Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Dose levels outside radiotherapy beams.

D Greene, G L Chu, D W Thomas

The British Journal of Radiology

|August 1, 1983

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Stray radiation outside the radiotherapy beam is mainly from scattering, not just leakage. Increasing leakage limits for linear accelerators could be feasible without significantly increasing patient dose.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Trend analysis and prediction of seasonal changes in milk composition from a pasture-based dairy research herd.

Journal of dairy science·2023

Same author

Predictors and consequences of non-suicidal self-injury in relation to life, peer, and school factors.

Journal of adolescence·2021

Same author

A proposal for an atypical femur fracture treatment and prevention clinical practice guideline.

Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA·2018

Same author

Reply: To PMID 25769779.

Urology·2015

Same author

Feasibility study of a randomised controlled trial to compare (deferred) androgen deprivation therapy and cryotherapy in men with localised radiation-recurrent prostate cancer.

British journal of cancer·2014

Same author

Beyond diagnosis: evolving prostate biopsy in the era of focal therapy.

Prostate cancer·2011

Same journal

Machine learning models using 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomics for RAS mutation prediction and prognostic stratification in colorectal cancer.

The British journal of radiology·2026

Same journal

Predictors of Relapse in Oligometastatic Prostate Patients Receiving Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy.

The British journal of radiology·2026

Same journal

An Evaluation of Radiotherapy and Response in the Management of Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumors.

The British journal of radiology·2026

Same journal

Ensuring radiology reporting quality across a national lung cancer screening programme.

The British journal of radiology·2026

Same journal

Utility of High-Resolution Semiconductor Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in the Assessment of Breast Cancer Extent: Comparison with Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The British journal of radiology·2026

Same journal

Airway Imaging Practices in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: A Global Survey to Guide Standardized Guidelines.

The British journal of radiology·2026

See all related articles

Area of Science:

Medical Physics
Radiation Oncology
Radiotherapy Equipment

Background:

Radiotherapy generator specifications limit leakage radiation to 0.1% (or 0.2% per ICRP) of the useful beam's dose rate.
Stray radiation outside the treatment beam comprises leakage radiation and scattered radiation from beam-defining systems and the patient.
Understanding stray radiation is crucial for patient safety and optimizing radiotherapy procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

To measure leakage and scattered radiation levels from various radiotherapy generators.
To compare stray radiation levels in air and in a phantom.
To assess the feasibility of increasing leakage radiation limits for linear accelerators.

Main Methods:

Measurements were conducted on a 300 kV X-ray unit, 4 MV and 8 MV linear accelerators, and a 15 MeV neutron generator.

Related Experiment Videos

Radiation levels were determined in air and within a phantom simulating patient anatomy.

The study differentiated between leakage radiation and scattered radiation components.

Main Results:

For all tested generators, scattered radiation was the primary determinant of dose outside the useful beam.
Measurements in air and phantom showed similar trends for stray radiation levels.
The study found that increased leakage radiation limits (2-3x) for linear accelerators are likely feasible without substantially increasing patient stray dose.

Conclusions:

Stray radiation in radiotherapy is predominantly caused by scattering processes, not solely by source leakage.
Current leakage radiation limits for linear accelerators may be unnecessarily restrictive.
Adjusting leakage radiation specifications for linear accelerators could be permissible, potentially improving generator design without compromising patient safety.