Total skin electron therapy : a modified technique for small room linear accelerator

Abstract EN

Objective : Development of a technique for treating Whole-body skin using linear accelerator with electron beam energy of 6-MeV at a short treatment distance.

Material and Methods : The 6 MeV high dose rate total skin electron irradiation mode on a linear accelerator was used.

Beam profiles and percentage depth doses in the patient plane were measured for different beam angulations.

Results : At a treatment distance (SSD) of 292cm and using acrylic scatterer-degrader 4mm thick, the beam penetration was calculated so that the 80% dose lied at 1.6cm for the single beam and only 6mm for the clinical beam.

A uniform vertical profile was obtained by using 3 beams for each treatment position with gantry angles of 700, 900 and 1100.

Conclusions : We could implement a modified Stanford technique for total skin electron beam irradiation at a short treatment distance.

Using an acrylic scatterer-degrader and three beam angulations we could produce a uniform beam in the treatment plane.