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Australasian brachytherapy audit: Results of the ‘end‐to‐end’ dosimetry pilot study
Author(s) -
Haworth Annette,
Wilfert Lisa,
Butler Duncan,
Ebert Martin A,
Todd Stephen,
Bucci Joseph,
Duchesne Gillian M,
Joseph David,
Kron Tomas
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.31
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1754-9485
pISSN - 1754-9477
DOI - 10.1111/1754-9485.12042
Subject(s) - dosimetry , thermoluminescent dosimeter , medicine , medical physics , brachytherapy , quality assurance , imaging phantom , audit , nuclear medicine , dosimeter , protocol (science) , radiation treatment planning , dwell time , radiation therapy , radiology , accounting , external quality assessment , alternative medicine , pathology , business , clinical psychology
We present the results of a pilot study to test the feasibility of a brachytherapy dosimetry audit. Methods The feasibility study was conducted at seven sites from four Australian states in both public and private centres. A purpose‐built cylindrical water phantom was imaged using the local imaging protocol and a treatment plan was generated to deliver 1 Gy to the central (1 of 3) thermoluminescent dosimeter ( TLD ) from six dwell positions. Results All centres completed the audit, consisting of three consecutive irradiations, within a 2‐h time period, with the exception of one centre that uses a pulsed dose rate brachytherapy unit. All TLD results were within 4.5% of the predicted value, with the exception of one subset where the dwell position step size was incorrectly applied. Conclusions While the limited data collected in the study demonstrated considerable heterogeneity in clinical practice, the study proved a brachytherapy dosimetry audit to be feasible. Future studies should include verification of source strength using a Standard Dosimetry Laboratory calibrated chamber, a phantom that more closely mimics the clinical situation, a more comprehensive review of safety and quality assurance ( QA ) procedures including source dwell time and position accuracy, and a review of patient treatment QA procedures such as applicator position verification.