Estimation of Skin doses for Retrofit Prototype Multileaf Collimators Designed for Telecobalt Therapy Machine

AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate skin dose based on retrofit prototype multileaf collimators (MLCs), designed for cobalt-60 teletherapy machine. Since patient's skin is sensitive to radiation, evaluation of skin dose is of utmost importance for investigating the risk of late effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Measurements were performed with a Phoenix cobalt-60 teletherapy machine and the detector used was EBT3 radiochromic film. The experiments were performed in a solid water phantom with two prototype MLCs mounted to the machine. Dose readings were taken by placing the films at source-to-surface distance (SSD) of 60 cm, 65 cm, 70 cm, 75 cm, 80 cm, 85 cm, and 90 cm for various MLC-generated field sizes starting from 2 cm × 2 cm to 14 cm × 14 cm. The films were analyzed using custom made programs. The measured doses were normalized to the dose at dmax for that particular measurement of SSD. RESULTS: The skin dose is expressed as a percentage of dose at dose maximum. In general, the skin dose increases with field size and decreases with SSD. The measurements indicate surface doses within 20%–60% for the investigated SSD range. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between the surface doses of two prototype MLCs studied. CONCLUSIONS: From the measurements, it can be concluded that there is good skin sparing even at close distance to the MLCs. The skin dose is <50% for SSDs >65 cm. A minimum gap of 5 cm is required to produce acceptable skin dose.