Talk:Radiation Oncology/Physics/Physics Basics

Megavoltage radiation from a tungsten target is highly forward directed. A flattening filter is designed to produce a more 'flat' dose profile across a larger treatment area by attennuating the central portion of the beam preferentially. The 'flatness' of a beam should ideally be at the average treatment depth in a patient.

There has been an increasing trend recently towards the use of 'flattening filter free' radiotherapy...

Stevet-l (discuss • contribs) 09:48, 30 December 2016 (UTC)