• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 1999

Purpose : We have compared the characteristics of Siemens virtual wedge device with physical wedges for clinical application. Materials and Methods : We investigated the characteristics of virtual and physical wedges for various wedge angles (15, 30, 45, and 60$^{\circ}$) using 6- and 15MV photon beams. Wedge factors were measured in water using an ion chamber for various field sizes and depths. In case of virtual wedge device, as upper jaw moves during irradiation, wedge angles were estimated by accumulated doses. These measurements were performed at off-axis points perpendicular to the beam central axis in water for a 15cm${\times}$20cm radiation field size at the depth of loom. Surface doses without and with virtual or physical wedges were measured using a parallel plate ion chamber at surface. Field size was 15cm H20cm and a polystyrene phantom was used. Results : For various field sizes, virtual and physical wedge factors were changed by maximum 2.1% and 3.9%) , respectively. For various depths, virtual and physical wedge factors were changed by maximum 1.9% and 2.9%, respectively. No major difference was found between the virtual and physical wedge angles and the difference was within 0.5$^{\circ}$ . Suface dose with physical wedge was reduced by maximum 20% (x-ray beam :6 MV, wedge angle:45$^{\circ}$, 550: 80 cm) relative to one with virtual wedge or without wedge. Conclusions : Comparison of the characteristics of Siemens virtual wedge device with physical wedges was performed. Depth dependence of virtual wedge factor was smaller than that of physical wedge factor. Virtual and physical wedge factors were nearly independent of field sizes. The accuracy of virtual and physical wedge angles was excellent. Surface dose was found to be reduced using physical wedge.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 1998

Purpose : In order to obtain basic data for treatment plan in radiosurgery, we measured small fields of 6 MV X-rays and compared the measured data with our Monte Carlo simulations for the small fields. Materials and Methods : The small fields of 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 cm in diameter were used in this study. Percentage depth dose (PDD) and beam Profiles of those fields were measured and calculated. A small semiconductor detector, water phantoms, and a remote control system were used for the measurement Monte Carlo simulations were Performed using the EGS4 code with the input data prepared for the energy distribution of 6 MV X-rays, beam divergence, circular fields and the geometry of the water phantoms. Results : In the case of PDD values, the calculated values were lower than the measured values for all fields and depths, with the differences being 0.3 to 5.7% at the depths of 20 to 20.0 cm and 0.0 to 8.9% at the surface regions. As a result of the analysis of beam profiles for all field sizes at a depth of loom in water phantom, the measured 90% dose widths were in good agreement with the calculated values, however, the calculated Penumbra radii were 0.1 cm shorter than measured values. Conclusion : The measured PDDs and beam profiles agreement with the Monte Carlo calculations approximately. However, it is different when it comes to calculations in the area of phantom surface and penumbra because the Monte Carlo calculations were performed under the simplified geometries. Therefore, we have to study how to include the actual geometries and more precise data for the field area in Monte Carlo calculations. The Monte Carlo calculations will be used as a useful tool for the very complicated conditions in measurement and verification.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.82-93
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• 2003

