(Sunday, 7/29/2018) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To develop and commission a dedicated Intraoperative Electron Radiotherapy (IOERT) facility using a conventional linac.
Methods: A dedicated IOERT facility was built using a conventional linac (Siemens MD 6740).The facility consisted of a specially built, electron-only vault, inside which the dedicated operating room was built and the linac installed, plus service areas.The Linac had the photon beams disabled by removing parts of the hardware, and de-tuning the radiological modes so that photons could not be emitted. All the electron beam energies were properly tuned and commissioned so as to minimize the shielding requirements on the walls, with the exception of the highest one (14 MeV), which was removed to avoid important neutron production. To prevent the beam (and the bremsstrahlung x-ray tail) hitting the walls, the beam was interlocked so that only irradiates in the vertical down direction + 30 degrees in one direction and 45 degrees in the other direction (the Isocenter is eccentric to accommodate the surgical theatre). The vault was built without a maze (i.e, with a direct door) for safety and to facilitate traffic during surgery, hence the door had special considerations.The applicator cones were built of the soft-docking type using the upper part of the smaller conventional applicators, and using purposely built acrylic cones with a brass rim.
Results: The room was built and the linac installed and licensed by the regulatory body of Argentina, which demands a dose limit of 6 mSv/year for occupational exposure, and 0.1 mSv/year for members of the public, the machine was commissioned with the soft-docking cones.
Conclusion: An IOERT facility was built using a conventional linac stripped down of it’s photon-producing capabilities and the highest electron energy. Soft-docking-type cones were designed and built. The machine was commissioned and put into clinical use.
Keywords
Not Applicable / None Entered.
Taxonomy
TH- External beam- electrons: intraoperative
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