Medical Physics Seminar – Monday, December 6, 2010
Absorbed Dose to Water Characterization of a Low-energy Miniature X-ray Source used in Brachytherapy Applications.
Tina Pike (student of Dr. Larry DeWerd)
Research Assistant, Department of Medical Physics, UW-School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, WI USA
The Xoft Axxent® miniature x-ray source is an expanding technology used in the treatment of several types of cancers, such as breast, gynecological, and skin cancers. The Axxent source is a high-dose rate source with a 50 kVp bremsstrahlung spectrum making it a suitable option for brachytherapy treatments. Low-energy brachytherapy sources, such as the Axxent source, are characterized following the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group No. 43 protocol. This work aims to characterize these low-energy x-ray sources in terms of the absorbed dose to water parameters in TG-43 with thermoluminescent dosimeters, ionization chambers, spectra measurements, and Monte Carlo simulations.