Proposed definitions for isodose flatness and symmetry in clinical radiotherapy beams

In clinical radiotherapy it is important that beam intensity be as homogeneous as possible to reduce the probability of treatment failure. As an extension of the well established concepts of beam flatness and symmetry for characterizing radiotherapy beams, the concepts of isodose flatness and symmetry are introduced. The definitions are tested with actual data obtained from a Co-60 unit and a linear accelerator and results are presented. The concepts as defined appear to provide a useful quantitative indication of beam homogeneity.