Photon and electron backscatter dose and energy spectrum analysis around Lipiodol using flattened and unflattened beams

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the backscatter dose and energy spectrum from the Lipiodol with flattening filter (FF) and flattening filter-free (FFF) beams. Moreover, the backscatter range, that was defined as the backscatter distance (BD) are revealed. Methods: 6 MVX FF and FFF beams were delivered by TrueBeam. Two dose calculation methods with Monte Carlo calculation were used with a virtual phantom in which the Lipiodol (3 × 3 × 3 cm3) was located at a depth of 5.0 cm in a water-equivalent phantom (20 × 20 × 20 cm3). The first dose calculation was an analysis of the dose and energy spectrum with the complete scattering of photons and electrons, and the other was a specified dose analysis only with scattering from a specified region. The specified dose analysis was divided into a scattering of primary photons and a scattering of electrons. Results: The lower-energy photons contributed to the backscatter, while the high-energy photons contributed the difference of the backscatter dose between the FF and FFF beams. Although the difference in the dose from the scattered electrons between the FF and FFF beams was within 1%, the difference of the dose from the scattered photons between the FF and FFF beams was 5.4% at a depth of 4.98 cm. Conclusions: The backscatter range from the Lipiodol was within 3 mm and depended on the Compton scatter from the primary photons. The backscatter dose from the Lipiodol can be useful in clinical applications in cases where the backscatter region is located within a tumor.