| S. No. |
Linear Accelerator |
Cobalt |
| 1 |
Multiple Energies |
Low Energy and Single Energy |
| 2 |
Able to Treat Depth |
Unable to reach Deeper Tissues |
| 3 |
Skin Sparing Effect therefore less Skin Toxicity |
More Skin dose leading to more Normal / Critical Structure side Effect |
| 4 |
Less Penumbra therefore less Normal Tissue side Effects |
More Penumbra therefore More Normal / Critical Structure side Effect |
| 5 |
Shielding Via Multileaf Collimator (MLC) – More Accurate; More Precise |
Shielding of Normal Tissues by External Blocks – Crude and less Accurate |
| 6 |
Simulation is 3 Dimensional |
Simulation in 2 Dimensional |
| 7 |
Field matching Easier Because of Independent Asymmetric Jaws |
Field Matching is Difficult |
| 8 |
Latest Techniques like 3DCRT / IMRT / IGRT Possible |
Advance Techniques Not Possible |
| 9 |
Treatment Verification Via Online Portal Imaging (2D or Cone Beam CT) |
Treatment Verification Not Possible |
| 10 |
Able to deliver High Doses to the Tumor with Minimum Doses to the Normal Tissues therefore Increasing Chance of Cure. |
Escalation of Doses Difficult without Damaging Normal Tissues |
| 11 |
More Radiology Safety |
Possibly of Radiation Leakage |
