The dosimetric effects from the jaw positioned close to the small field (0.5 x 0.5, 1 x 1, and 2 x 2 cm2) side-edge generated by a single-focused multileaf collimator (MLC) were measured and studied. The measurement is important in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) because generally the jaw cannot perfectly cover all the leaf-ends in a segment of irregular field. This leads to additional dose contributed by (1) the end surface of the jaw, (2) the leaf-end, and (3) the inter- and intraleaf leakage/transmissions during the dosimetric measurement. Moreover, most of the conventional treatment planning systems ignore these effects in the dose calculation. In this study, measurements were made using a Varian 21 EX linear accelerator with 6 MV photon beam through a MLC containing 120 leaves. Percentage depth dose, beam profile, and output for small fields were measured by varying the jaw at different positions away from the leaf-ends in the field side-edge. Moving the jaw away from the leaf-ends increases the output and penumbra width for the small fields. Such increase is particularly significant when the field size is small (0.5 x 0.5 cm2) and the degree of increase changes quickly when the jaw-end is at about 1-2 cm from the leaf-end. It is suggested that measurements should be carried out in the IMRT commissioning to provide information to physicists in reviewing the treatment planning system's accuracy regarding leaf leakage/transmission and jaw effects.

Purpose: This study measures how the relative position of the jaws above the MLC could affect the dose characteristics of a small field. The study focused on the variations in the percentage depth dose (PDD), beam profile and output of the small field when the jaw‐ends were moved away from the leaf‐ends, that is, when the leaf leakage/transmission and jaw scattering were changed. Method and Materials: A big scanning water tank system (RFA 300, Scanditronix Medical AB) generally used in the commissioning was used to measure the beam characteristics. A photon diode (Scanditronix Medical AB, PDF‐3G) was used to measure both the PDD and beam profile for both 6 and 15 MV photon beam. To measure the output, a micro‐ionization chamber (Scanditronix Medical AB, RK8304) was used. Results: It is found that moving the jaw to different positions away from the leaf‐ends will increase the output and penumbra width for the small fields. Such increase is particularly more significant when the field size is small (0.5 × 0.5 cm2), and when the jaw‐end is at about 1 to 2 cm from the leaf‐end, when the degree of increase changes quickly. Conclusion: Measurement is important in Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy because the jaw cannot cover all the leaf‐ends in a segment of irregular field completely. This results in additional dose contributed by (1) the end surface of the jaw, (2) the leaf‐end and (3) the inter‐ and intra‐leaf leakage/transmissions during the dosimetric measurement. In addition, most of the conventional treatment planning systems ignore these effects in the dose calculation. It is suggested that similar measurements will be carried out in the IMRT commissioning to provide information to physicists in reviewing the treatment planning system's accuracy with regard to the leaf leakage/transmission and the jaw effects.