Quality of Training in Radiation Oncology in Germany

Semrau, R.; Hansemann, K.; Adam, Markus; Andratschke, Nicolaus; Brunner, Thomas; Heinzelmann, Frank; Hildebrandt, Guido; Vordermark, Dirk; Zips, Daniel

doi:10.1007/s00066-008-1821-7

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…average calculated dose value using the selected gantry angles were in the accepted range for medical treatment [13]. There is good agreement between the results obtained in this study and several publications [1][2][3]6].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Treatment planning system and dose delivery accuracy in extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy using Elekta body frame

Dawod¹,

Bremer²,

Karstens³

et al. 2010

Polish Journal of Medical Physics and Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of this study was to measure the photon beam transmission through the Elekta Stereotactic Body Frame (ESBF) and treatment couch, to determine the dose calculations accuracy of the MasterPlan Treatment Planning System (TPS) using Pencil Beam (PBA) and Collapsed Cone (CCA) algorithms during the use of Elekta Stereotactic Body Frame (ESBF), and to demonstrate a simple calculation method to put this transmission into account during the treatment planning dose calculations.The dose was measured at the center of an in-house custom-built inhomogeneous PMMA thorax phantom with and without 'the frame + treatment couch'. The phantom was CT-imaged inside the ESBF and planned with multiple 3D-CRT fields using PBA and CCA for photon beams of energies 6 MV and 10 MV. There were two treatment plans for dose calculations. In the first plan, the 'frame + couch' were included in the body contour and, therefore, included in the TPS dose calculations. In the second plan, the 'frame + couch' were not included in the body contour and, therefore, not included in the calculations. Transmission of the 'frame + couch' was determined by the ratio of the dose measurements with the 'frame + couch' to the measurements without them. To validate the accuracy of the calculation model, plans with and without the 'frame + couch' surrounding the phantoms were compared with their corresponding measurements.The transmission of the 'frame + couch' varies from 90.23-97.54% depending on the energy, field size, the angle of the beams and whether the beams also intercept them. The validation accuracy of the Pencil Beam (PBA) and Collapsed Cone (CCA) algorithms were within 5.33% and 4.04% respectively for the individual measurements for all gantry angles under this study.The results showed that both PBA and CCA algorithms can calculate the dose to the target within 4.25% and 1.95% of the average measured value.The attenuation caused by the ESBF and couch must be accounted into the planning process. For MasterPlan, the 'frame + couch' should be contoured and included in all calculations. This can be done easily and accurately.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Treatment planning system and dose delivery accuracy in extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy using Elekta body frame

Dawod¹,

Bremer²,

Karstens³

et al. 2010

Polish Journal of Medical Physics and Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The decisive advantages of this form of procedure lie in that theory is aligned with practice and that at the same time practical, implementable suggestions for continuously improving quality, which have been made by experts, are accepted by the user and so become realizable [1,7,12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Results of the Federal Quality Assurance Group („Ärztliche Stelle”) in Radiotherapy in Baden-Württemberg: Part 2

Hawighorst¹,

Wenz

Hodapp

et al. 2009

Strahlenther Onkol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The medical and physical-technical examination of radiation treatment in the vast majority (81%) of the radiation therapy institutes in Baden-Württemberg showed a very high or high quality. Most of the comments and deficiencies concerned the sector of systematic continued training for staff, giving clear explanations to patients, structured follow-up, and the state of the medical discharge reports. These deficiencies, however, do not represent any immediate danger to the patient through any deficiencies in therapy. The experience gained by the AS could act as a model for quality improvement and could also be transmitted to other medical sectors to retain quality standards. The various specialist associations are called upon to gradually adopt the suggestions for quality improvements which are based on concrete as-is analyses by steadily aligning practice with theory. This would enable the steadily rising demands of quality assurance to be sustainably implemented through practicable models.

show abstract

“…The distance between the side of the index finger and the seeds is therefore markedly less than 1 mm at such times. Since this procedure relies a great deal on "feeling" [16,22], the treating physician does not wear lead gloves. These would impede sensitivity and lengthen the duration of the application, and in turn increase the exposure to radiation [1,9,25].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure of Treating Physician to Radiation during Prostate Brachytherapy Using Iodine-125 Seeds

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and Purpose: Only sparse reports have been made about radiation exposure of the treating physician during prostate seed implantation. Therefore, thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD) measurements on the index fingers and the backs of both hands were conducted. Material and Methods: Stranded iodine-125 seeds with a mean apparent activity of 27.4 MBq per seed were used. During application, the treating physician manipulated the loaded needle with the index fingers, partially under fluoroscopic control. Four physicians with varying experience treated 24 patients. The radiation exposure was determined with TLD-100 chips attached to the index fingertips and the backs of hands. Radiation exposure was correlated with the physician's experience.

show abstract

Quality of Training in Radiation Oncology in Germany

Cited by 20 publications

References 13 publications

Treatment planning system and dose delivery accuracy in extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy using Elekta body frame

Treatment planning system and dose delivery accuracy in extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy using Elekta body frame

First Results of the Federal Quality Assurance Group („Ärztliche Stelle”) in Radiotherapy in Baden-Württemberg: Part 2

Exposure of Treating Physician to Radiation during Prostate Brachytherapy Using Iodine-125 Seeds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About