Purpose : To reduce the Irradiation dose to the lungs and heart in the case of chest wail irradiation using an oppositional electron beam, we used an Individualized custom bolus, which was precisely designed to compensate for the differences In chest wall thickness. The benefits were evaluated by comparing the normal tissue complication probablilties (NTCPS) and dose statistics both with and without boluses. Materials and Methods : Boluses were made, and their effects evaluated in ten patients treated using the reverse hockey-stick technique. The electron beam energy was determined so as to administer 80% of the irradiation prescription dose to the deepest lung-chest wall border, which was usually located at the internal mammary lymph node chain. An individualized custom bolus was prepared to compensate for a chest wall thinner than the prescription depth by meticulously measuring the chest wall thickness at 1 emf intervals on the planning CT Images. A second planning CT was obtained overlying the individuailzed custom bolus for each patient's chest wall. 3-D treatment planning was peformed using ADAC-Pinnacle$^{3}$ for all patients with and without bolus. NTCPS based on 'the Lyman-Kutcher' model were analyzed and the mean, maximum, minimum doses, V$_{50}$ and V$_{95}$ for 4he heari and lungs were computed. Results .The average NTCPS in the ipsliateral lung showed a statistically significant reduction (p<0.01), from 80.2${\pm}$3.43% to 47.7${\pm}$4.61%, with the use of the individualized custom boluses. The mean lung irradiation dose to the ipsilateral iung was also significantly reduced by about 430 cGy, Trom 2757 cGy to 2,327 cGy (p<0.01). The V$_{50}$ and V$_{95}$ in the ipsilateral lung markedly decreased from the averages of 54.5 and 17.4% to 45.3 and 11.0%, respectively. The V$_{50}$ and V$_{95}$ In the heart also decreased from the averages of 16.8 and 6.1% to 9.8% and 2.2%, respectively. The NTCP In the contralateral lung and the heart were 0%, even for the cases with no bolus because of the small effective mean radiation volume values of 4.4 and 7.1%, respectively Conclusion : The use of an Individualized custom bolus in the radiotherapy of postrnastectorny chest wall reduced the NTCP of the ipsilateral lung by about 24.5 to 40.5%, which can improve the complication free cure probability of breast cancer patients.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to confirm the feasibility of imaging of therapy region from the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) using the measurement of the prompt gamma ray depending on the neutron flux. Through the Monte Carlo simulation, we performed the verification of physical phenomena from the BNCT; (1) the effects of neutron according to the existence of boron uptake region (BUR), (2) the internal and external measurement of prompt gamma ray dose, (3) the energy spectrum by the prompt gamma ray. All simulation results were deducted using the Monte Carlo n-particle extended (MCNPX, Ver.2.6.0, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA) simulation tool. The virtual water phantom, thermal neutron source, and BURs were simulated using the MCNPX. The energy of the thermal neutron source was defined as below 1 eV with 2,000,000 n/sec flux. The prompt gamma ray was measured with the direction of beam path in the water phantom. The detector material was defined as the lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (Lu0,6Y1,4Si0,5:Ce; LYSO) scintillator with lead shielding for the collimation. The BUR's height was 5 cm with the 28 frames (bin: 0.18 cm) for the dose calculation. The neutron flux was decreased dramatically at the shallow region of BUR. In addition, the dose of prompt gamma ray was confirmed at the 9 cm depth from water surface, which is the start point of the BUR. In the energy spectrum, the prompt gamma ray peak of the 478 keV was appeared clearly with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the 41 keV (energy resolution: 8.5%). In conclusion, the therapy region can be monitored by the gamma camera and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using the measurement of the prompt gamma ray during the BNCT.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 2003

Purpose: This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy, and to investigate the prognostic factors for FIGO stages IB-IIB cervical cancer patients who were treated with simple hysterectomy, or who had high-risk factors following radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection. Materials and Methods: Between March 1986 and December 1998, 58 patients, with FIGO stages IB-IIB cervical cancer were included in this study. The indications for postoperative radiation therapy were based on the pathological findings, including lymph node metastasis, positive surgical margin, parametrial extension, lymphovascular invasion, invasion of more than half the cervical stroma, uterine extension and the incidental finding of cervix cancer fellowing simple hysterectomy. All patients received external pelvic radiotherapy, and 5 patients, received an additional intracavitary radiation therapy. The radiation dose from the external beam to the whole pelvis was $40\~50$ Gy. Vagina cuff Irradiation was peformed, after completion of the external beam irradiation, at a low-dose rate of Cs-137, with the total dose of $4488\~4932$ chy (median: 4500 chy) at 5 mm depth from the vagina surface. The median follow-up period was 44 months ($15\~108$ months). Results: The 5-yr actuarial local control rate, distant free survival and disease-free survival rate were $98\%,\;95\%\;and\;94\%$, respectively. A univariate analysis of the clinical and pathological parameters revealed that the clinical stage (p=0.0145), status of vaginal resection margin (p=0.0002) and parametrial extension (p=0.0001) affected the disease-free survival. From a multivariate analysis, only a parametrial extension independently influenced the disease-free survival. Five patients ($9\%$) experienced Grade 2 late treatment-related complications, such as radiation proctitis (1 patient), cystitis (3 patients) and lymphedema of the leg (1 patient). No patient had grade 3 or 4 complications. Conclusion: Our results indicate that postoperative radiation therapy can achieve good local control and survival rates for patients with stages IB-IIB cervical cancer, treated with a simple hysterectomy, as well as for those treated with a radical hysterectomy, and with unfavorable pathological findings. The prognostic factor for disease-free survival was invasion of the parametrium. The prognosic factor identified in this study for treatment failure can be used as a selection criterion for the combined treatment of radiation and che motherapy.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 2008

Aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of 2D ion chamber array as a substitute of the water phantom system in a periodic Linac QA. For the feasibility study, a commercial ion chamber matrix was used as a substitute of the water phantom in the measurement for a routine QA beam properties. The device used in this study was the I'm RT MatriXX (Wellhofer Dosimetrie, Germany). The MatriXX consists of a 1,020 vented ion chamber array, arranged in $24{\times}24\;cm^2$ matrix. Each ion chamber has a volume of $0.08\;cm^3$, spacing of 0.762 cm. We investigated dosimetric parameters such as dose symmetry, energy ($TPR_{20,10}$), and absolute dose for comparing with the water phantom data with a Farmer-type ionization chamber (FC65G, Wellhofer Dosimetrie, Germany). For the MatriXX measurements, we used the white polystyrene phantom (${\rho}:\;1.18\;g/cm^3$) and also considered the intrinsic layer (${\rho}:\;1.06\;g/cm^3$, t: 0.36 cm) of MatriXX to be equivalent to water depth. In the preliminary study of geometrical QA using MatriXX, the rotation axis of collimator and half beam junction test were included and compared with film measurements. Regarding the dosimetrical QA, the MatriXX has shown good agreements within ${\pm}1%$ compared to the water phantom measurements. In the geometrical test, the data from MatriXX were comparable with those from the films. In conclusion, the MatriXX is a good substitute for water phantom system and film measurements. In addition, the results indicate that the MatriXX as a cost-effective novel QA tool to reduce time and personnel power.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was designed to determine the optimum radiotherapy technique for internal mammary node (IMN) irradiation after breast-conserving surgery. Materials and Methods: We selected ten cases of early stage partial mastectomy for plan comparison. Five of the patients were treated to the right-side breast and the rest of the patients were treated to the left-side breast. For each case, four different treatment plans were made to irradiate the entire breast, IMNs and supraclavicular lymph nodes (SCLs). The four planning techniques include a standard tangential field (STF), wide tangential field (WTF), partially wide tangential field (PWT) and a photon-electron mixed field (PEM). We prescribed a dose of 50.4 Gy to the SCL field at a 3 cm depth and isocenter of the breast field. Results: The dose distribution showed clear characteristics depending on the technique used. All of the techniques covered the breast tissue well. IMN coverage was also good, except for the STF, which was not intended to cover IMNs. For the cases of the left-side breasts, the volume of the heart that received more than 30 Gy was larger (in order) for the WTF, PWT, PEM and STF. For radiation pneumonitis normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), the PWT showed the best results followed by the STF. Conclusion: Despite the variety of patient body shapes, the PWT technique showed the best results for coverage of IMNs and for reducing the lung and heart dose.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2005

The purpose of this study has been performed to investigate the possibility of external audit program using thermoluminescence dosimetry for electron beam in korea. The TLD system consists of LiF powder, type TLD-700 read with a PCL 3 reader. In order to determine a calibration coefficient of the TLD system, the reference dosimeters are irradiated to 2 Gy in a $^{60}CO$ beam at the KFDA The irradiation is performed under reference conditions is water phantom using the IAEA standard holder for TLD of electron beam. The energy correction factor is determined for LiF powder irradiated of dose to water 2 Gy in electron beams of 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV (Varian CL 2100C). The dose is determined according to the IAEA TRS-398 and by measurement with a PTW Roos type plane-parallel chamber. The TLD for each electron energy are positioned in water at reference depth. In this study, to verify of the accuracy of dose determination by the TLD system are performed through a 'blind' TLD irradiation. The results of blind test are $2.98\%,\;3.39\%\;and\;0.01\%(1\sigma)$ at 9, 16, 20 MeV, respectively. The value generally agrees within the acceptance level of $5\%$ for electron beam. The results of this study prove the possibility of the TLD quality assurance program for electron beams. It has contributed to the improvement of clinical electron dosimetry in radiotherapy centers.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 2008

In this study, we have fabricated a one-dimensional fiber-optic dosimeter for electron beam therapy dosimetry. Each fiber-optic dosimeter has an organic scintillator with a plastic optical fiber and it is embedded and arrayed in the plastic phantom to measure one-dimensional high energy electron beam profile of clinical linear accelerator. The scintillating lights generated from each sensor probe are guided by plastic optical fibers to the multi-channel photodiode amplifier system. We have measured one-dimensional electron beam profiles in a PMMA phantom according to different field sizes and energies of electron beam. Also, the isodose and three-dimensional percent depth dose curves in a PMMA phantom are obtained using a one-dimensional fiber-optic dosimeter with different electron beam energies.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2013

To see if slaked lime and organic fertilizer applications to soil are useful as countermeasures for reducing $^{99}Tc$ concentrations in rice seeds after $^{99}Tc$ contamination of paddy fields, pot experiments were performed for two different paddy soils in a greenhouse. The upper soils for a depth of about 20 cm were treated with the agricultural materials and $^{99}Tc$ 15 d before transplanting. The effects were compared using the transfer factor (TF) defined as the ratio of the plant concentration to the soil concentration. In the case of control plants, TF values for brown rice in the two soils were $4.1{\times}10^{-4}$ and $4.3{\times}10^{-4}$. Of various types of the application, only the application of slaked lime at a lower dose (about 0.6 kg $m^{-2}$), which led to a 60% reduction in the TF value for one soil, seemed to be worth using as a countermeasure. Little effect of the same application was found in the other soil so it is important to determine the effect averaged for a number of soils. Organic fertilizer applications at both of two different doses increased the TF value. It is considered necessary to perform experiments for slake lime applications at doses lower than the above.