Abstract
The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most updated version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This particular TQC details recommended quality control testing for medical linear accelerators and multileaf collimators.
Highlights
The Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) is an alliance amongst the three key national professional organizations involved in the delivery of radiation treatment in Canada: the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO), the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), and the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT)
The mandate of the CPQR is to support the universal availability of high quality and safe radiotherapy for all Canadians through system performance improvement and the development of consensus-based guidelines and indicators to aid in radiation treatment program development and evaluation
A tissue-phantom ratio (TPR) measurement or a check of profile constancy at a shallow depth could be used, and the tolerance and action levels adjusted appropriately. This test replaces testing of flatness and symmetry and is intended to be consistent with the testing suggested in American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) protocol TG-142.14 The goal is to ensure that profiles are delivered in a manner consistent with that modeled in the associated treatment planning system
Summary
The Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) is an alliance amongst the three key national professional organizations involved in the delivery of radiation treatment in Canada: the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO), the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), and the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT). Included in the scope of this document are multileaf collimators (MLCs); computer-controlled devices capable of providing photon beam shielding for linear accelerators using high density leaves (typically tungsten alloy) which are projected into the radiation field.[7,8,9] In addition to static beam shaping, beam intensity modulation can be achieved by adjusting the position of the MLC in the radiation field between treatment fields (step and shoot, or static intensity-modulated radiation therapy [IMRT]), by moving the leaves across the field with varying velocities during the beam-on time (dynamic IMRT), or by varying the dose rate, gantry speed, and MLC leaf positions during arc delivery (volumetric modulated arc therapy [VMAT]). Couch brakes Beam interrupt/counters Lasers/crosshairs Optical distance indicator Optical back pointer Field definition: Jaws/MLC leaves Output constancy – photons Output constancy – electrons Dynamic (Varian), Virtual (Siemens) or Universal (Elekta) wedge factors
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