ABSTRACT
Medical physicists have access to a wide range of tools for dose measurements: from Farmer-type ion chambers (ICs) to thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) and from films to complex arrays of diodes. Each detector type used clinically is based on a different physical principle. Because some assumptions or approximations are almost always used when converting the raw signal from a radiation detector into a dose in Gy, having detectors based on different principles, and thus, different assumptions and approximations are desirable. However, given the already large spectrum of clinical tools available, it is worthwile to ask if one more should be added to the list, especially for basic measurements such as profiles and depth dose curves.
