Simplified estimation method for dose distributions around field junctions in proton craniospinal irradiation.

In radiotherapy involving craniospinal irradiation (CSI), field junctions of therapeutic beams are necessary, because a CSI target is generally several times larger than the maximum field size of the beams. The purpose of this study was to develop a simplified method for estimating dose uniformity around the field junctions in proton CSI. We estimated the dose profiles around the field junctions of proton beams using a simplified field-junction model, in which partial lateral dose distributions around the field edge were assumed to be approximated using the error function. We measured the lateral dose distributions of the proton beams planned for the CSI treatment using a two-dimensional (2D) ionization chamber array. Although dose hot spots and cold spots tend to be underestimated by a chamber array because of the partial volume effect of the sensitive volume and discrete chamber positions, the model estimation results were fairly consistent with the measurements obtained using a 2D chamber array subjected to CSI-simulated serial irradiation. The simplified junction model enabled us to estimate the dose distributions and dependence of the setup position gap on the dose uniformity around the field junctions on the basis of the field-by-field dose profiles measured using the 2D chamber array.