Determination of absorbed dose in high-energy electron and photon radiation by means of an uncalibrated ionization chamber.

The aim of this study was to develop a dosimetric method based on an ionization chamber which has an uncalibrated sensitive volume but which behaves as a Bragg-Gray cavity in high-energy radiation. The new type of chamber developed in the course of this study has a variable volume and is constructed from water-similar materials. It can be used in a water phantom directly in a beam of a therapy megavoltage machine under clinical conditions. The chamber allows absorbed dose to be determined from first principles, overcoming many of the problems encountered with conventional dosimetry based on calibrated chambers. The study involved an intercomparison of the performance of the new chamber in high-energy electron and photon radiation with the conventional calibrated chambers employed according to the established dosimetry protocols. Good agreement was found between these dosimetric methods and it may therefore be concluded that the method developed in this work can be successfully employed for absolute dosimetry. The new chamber is a promising device for research in various aspects of dosimetry.