(Sunday, 7/29/2018) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To improve clinical efficiency and safety by quantifying time characteristics of individual components of the radiotherapy treatment process as a function of treatment modality and site.
Methods: We evaluated temporal data within the electronic medical record (EMR) system (Mosaiq v2.6, Elekta, Crawley, UK) for over 12,000 fractions on two treatment units spanning one year. Setup, imaging, beam on, and overall treatment times were calculated for each fraction and categorized by treatment site, modality and imaging type. Since the EMR does not provide the time from completion of one treatment to the initiation of setup of the next, an assumed constant time of 3 minutes was used. While this estimate affects the total treatment time, it does not affect the individual component times or the relationships between any of these times to modality or treatment site.
Results: Average 3D-CRT, IMRT, and VMAT treatment times were found to be 13.6±0.2, 20.1±0.3, and 14.0±0.2mins, respectively. Setup times varied from 6.0-7.9mins based on site, modality or whether pre-treatment imaging was performed prior to the given fraction. Imaging times were shorter for kV or portal images in comparison to CBCTs with a difference of 2.0±0.2mins. Beam on time was dependent upon treatment modality, with VMAT and IMRT treatment delivery times of 1.4±0.1 to 8.2±0.1mins, respectively. A comparison showed that the Truebeam was 1.3mins quicker than the IX per fraction amounting to 30mins savings with normal clinical loads.
Conclusion: Acquisition of treatment times as a function of modality, treatment site, and type of imaging facilitates a more accurate treatment schedule, which improves patient satisfaction and accuracy of staffing levels. Appropriate scheduling also improves overall staff morale and minimizes time pressures so that staff can focus on safety. It should be noted that even though results will differ based on each clinic the methods are universal.
Keywords
Radiation Therapy, Data Acquisition
Taxonomy
IM/TH- Formal quality management tools: General (most aspects)
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