Medical Physics Department, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Portsmouth, UK.
Br J Radiol. 2012 Nov;85(1019):e1067-73. doi: 10.1259/bjr/46195110. Epub 2012 Jun 6.
The objective of this study was to determine current radiotherapy linear accelerator quality control (QC) practice in the UK, as a comparative benchmark and indicator of development needs, and to raise awareness of QC as a key performance indicator.
All UK radiotherapy centres were invited to complete an online questionnaire regarding their local QC processes, and submit their QC schedules. The range of QC tests, frequency of measurements and acceptable tolerances in use across the UK were analysed, and consensus and range statistics determined.
72% of the UK's 62 radiotherapy centres completed the questionnaire and 40% provided their QC schedules. 60 separate QC tests were identified from the returned schedules. There was a large variation in the total time devoted to QC between centres: interquartile range from 13 to 26 h per linear accelerator per month. There has been a move from weekly to monthly testing of output calibration in the last decade, with reliance on daily constancy testing equipment. 33% of centres thought their schedules were in need of an update and only 30% used risk-assessment approaches to determine local QC schedule content. Less than 30% of centres regularly complete all planned QC tests each month, although 96% achieve over 80% of tests.
A comprehensive "snapshot" of linear accelerator QC testing practice in the UK has been collated, which demonstrates reasonable agreement between centres in their stated QC test frequencies. However, intelligent design of QC schedules and management is necessary to ensure efficiency and appropriateness.
本研究旨在确定英国目前的放射治疗线性加速器质量控制（QC）实践，作为比较基准和发展需求的指标，并提高对 QC 作为关键绩效指标的认识。
邀请英国所有放射治疗中心完成一份关于当地 QC 流程的在线问卷，并提交他们的 QC 计划。分析了英国各地使用的 QC 测试范围、测量频率和可接受的公差，并确定了共识和范围统计数据。
英国 62 个放射治疗中心中有 72%完成了问卷调查，其中 40%提供了他们的 QC 计划。从返回的计划中确定了 60 项单独的 QC 测试。各中心用于 QC 的总时间差异很大：中心之间的四分位距从每台线性加速器每月 13 到 26 小时不等。在过去十年中，已经从每周测试输出校准改为每月测试，并且依赖于日常恒常性测试设备。33%的中心认为他们的计划需要更新，只有 30%的中心使用风险评估方法来确定当地 QC 计划的内容。尽管 96%的中心每月完成了 80%以上的计划测试，但不到 30%的中心每月定期完成所有计划的 QC 测试。
已经整理了英国线性加速器 QC 测试实践的全面“快照”，这表明各中心在规定的 QC 测试频率方面具有相当的一致性。然而，有必要对 QC 计划和管理进行智能设计，以确保效率和适当性。
