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Third‐party brachytherapy source calibrations and physicist responsibilities: Report of the AAPM Low Energy Brachytherapy Source Calibration Working Group
Author(s) -
Butler Wayne M.,
Bice William S.,
DeWerd Larry A.,
Hevezi James M.,
Huq M. Saiful,
Ibbott Geoffrey S.,
Palta Jatinder R.,
Rivard Mark J.,
Seuntjens Jan P.,
Thomadsen Bruce R.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.2959723
Subject(s) - brachytherapy , quality assurance , medical physics , traceability , task group , medical physicist , calibration , quality (philosophy) , dosimetry , physics , medicine , computer science , nuclear medicine , engineering , engineering management , surgery , radiation therapy , external quality assessment , software engineering , pathology , quantum mechanics
The AAPM Low Energy Brachytherapy Source Calibration Working Group was formed to investigate and recommend quality control and quality assurance procedures for brachytherapy sources prior to clinical use. Compiling and clarifying recommendations established by previous AAPM Task Groups 40, 56, and 64 were among the working group's charges, which also included the role of third‐party handlers to perform loading and assay of sources. This document presents the findings of the working group on the responsibilities of the institutional medical physicist and a clarification of the existing AAPM recommendations in the assay of brachytherapy sources. Responsibility for the performance and attestation of source assays rests with the institutional medical physicist, who must use calibration equipment appropriate for each source type used at the institution. Such equipment and calibration procedures shall ensure secondary traceability to a national standard. For each multi‐source implant, 10% of the sources or ten sources, whichever is greater, are to be assayed. Procedures for presterilized source packaging are outlined. The mean source strength of the assayed sources must agree with the manufacturer's stated strength to within 3%, or action must be taken to resolve the difference. Third party assays do not absolve the institutional physicist from the responsibility to perform the institutional measurement and attest to the strength of the implanted sources. The AAPM leaves it to the discretion of the institutional medical physicist whether the manufacturer's or institutional physicist's measured value should be used in performing dosimetry calculations.