Abstract
We evaluated the effect of scatter on a build-up region based on the measured percent depth dose (PDD) of high-energy photon beams that penetrated a handmade build-up modifier (BM) as a substitute of bolus. BM scatter factors (SBM) were calculated based on the PDDs of photon beams that penetrated through the BM. The calculated SBM values were normalized to 1 at the square field side (SFS) of 30 mm without a BM. For the largest SFS (200 mm), the SBM values for a 6-MV beam were 1.331, 1.519, 1.598, 1.641, and 1.657 for the corresponding BM thickness values. For a 10-MV beam, the SBM values were 1.384, 1.662, 1.825, 1.913, and 2.001 for the corresponding BM thickness values. The BM yielded 76% of the bolus efficiency. We expect BM to become useful devices for deep-set patient body parts to which it is difficult to apply a bolus.
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