Abstract. An overview of the international framework that supports the dissemination of the dosimetry quantities for ionizing radiation is presented. The aim of international traceability is for confidence in such measurements around the world, which is particularly important for the equivalence of patient treatment regimes as required in international clinical trials for radiotherapy but also for fields as diverse as industrial processing, diagnostic medicine and radiation protection. This paper gives some explanation of the comparison system for national primary standards in the field of dosimetry and shows how these can support the claims for the calibration and measurement capabilities of national metrology institutes represented in the BIPM key comparison database.

Print publication: Issue 2 (April 2009)
Received 26 February 2009, in final form 27 February 2009
Published 20 March 2009