Dose corrections for field obliquity for 45-MV x-ray therapy

The degree of dose perturbation produced by a 25.7-cm-diam circular water phantom was determined for a 45-MV x-ray beam by direct measurement. Data obtained in a circular and a cubical water phantom was utilized to test three accepted techniques (isodose shift, TAR method, and effective SSD method) for the correction of isodose levels to account for patient curvature. In general, the effective SSD method yielded the most accurate results for all depth including the buildup region. An isodose shift factor of 0.8 was found for the 45-MV x-ray beam.