Relative and absolute dosimetry of proton therapy beams

Different codes of practice are in use or under preparation by several groups and national or international societies, concerning the dosimetry of proton beams. In spite of a large number of experiences and the increasing interest on this field, there are still large incertitudes on some of the basic conversion and correction factors to get dose values from different measuring methods. In practice, dose uniformity between centers is searched and encouraged by intercomparisons using standard procedures. We present the characteristics and the results on proton dosimetry intercomparisons using calorimeters, Faraday cups and ion chambers, as well as on the use of other detectors like diodes, radiographic films and TLD. New detectors like diamond, scintillators, radiochromic films, alanine, gels, ... can give new solutions to particular problems, provided their response is not affected at the end of the proton range (higher LET region), and their resolution, range, linearity, cost, ... are well adapted to practical situations. Some examples of special challenges are non interfering measurements during treatments for quality control, in vivo measurements, small beams for stereotactic irradiations, scanned beams and correlations between dosimetry, microdosimetry and radiobiology