Quality assurance in radiation therapy: future plans in physics.

Modern day radiation therapy has seen the impact of high technology resulting in more sophisticated computer augmented treatment delivery systems, treatment planning procedures and diagnostic imaging techniques. Much work has already been reported in the area of physics efforts related to quality assurance in radiation therapy. Future efforts in physics will have to address the new developments in each component of the whole radiation treatment process. Certain new developments, using both computer and imaging technologies, show promise in providing tools to verify the accuracy of the delivered radiation treatment. Areas receiving careful attention are: integration and registration of information from multiple sources of diagnostic studies; validation of the accuracy of treatment planning systems; assessment of relative merits of alternate dose distributions; improvement of portal and verification film image quality; real time monitoring using light emitting screens and coupled with TV systems; monitoring of treatment and machine parameters using "record and verify" computer systems. The medical physics community, primarily through the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), will continue the development of methodologies for technology transfer in the area of quality assurance. Committees and task groups within the AAPM will address the new developments impacting on quality assurance and prepare appropriate protocols and documents to assist the practicing physicist. By necessity, the national Radiological Physics Center (RPC) and the regional Centers for Radiological Physics (CRP) will have to take a major role in the development of new quality assurance programs.