The theoretical approach was developed by Gavin Poludniowski and Phil Evans at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. It is described in two papers published in the journal Medical Physics [1, 2].
The Graphical User Interface for SpekCalc was developed by François deBlois, Guillaume Landry and Frank Verhaegen at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. It is described in a note published in the journal Physics in Medicine and Biology [3]. Since its release, SpekCalc has been downloaded more than 2000 times and has been cited about 780 times in April 2023. Software support is, unfortunately, not provided. Please use the contact form for any inquiries, including the theoretical model and the GUI software. The code is made available for Windows in 4 different ways:
A light version, which only operates in the energy region between 80 and 100 kV, and for aluminium filtration. This version is made available for free, but has limited use. A PRO version, exclusively for research by single users, is available for €29. It operates between 0-300 kV and offers filtrations of W, Cu, Al, Sn, Ta, Be, air and water.
This version is intended ONLY for schools, universities and laboratories. This version is NOT for employees of commercial (for-profit) companies. They should negotiate a price for a COMMERCIAL license (see below). Please note: Users wanting to use SpekCalc in a commercial company should request a license for the Commercial version. SpekCalc Academic, if you plan to use it with a group of students (more than one user). This option allows you to buy the number of licenses you need, including an academic discount. Also ONLY for non-commercial research and teaching purposes.
SpekCalc Commercial. This version is for users who want to make use of the software in a commercial company, either to generate spectra or to build the code in a commercial product.
Have comments or doubts? Please use our contact form.
References to the original SpekCalc papers Please cite these three references when publishing data acquired with SpekCalc: [1] Med Phys. 2007 34(6):2164-74 [2] Med Phys. 2007 34(6):2175-86 [3] Phys Med Biol. 2009 54(19):433-38 Some references to papers that have used SpekCalc: Andreo et al. "On the uncertainties of photon mass energy-absorption coefficients and their ratios for radiation dosimetry", Physics in Medicine and Biology 2012 57 2117. Shikhaliev et al. "Photon counting spectral CT versus conventional CT: comparative evaluation for breast imaging application", Physics in Medicine and Biology 2011 56 1905. Carlsson et al. "Response of LiF:Mg,Ti thermoluminescent dosimeters at photon energies relevant to the dosimetry of brachytherapy (<1 MeV)", Medical Physics 2011 38 5539. The full citation list is here. |
Disclaimer
The executable designated "SpekCalc" is made available to the "User" as a research tool. As such, there is no warranty of any kind, express or implied. As a research tool, SpekCalc should not be used in calculations for or affecting patients, or be used in any capacity such that it affects the calibration of equipment to be used on patients. The responsibility for any risk incurred in the use of SpekCalc lies with the User. Neither the authors nor any associated persons, organisations, or institutions, accept any responsibility for the predictions of SpekCalc or for their accuracy. Further, SpekCalc is made available under the understanding that it will not be used for commercial purposes or in any commercial product. Intended commercial users must contact the authors to obtain a commercial license.
The executable designated "SpekCalc" is made available to the "User" as a research tool. As such, there is no warranty of any kind, express or implied. As a research tool, SpekCalc should not be used in calculations for or affecting patients, or be used in any capacity such that it affects the calibration of equipment to be used on patients. The responsibility for any risk incurred in the use of SpekCalc lies with the User. Neither the authors nor any associated persons, organisations, or institutions, accept any responsibility for the predictions of SpekCalc or for their accuracy. Further, SpekCalc is made available under the understanding that it will not be used for commercial purposes or in any commercial product. Intended commercial users must contact the authors to obtain a commercial license.