Quantitative Comparison of Dosimetric Data Between the Indigenous Baseplate and Commercially Available Carbon Fiber Baseplate for 6 and 15 MV Photon Energy

BACKGROUND: This study aims to design an indigenous baseplate (ID baseplate) that is economically viable and dosimetrically comparable for radiotherapy patient treatment. An ID baseplate was designed and manufactured using wood plastic composition materials that are readily available in the market and were compared dosimetrically with the commercially available carbon fiber baseplate (CF baseplate). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surface dose and beam attenuation properties of both the baseplates (ID and CF) were measured using a parallel plate chamber and compared with the dose calculated from the treatment planning system (TPS). Separate computer tomography images of both the baseplates were acquired by placing solid water phantoms. These images were used for surface dose calculation in the TPS and were validated with experimental measurements. Proper densities were assigned to the couch and baseplates to avoid uncertainties in dose calculations. All measurements were performed at field sizes 10 cm × 10 cm for 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams. RESULTS: The percentage surface dose measured for the ID baseplate and CF baseplate was found to be matching for 6 MV beam (98.2% and 97%, respectively); however, for the 15 MV beam, the ID baseplate showed a higher surface dose of 98.6% compared to CF baseplate (87.4%). For the ID baseplate, the percentage difference in the surface dose between that TPS calculated value and the measured values were 1.6% and 1.4% for 6MV and 15MV, respectively. The ID baseplate showed higher beam attenuation than the CF baseplate by 2.2% for the 6MV beam and 3.4% for the 15MV beam when proper electron densities were not assigned. The difference between the TPS calculated dose and delivered dose was achieved within 3% after assigning proper electron density to the couch and baseplate. CONCLUSIONS: The ID baseplate has shown acceptable dosimetric results and can be an economically viable alternative to the commercially available CF baseplates. The manufacturing cost of the ID baseplate was ten times cheaper than the CF baseplate.