Linear Energy Transfer Dependence Correction of Spread-Out Bragg Peak Measured by EBT3 Film for Dynamically Scanned Proton Beams

Purpose: Gafchromic films for proton dosimetry are dependent on linear energy transfers (LETs), resulting in dose underestimation for high LETs. Despite efforts to resolve this problem for single-energy beams, there remains a need to do so for multi-energy beams. Here, a bimolecular reaction model was applied to correct the under-response of spread-out Bragg peaks (SOBPs). Methods: For depth-dose measurements, a Gafchromic EBT3 film was positioned in water perpendicular to the ground. The gantry was rotated at 15° to avoid disturbances in the beam path. A set of films was exposed to a uniformly scanned 112-MeV pristine proton beam with six different dose intensities, ranging from 0.373 to 4.865 Gy, at a 2-cm depth. Another set of films was irradiated with SOBPs with maximum energies of 110, 150, and 190 MeV having modulation widths of 5.39, 4.27, and 5.34 cm, respectively. The correction function was obtained using 150.8-MeV SOBP data. The LET of the SOBP was then analytically calculated. Finally, the model was validated for a uniform cubic dose distribution and compared with multilayered ionization chamber data. Results: The dose error in the plateau region was within 4% when normalized with the maximum dose. The discrepancy of the range was <1 mm for all measured energies. The highest errors occurred at 70 MeV owing to the steep gradient with the narrowest Bragg peak. Conclusions: With bimolecular model-based correction, an EBT3 film can be used to accurately verify the depth dose of scanned proton beams and could potentially be used to evaluate the depth-dose distribution for patient plans.