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An Evaluation of the Overlap Between the Acceptance Testing and Commissioning Processes for Conventional Medical Linear Accelerators
A Morrow1 , D Rangaraj2*, A Perez-Andujar3 , N Krishnamurthy4 , (1) Scott & White Hospital , Temple, TX, (2) Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, (3) University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, (4) Baylor Scott & White Healthcare, Temple, TX
Presentations
SU-F-T-475 (Sunday, July 31, 2016) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: This work’s objective is to determine the overlap of processes, in terms of sub-processes and time, between acceptance testing and commissioning of a conventional medical linear accelerator and to evaluate the time saved by consolidating the two processes.
Method/Materials: A process map for acceptance testing for medical linear accelerators was created from vendor documentation (Varian and Elekta). Using AAPM TG-106 and in-house commissioning procedures, a process map was created for commissioning of said accelerators. The time to complete each sub-process in each process map was evaluated. Redundancies in the processes were found and the time spent on each were calculated.
Results: Mechanical testing significantly overlaps between the two processes – redundant work here amounts to 9.5 hours. Many beam non-scanning dosimetry tests overlap resulting in another 6 hours of overlap. Beam scanning overlaps somewhat – acceptance tests include evaluating PDDs and multiple profiles but for only one field size while commissioning beam scanning includes multiple field sizes and depths of profiles. This overlap results in another 6 hours of rework. Absolute dosimetry, field outputs, and end to end tests are not done at all in acceptance testing. Finally, all imaging tests done in acceptance are repeated in commissioning, resulting in about 8 hours of rework. The total time overlap between the two processes is about 30 hours.
Conclusion: The process mapping done in this study shows that there are no tests done in acceptance testing that are not also recommended to do for commissioning. This results in about 30 hours of redundant work when preparing a conventional linear accelerator for clinical use. Considering these findings in the context of the 5000 linacs in the United states, consolidating acceptance testing and commissioning would have allowed for the treatment of an additional 25000 patients using no additional resources.
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