Evaluation of a liquid ionization chamber for relative dosimetry in small and large fields of radiotherapy photon beams

•When high spatial resolution is required the results confirm the suitability of the liquid chamber.•Some energy dependence of the liquid detector can be appreciated in OFs and PDDs for small and large fields.•For field sizes >20 × 20 cm2, the differences in PDDs at great depths exceed the uncertainties estimated.•Some drawbacks should be considered: the time to reach stability, the high voltage supply required and the acquiring cost.

Commissioning and quality assurance of radiotherapy linear accelerators require measurement of the absorbed dose to water, and a wide range of detectors are available for absolute and relative dosimetry in megavoltage beams.In this paper, the PTW microLion isooctane-filled ionization chamber has been tested to perform relative measurements in a 6 MV photon beam from a linear accelerator. Output factors, percent depth dose and dose profiles have been obtained for small and large fields. These quantities have been compared with those from usual detectors in the routine practice. In order to carry out a more realistic comparison, an uncertainty analysis has been developed, taking type A and B uncertainties into account.The results present microLion as a good option when high spatial resolution is needed, thanks to its reduced sensitive volume. The liquid filling also provides a high signal compared to other detectors, like that based on air filling. Furthermore, the relative response of microLion when field size is varied suggests that this detector has energy dependence, since it is appreciated an over-response for small fields and an under-response for the large ones. This effect is more obvious for field sizes wider than 20 × 20 cm2, where the differences in percent depth dose at great depths exceed the uncertainties estimated in this study.