[Dosimetry of HDR afterloading machines with Ir-192- und Co-60-sources: comparison of different international...

The air kerma rate in air at a reference distance of 1 meter from the source is the recommended quantity for the specification of gamma ray source in brachytherapy. The absorbed dose for the patients is directly proportional to the air kerma rate. Therefore the air kerma rate should be determined before the first use of the source on patients by a medical physicist who is independent from the source manufacturer. The air kerma rate will then be applied in the calculation of the dose delivered to patients. In practice, high dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 afterloading machines are mostly used in brachytherapy treatment. Currently HDR-Co-60 increasingly come into operation, too. The essential advantage of the use of Co-60 sources is its longer half-life compared to Ir-192. In addition, the purchasing and disposal costs are lower. The use of HDR-Co-60- afterloading machines is also quite interesting for developing countries. This work describes the dosimetry at HDR afterloading machines according to the protocols DIN 6809-2 (1993) in relation to the DGMP-Report 13 (2006), IAEA-TECDOC-1274 (2002) and AAPM Report 41 (1993) with the nuclides Ir-192 and Co-60. We have used 3 different measurement methods (with a cylindrical chamber in solid phantom and in free air and with a well chamber) in dependence of each of the protocols. We have shown that the standard deviations of the measured air kerma rate for the Co-60 source are generally larger than those of the Ir-192 source. The measurements with the well chamber had the lowest deviation from the certificate value. In all protocols and methods the deviations stood for both nuclides by a maximum of about 1.2% for Ir-192 and 2.5% for Co-60-sources respectively.