Water calorimetric determination of absorbed dose by 280 kVp orthovoltage X-rays

The absorbed dose to water from 280 kVp orthovoltage X-rays was determined by a water calorimeter and compared with that determined by an ionization chamber. X-ray qualities of three different filtrations were investigated: they were characterized by 0.57, 0.695 and 1.76 mm of copper half value layers (HVL). The absorbed dose determined by the calorimeter is found higher by 7-9% than that by an ionization chamber. This difference was greater by 4% than that observed for a 60Co beam with the same two detectors.