Polyethylene-based water-equivalent phantom material for x-ray dosimetry at tube voltages from 10 to 100 kV.

A water-equivalent plastic material RW-1, in the form of thin foils as well as of thicker sheets, has been produced by melting powdered polyethylene together with CaCO3 and MgO. The mixture has been developed in a three-step procedure, starting with provisional mixtures and using data from their measured attenuation curves to determine the final composition. The attenuation curves of RW-1 and of water, as well as their backscatter factors, are in excellent agreement for x-ray tube voltages from 10 to 100 kV.