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A generic computer program for checking photon beam dose calculations

Department of Oncology Physics, Clinical Oncology Department, Lothian University NHS Trust, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK

A computer program for checking photon external beam dose calculations is described. It provides a check of the treatment planning calculation by the use of machine data that are independent of that used in the initial calculation. Data required to specify any radiation beam are easily and rapidly set up and the program works for all the major manufacturers' machines. The user interface uses an interactive screen for machine data input and also for dose checking, where dose calculation is performed in real time as data are entered. The dose resulting from the planned field parameters is calculated and compared with the prescribed dose with a warning provided if the agreement is outside a set range (±5%). Its purpose is to act as a final quality assurance check to ensure that no significant errors occur in the monitor unit calculation.