Premium
Testing of a medical linear accelerator's computer‐control system
Author(s) -
Weinhous Martin S.,
Purdy James A.,
Granda Conrad O.
Publication year - 1990
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 - 10.1118/1.596535
Subject(s) - interlock , mallinckrodt , flatness (cosmology) , linear particle accelerator , computer science , control system , medical physics , electrical engineering , engineering , medicine , beam (structure) , physics , civil engineering , cosmology , family medicine , quantum mechanics
In August of 1987, the Radiation Oncology Center at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology became the first academic‐medical‐center user of Varian's computer‐controlled therapy accelerator, a prototype version of the 2100C. Installation was accomplished by the retrofit of a computer system to our two‐year‐old Clinac 1800. Being well aware of the malfunctions that occurred in other computer‐controlled accelerators, we took extraordinary measures to assure proper operation of the new, computerized, system. Our acceptance procedure included tests of (i) mechanical systems (isocentricity, digital readouts, etc.); (ii) radiation parameters (flatness, symmetry, output, etc.); (iii) manual safety systems (emergency off switches, etc.); (iv) the computer console systems (communications integrity, state integrity, etc.); and (v) the interlock systems (some 50 electrical, mechanical, and/or computer‐controlled interlocks). As items (i), (ii), and (iii) do not differ significantly from the tests for a non‐computer‐controlled machine, they will not be discussed here. Rather, this report will concentrate on the methods that were devised to test the computer‐control and interlock systems.