Sci‐Thur PM – Brachytherapy 04: Commissioning and Implementation of a Cobalt‐60 High Dose Rate Brachytherapy Source

Abstract

An Eckert & Ziegler Bebig Co0.A86 cobalt 60 high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy source was commissioned for clinical use. Long‐lived Co‐60 HDR sources offer potential logistical and economic advantages over Ir‐192 sources, and should be considered for low to medium workload brachytherapy departments where modest increases in treatment times are not a factor. In optimized plans, the Co‐60 source provides a similar dose distribution to Ir‐192 despite the difference in radiation energy. By switching to Co‐60, source exchange frequency can be reduced by a factor of 20, resulting in overall financial savings of more than 50% compared to Ir‐192 sources. In addition, a reduction in Physicist QA workload of roughly 200 hours over the 5 year life of the Co‐60 source is also expected. These benefits should be considered against the modest increases in average treatment time compared to those of Ir‐192 sources, as well as the centre‐specific needs for operating room shielding modification.