On the Detectability of Acoustic Waves Induced Following Irradiation by a Radiotherapy Linear Accelerator

Irradiating an object with a megavoltage photon beam generated by a clinical radiotherapy linear accelerator (linac) induces acoustic waves through the photoacoustic effect. The detection and characterization of such acoustic waves has potential applications in radiation therapy dosimetry. The purpose of this work was to gain insight into the properties of such acoustic waves by simulating and experimentally detecting them in a well-defined system consisting of a metal block suspended in a water tank. A novel simulation workflow was developed by combining radiotherapy Monte Carlo and acoustic wave transport simulation techniques. Different set-up parameters such as photon beam energy, metal block depth, metal block width, and metal block material were varied, and the simulated and experimental acoustic waveforms showed the same relative amplitude trends and frequency variations for such setup changes. The simulation platform developed in this work can easily be extended to other irradiation situations, and will be an invaluable tool for developing a radiotherapy dosimetry system based on the detection of the acoustic waves induced following linear accelerator irradiation.