The ESTRO-QUALity assurance network (EQUAL)

Ferreira, I.; Dutreix, A.; Bridier, A.; Chavaudra, J.; Svensson, H.

doi:10.1016/s0167-8140(99)00101-2

Cited by 103 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…show improvements with time, in terms of fewer out-oftolerance results, smaller ranges and SDs of the distribution of results etc. 6,10,11,15,18,19,37 Although remote TLD audits are less resource intensive, some of the observed discrepancies may arise from inexperience on the part of the local staff carrying out the set-up and irradiation of non-standard phantoms or owing to protocol misinterpretation. On-site visits have less uncertainty and are more likely to find root causes and allow potential resolution of problems at the time of the audit; however, they are significantly more costly.…”

Section: Results Of Dosimetry Auditsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 In Europe, the ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology) Quality Assurance Network for radiotherapy (EQUAL), established in 1998, grew out of previous preliminary audit networks developing from the early 1990s. [13][14][15] Within the UK, the first comprehensive national photon dosimetry intercomparison was carried out in the late 1980s 16 and laid the basis for the development of a national dosimetry audit network, which began to evolve in the early 1990s. [17][18][19] The first national electron beam dosimetry intercomparison was carried out in the UK in 1994-1996 20 and was extended to cover all megavoltage (MV), electron and kilovoltage (kV) treatment units within Ireland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radiotherapy dosimetry audit: three decades of improving standards and accuracy in UK clinical practice and trials

Clark

Aird

Bolton

et al. 2015

BJR

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Dosimetry audit plays an important role in the development and safety of radiotherapy. National and large scale audits are able to set, maintain and improve standards, as well as having the potential to identify issues which may cause harm to patients. They can support implementation of complex techniques and can facilitate awareness and understanding of any issues which may exist by benchmarking centres with similar equipment. This review examines the development of dosimetry audit in the UK over the past 30 years, including the involvement of the UK in international audits. A summary of audit results is given, with an overview of methodologies employed and lessons learnt. Recent and forthcoming more complex audits are considered, with a focus on future needs including the arrival of proton therapy in the UK and other advanced techniques such as four-dimensional radiotherapy delivery and verification, stereotactic radiotherapy and MR linear accelerators. The work of the main quality assurance and auditing bodies is discussed, including how they are working together to streamline audit and to ensure that all radiotherapy centres are involved. Undertaking regular external audit motivates centres to modernize and develop techniques and provides assurance, not only that radiotherapy is planned and delivered accurately but also that the patient dose delivered is as prescribed.

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Section: Results Of Dosimetry Auditsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiotherapy dosimetry audit: three decades of improving standards and accuracy in UK clinical practice and trials

Clark

Aird

Bolton

et al. 2015

BJR

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“…Further to this, there is scope to develop the tool as a remote auditing platform. An auditing service19, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 could run Mobius3D and allow facilities to send a specifically created plan prepared on a phantom to the server. As each facility TPS is configured with in‐house collected beam data, it is possible to independently evaluate the dosimetric consistency between centers remotely, using the independent consensus beam data employed by Mobius3D.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated data mining of a plan‐check database and example application

Dunn¹,

Jolly²

2018

J Applied Clin Med Phys

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PurposeThe aim of this work was to present the development and example application of an automated data mining software platform that preforms bulk analysis of results and patient data passing through the 3D plan and delivery QA system, Mobius3D.MethodsPython, matlab, and Java were used to create an interface that reads JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) created for every approved Mobius3D pre‐treatment plan‐check. The aforementioned JSON files contain all the information for every pre‐treatment QA check performed by Mobius3D, including all 3D dose, CT, structure set information, as well as all plan information and patient demographics. Two Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) were created, the first is called Mobius3D‐Database (M3D‐DB) and presents the check results in both filterable tabular and graphical form. These data are presented for all patients and includes mean dose differences, 90% coverage, 3D gamma pass rate percentages, treatment sites, machine, beam energy, Multi‐Leaf Collimator (MLC) mode, treatment planning system (TPS), plan names, approvers, dates and times. Group statistics and statistical process control levels are then calculated based on filter settings. The second GUI, called Mobius3D organ at risk (M3DOAR), analyzes dose‐volume histogram data for all patients and all Organs‐at‐Risk (OAR). The design of the software is such that all treatment parameters and treatment site information are able to be filtered and sorted with the results, plots, and statistics updated.ResultsThe M3D‐DB software can summarize and filter large numbers of plan‐checks from Mobius3D. The M3DOAR software is also able to analyze large amounts of dose‐volume data for patient groups which may prove useful in clinical trials, where OAR doses for large numbers of patients can be compared and correlated. Target DVHs can also be analyzed en mass.ConclusionsThis work demonstrates a method to extract the large amount of treatment data for every patient that is stored by Mobius3D but not easily accessible. With scripting, it is possible to mine this data for research and clinical trials as well as patient and TPS QA.

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“…3 The largest dosimetric audit networks at present are operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 4 the American Radiological Physics Centre (RPC) 5 and in Europe the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) Quality Assurance network (EQUAL). 6 The reader is directed to the proceedings of a 2010 IAEA International Symposium on Standards, Applications and Quality Assurance in Medical Radiation Dosimetry (IDOS) 7 for a number of papers on external beam audit. There are also many national audit groups, for example, in the UK, auditing is co-ordinated by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) via a number of regional groups.…”

Section: The Need For Auditmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dosimetric audit in brachytherapy

Palmer¹,

Bradley²,

Nisbet³

2014

BJR

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Dosimetric audit is required for the improvement of patient safety in radiotherapy and to aid optimization of treatment. The reassurance that treatment is being delivered in line with accepted standards, that delivered doses are as prescribed and that quality improvement is enabled is as essential for brachytherapy as it is for the more commonly audited external beam radiotherapy. Dose measurement in brachytherapy is challenging owing to steep dose gradients and small scales, especially in the context of an audit. Several different approaches have been taken for audit measurement to date: thimble and well-type ionization chambers, thermoluminescent detectors, optically stimulated luminescence detectors, radiochromic film and alanine. In this work, we review all of the dosimetric brachytherapy audits that have been conducted in recent years, look at current audits in progress and propose required directions for brachytherapy dosimetric audit in the future. The concern over accurate source strength measurement may be essentially resolved with modern equipment and calibration methods, but brachytherapy is a rapidly developing field and dosimetric audit must keep pace.

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The ESTRO-QUALity assurance network (EQUAL)

Cited by 103 publications

References 16 publications

Radiotherapy dosimetry audit: three decades of improving standards and accuracy in UK clinical practice and trials

Radiotherapy dosimetry audit: three decades of improving standards and accuracy in UK clinical practice and trials

Automated data mining of a plan‐check database and example application

Dosimetric audit in brachytherapy

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