An assessment of the use of skin flashes in helical tomotherapy using phantom and in-vivo dosimetry

Background and purpose: In helical tomotherapy the nature of the optimizing and planning systems allows the delivery of dose on the skin using a build-up compensating technique (skin flash). However, positioning errors or changes in the patient's contour can influence the correct dosage in these regions. This work studies the behavior of skin-flash regions using phantom and in-vivo dosimetry. Materials and methods: The dosimetric accuracy of the tomotherapy planning system in skin-flash regions is checked using film and TLD on phantom. Positioning errors are induced and the effect on the skin dose is investigated. Further a volume decrease is simulated using bolus material and the results are compared. Results: Results show that the tomotherapy planning system calculates dose on skin regions within 2 SD using TLD measurements. Film measurements show drops of dose of 2.8% and 26% for, respectively, a 5 mm and 10 mm mispositioning of the phantom towards air and a dose increase of 9% for a 5 mm shift towards tissue. These measurements are confirmed by TLD measurements. A simulated volume reduction shows a similar behavior with a 2.6% and 19.4% drop in dose, measured with TLDs. Conclusion: The tomotherapy system allows adequate planning and delivery of dose using skin flashes. However, exact positioning is crucial to deliver the dose at the exact location. © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.j