Calculation models for determining the absorbed dose in water phantoms in off-axis planes of rectangular fields of open and wedged photon beams.

Beam models are proposed for the calculation of the dose in off-axis planes of rectangular photon fields, when the data set used in the treatment planning system is based on the simple storage model of Milan and Bentley. For open beams the model separates the off-axis ratio into an envelope profile and two boundary profiles. The envelope profile gives the field intensity of the maximal position of the jaws and has rotational symmetry. The boundary profiles describe the boundaries of the field actually formed by the jaws. In the case of a wedged beam, the model also separates the off-axis ratio into envelope profiles and boundary profiles. To determine these profiles for the non-wedge direction from open beam profiles, the wedge thickness is converted to an equivalent water thickness. In the case of an asymmetric field, the boundary profiles are shifted to the field centre. Results of calculation with these models have been compared with measurements and the simple multiplication of profiles, which has often been used with the Milan-Bentley model. The new models agree within a few per cent with the measurements and are a great improvement compared to the simple multiplication of profiles.