Small Volume Ionization Chambers Angular Dependence and Its Influence on Point-Dose Measurements

Purpose: Cylindrical ionization chambers as the PinPoint and the CC01 have high-spatial resolution and cylindrical symmetry in relevance to small fields. Dosimetry of newly advanced technologies that include non-coplanar beams, such as in Gamma-Knife, VMAT and IMRT treatment plans, the angular dependence of the ion chamber is essential. Therefore in this study we simulated two common used ion chambers using a Monte Carlo method. Methods: The angular dependence for the CC01 and the PinPoint were calculated for a vast angular range in a cylindrical water phantom for two LINAC photon beams, 6 MV and 15 MV. The calculations were performed for fully structural description of each ion chamber using Monte Carlo code, in order to reveal unsymmetrical response dose higher than 2% in medical applications. The calculated dose response, for the CC01 ion chamber, was validated with measurements. Results: The CC01 ion chamber showed a very small angular dependence compared to the PinPoint ion chamber. The relative angular dependence amplitude of the PinPoint was about 12% in the range of 0° - 110°. Conclusions: The differences in the ion chambers structure led to the variations in the relative angular dependence amplitude. Therefore, when choosing a detector, not only the volume of the ionization chamber but also its structure must be taken into consideration.