Clinical use of thermoluminescent dosimeters in supervoltage x-ray therapy.

A practical method for routine patient dose monitoring when single, multiple, or adjacent fields are irradiated with supervoltage x rays is described. The system uses litium fluoride TL-700 extruded rods in small gelatin capsules. The mode of calculation is described and the experimental data for 33- and 45-MeV energy betatron x rays are presented. An example is given to illustrate the use of this technique (experimental uncertainty, 3%).