Abstract
Purpose: To develop a free and easy‐to‐use software program to model the x‐ray spectra emitted from x‐ray tubes. Such a program is useful for the education of physicists, technicians and technologists working in radiation physics but also as a research tool. Method and Materials: A Graphical User Interface (GUI) was created using REALbasic (REAL software, Inc.). This GUI, designated the name SpekCalc, allows the user to calculate and display the x‐ray spectra emitted from tungsten‐anode x‐ray tubes. The underlying theoretical description for the bremsstrahlung and characteristic x‐ray production is taken from a recent published model. Results: The user selects the tube potential in kVp, the take‐off angle and the amount of filtration. At a click of a button the resulting spectrum is calculated, displayed and can be saved for later use. Beam quality parameters such as the half‐value‐layer, in mm of aluminum and copper, and the mean beam energy, in keV, are also presented to the user. The range of potentials that can be modeled is wide (40–300 kVp) making Spekcalc useful to both the diagnostic imaging and keV photon radiotherapy fields. Filtration can be selected in mm, for 7 materials: aluminium, copper, tungsten, tin, beryllium, water and air. This allows an in‐depth exploration of the filtration effects of materials of differing atomic number. Over 300 individuals have downloaded this program thus‐far, for reasons as diverse as teaching in universities, to learn interactively about x‐ray tubes, for research in radiology and radiotherapy. Conclusion: A useful educational tool for physicists, technicians and technologists has been created, in the form of freely‐available software utility to calculate x‐ray tube spectra.