Comparison of Dose Accuracy between Film and Two-dimensional Detectors in Intensity-modulated Radiation Therapy

We constructed seven intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plans for prostate cancer (49 irradiation fields which contained seven randomly-sampled patients and seven fields) and evaluated the dose distributions by using a radiochromic film (EBT3 film) and a 2D detector. We superposed the calculated dose distribution of the IMRT treatment plan on EBT3 film and the 2D detector results and then compared those with the γ-analysis pass rate. The relative positions of the beam and the detector were varied; the results of the analysis of the superior-inferior (SI) direction potentially differed, depending on the detector position, under an irradiation beam with the same fluence map. The detector was moved over a range of ±8 mm in the SI direction in 1-mm step increments, measurement were made at each position, and the results were analyzed. The γ-analysis compared the dose distributions from EBT3 film and the radiation treatment planning system (RTPS) for each patient and field; the pass rate with the γ-analysis from 98 to 100% was 2.04%. When we compared the dose distributions of the 2D detector and the RTPS, the pass rate from 98 to 100% was 63.2%. The mean values for the γ-analysis pass rates for EBT3 film and the 2D detector were 94.2 and 97.6%, respectively. Volume averaging of the data indicated a mean pass rate and standard deviation of 98.6 and 0.91%, respectively, and a pass rate of more than 96% for all positions. A 2D detector can, therefore, be used as an alternative apparatus for IMRT dose verification.