Calculation of dose in homogeneous phantoms for partially attenuated photon beams

Measured and calculated dose distributions under attenuators, which are of smaller cross-sectional dimensions than the radiation field, are presented. The study was performed on a 4-MV linac at a source-surface distance of 120 cm on the beam central axis in a water phantom for several thickness and cross sections of lead attenuators. Dose correction factors, which are used to multiply the open beam data to get dose distributions under partial attenuators, depend strongly on attenuator parameters and on depths in phantom. A method to calculate dose correction factors for any combination of attenuator parameters and any phantom depth is presented. The calculated dose distributions under partial attenuators agree well with measured data, which indicates that the method can be applied in clinical situations.