The perturbation correction factor of ionisation chambers in beta-radiation fields.

In determining the absorbed dose in a solid medium by means of gas-filled ionisation chambers, the perturbation of the radiation field by the chamber needs to be taken into account. So far, an appropriate correction factor has neither been calculated nor measured for beta-radiation. This work describes its experimental determination for an extrapolation chamber and beta-radiation fields of 147Pm, 204Tl, and 90Sr + 90Y. The results show that the correction factor may be assumed to be the product of a shield factor and a scatter factor the magnitudes of which depend on the chamber geometry and the radiation field. The change of the perturbation correction factor with phantom depth is important for the measurement of depth dose curves. This is demonstrated by an example.