs derived from the nominal and cross-field dose width, the film measurements, and the optimal process, were obtained and compared. RESULTS: The DLG values are insensitive to the variations in depth (within 0.07 mm). DLGs derived from nominal gap widths showed a significantly lower values (with difference about 0.5 mm) than that from cross-field dose widths and from film measurements and from plan optimal values. The method in deriving DLGs by correcting the nominal gap widths to the cross-field dose widths has shown good agreements to the plan optimal values (with difference within 0.21 mm). CONCLUSIONS: The DLG values derived from the cross-field dose width method were consistent with the values derived from film measurements and from the plan optimal process. A simple and reliable method to determine DLG for rounded leaf-end MLC systems was established. This method provides a referable DLG value required during TPS commissioning.