IMNRT has been successfully commissioned for clinical use. While current plan quality is inferior to photon IMRT, it is superior to conventional fast neutron therapy. Ion chamber validation results for IMNRT commissioning are also comparable to those typically achieved with photon IMRT. Gamma pass rates for planar dose distributions are lower than typically observed for photon IMRT but may be improved with improved planar dosimetry equipment and beam modeling techniques. In the meantime, patient-specific quality assurance measurements should rely more heavily on point dose measurements with tissue equivalent ionization chambers. No significant technical impediments are anticipated in the clinical implementation of IMNRT as described here.
Cavity and cryomodule development work for a superconducting ion linac has been underway for several years at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The original application of the work was the proposed Rare Isotope Accelerator. At present, the work is being continued for use with the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). The baseline linac for FRIB requires 4 types of superconducting cavities to cover the velocity range needed to accelerate an ion beam to ≥ 200 MeV/u: 2 types of quarterwave resonator (QWR) and 2 types of half-wave resonator (HWR). Superconducting solenoids are used for focussing. Active and passive shielding is required to ensure that the solenoids' field does not degrade the cavity performance. First prototypes of both QWR types and one HWR type have been fabricated and tested. A prototype solenoid has been procured and tested. A test cryomodule has been fabricated and tested. The test cryomodule contains one QWR, one HWR, one solenoid, and one super-ferric quadrupole. This report covers the design, fabrication, and testing of this cryomodule.
Purpose: To redesign our radiation therapy QA program with the goal to improve quality, efficiency, and consistency among a growing number of campuses at a large institution. Methods: A QA committee was established with at least one physicist representing each of our six campuses (22 linacs). Weekly meetings were scheduled to advise on and update current procedures, to review end‐to‐end and other test results, and to prepare composite reports for internal and external audits. QA procedures for treatment and imaging equipment were derived from TG Reports 142 and 66, practice guidelines, and feedback from ACR evaluations. The committee focused on reaching a consensus on a single QA program among all campuses using the same type of equipment and reference data. Since the recommendations for tolerances referenced to baseline data were subject to interpretation in some instances, the committee reviewed the characteristics of all machines and quantified any variations before choosing between treatment planning system (i.e. treatment planning system commissioning data that is representative for all machines) or machine‐specific values (i.e. commissioning data of the individual machines) as baseline data. Results: The configured QA program will be followed strictly by all campuses. Inventory of available equipment has been compiled, and additional equipment acquisitions for the QA program are made as needed. Dosimetric characteristics are evaluated for all machines using the same methods to ensure consistency of beam data where possible. In most cases, baseline data refer to treatment planning system commissioning data but machine‐specific values are used as reference where it is deemed appropriate. Conclusion: With a uniform QA scheme, variations in QA procedures are kept to a minimum. With a centralized database, data collection and analysis are simplified. This program will facilitate uniformity in patient treatments and analysis of large amounts of QA data campus‐wide, which will ultimately facilitate FMEA.
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