An efficient component of the redundancy calibration program to ensure equipment stability by assaying HDR Ir-192 sources at the time of replacement.

Autor: Vijande J; Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universitat de Valencia (UV), Burjassot, Spain.; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Radiofísica e Instrumentación Nuclear en Medicina (IRIMED), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS-La Fe), Universitat de Valencia (UV), València, Spain.; Instituto de Física Corpuscular, IFIC (UV-CSIC), Burjassot, Spain., Carmona V; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Radiofísica e Instrumentación Nuclear en Medicina (IRIMED), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS-La Fe), Universitat de Valencia (UV), València, Spain.; Radiotherapy Department, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de València, València, Spain., Lliso F; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Radiofísica e Instrumentación Nuclear en Medicina (IRIMED), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS-La Fe), Universitat de Valencia (UV), València, Spain.; Radiotherapy Department, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de València, València, Spain., Ballester F; Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universitat de Valencia (UV), Burjassot, Spain.; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Radiofísica e Instrumentación Nuclear en Medicina (IRIMED), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS-La Fe), Universitat de Valencia (UV), València, Spain., Perez-Calatayud J; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Radiofísica e Instrumentación Nuclear en Medicina (IRIMED), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS-La Fe), Universitat de Valencia (UV), València, Spain.; Radiotherapy Department, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de València, València, Spain.; Radiotherapy Department. Hospital Clínica Benidorm, Alicante, Spain.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of applied clinical medical physics [J Appl Clin Med Phys] 2024 Dec; Vol. 25 (12), pp. e14509. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 05.
DOI: 10.1002/acm2.14509
Abstrakt: Background: Brachytherapy (BT) treatments involving temporary high-dose rate (HDR) sources are extensively employed in clinical practice. Ensuring the consistency of all measurement equipment at the hospital level is crucial, requiring a robust redundancy and consistency program. This enables the institution to verify the stability of the dosimetry system over time.
Purpose: To describe, justify, and analyze a component of the redundancy program of the calibration protocols followed by the Radiotherapy Department of the Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (València, Spain) during the last 10 years for the case of HDR BT as an additional component to ensure long term stability of the measurement equipment.
Methods: At the time the HDR BT source is replaced, its Air Kerma Strength (S K ) is measured. By comparing this value with the one obtained at the time of installation (corrected by decay), a clear determination of the stability of the measurement equipment can be performed.
Results: Difference between S K,vendor and S K,hosp as a function of the measurement date is reported for a 10 years' period. All measurements are well within the ±3% tolerance level recommended in current international guidelines. Percentage differences of S K,hosp values at the time of replacement compared to S K,hosp ones at the time when the source was installed are within the ±0.5% range, reflecting oscillations around a null deviation.
Conclusions: The method proposed allows any hospital to ensure a redundancy component of the long-term stability of all equipment involved in BT measurements in a very simple and time efficient manner. Additionally, it enables the hospital to maintain a detailed log of historical differences, facilitating the identification and correction of potential systematic deviations over time.
(© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: