Rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) with a linear accelerator

Abstract

The rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) technique at our institution has undergone several developments over the past few years.  Replacement of the formerly used linear accelerator has prompted many modifications to the previously reported technique.  With the current technique, the patient is treated with a single large field while standing on a rotating platform, at a source to surface distance of 380 cm.  The electron field is produced by a Varian 21EX linear accelerator using the commercially available 6 MeV high dose rate total skin electron mode, along with a custom-built flattening filter.  Ionization chambers, radiochromic film, and MOSFET detectors have been used to determine the dosimetric properties of this technique.  Measurements investigating the stationary beam properties, the effects of full rotation and the dose distributions to a humanoid phantom are reported.  The current treatment technique and dose regimen are also described.