Using PRIMO to determine the initial beam parameters of Elekta Synergy linac for electron beam energies of 6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV.

ABSTRACT

Background: The purpose of this research was to establish the primary electron beam characteristics for an Elekta Synergy linear accelerator. In this task, we take advantage of the PRIMO Monte Carlo software, where the model developed contains the majority of the component materials of the Linac. Materials and methods: For all energies, the Elekta Linac electron mode and 14 × 14 cm2 applicator were chosen. To obtain percentage depth dose (PDD) curves, a homogeneous water phantom was voxelized in a 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm3 grid along the central axis. At the reference depth, the dose profile was recorded in 0.1 × 1 × 1 cm3 voxels. Iterative changes were made to the initial beams mean energy and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of energy in order to keep the conformity of the simulated and measured dose curves within. To confirm simulation results, the Gamma analysis was performed with acceptance criteria of 2 mm - 2%. From the validated calculation, the parameters of the PDD and profile curve (R100, R50, Rp, and field size) were collected. Results: Initial mean energies of 7.3, 9.85, 12.9, and 15.7 MeV were obtained for nominal energies of 6, 9, 12, and 15, respectively. The PRIMO Monte Carlo model for Elekta Synergy was precisely validated. Conclusions: PRIMO is an easy-to-use software program that can calculate dose distribution in water phantoms.