Monte Carlo simulation of a miniature, radiosurgery x-ray tube using the ITS 3.0 coupled electron-photon transport code.

A miniature, interstitial x-ray generator has recently been developed and is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of brain tumors. The maximum photon energy from this x-ray tube is 50 keV, although most of the initial testing has been carried out at 40 keV. Dose rates of up to 2 Gy/min in a water phantom at a distance of 10 mm from the tube tip are produced. In this paper we describe the modeling and simulation of x-ray production from this device using the ITS 3.0 Monte Carlo code. Verification of the simulation of x-ray production in the device was carried out by comparing predictions of spatial photon distribution, energy spectrum, and dose versus depth in water with experimentally obtained measurements. Agreement between the simulated results and experimental measurements was fairly good when comparing the angular distribution of photons emitted from the x-ray tube and very good when comparing dose rate versus depth in a water phantom. Discrepancies observed when comparing the calculated and measured estimates of characteristic line radiation were reduced by incorporation of a modification to the ITS code. Possible causes of the remaining discrepancy in bremsstrahlung intensity are discussed.