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Development and Implementation of a Script-Based Brachytherapy Plan Checker

S Simiele*, X Chen , C Lee , B Rosen , J Mikell , J Moran , J Prisciandaro , Univ Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI

Presentations

(Wednesday, 7/17/2019) 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Room: Exhibit Hall | Forum 4

Purpose: To develop automated patient-specific HDR brachytherapy QA checks while facilitating an efficient workflow, ensuring standardization in the review of brachytherapy treatment plans, and reducing the probability of errors reaching the patient.

Methods: The BrachyVision Plan Checker (BPC) was developed in version 13.6 of ARIA and the BrachyVisionᵀᴹ Treatment Planning System (Varian Medical Systems, Inc.). The BPC includes 38 plan checks. The checks were derived from federal regulations, professional society recommendations, and physicist experience (internal and external to the institution). Individual checks were organized into four stages with each stage representing a different time point in the planning workflow. A second check calculation was incorporated into the BPC using BrachyVision Acurosᵀᴹ (Varian Medical Systems, Inc.). Examples of automated checks include verification of fractionation scheme and approval status. A commissioning suite consisting of 70 test plans was developed and used to assess the accuracy of the plan checker as well as the independent dosimetry calculation. Users are able to add notes for individual checks within the BPC and then upload the completed plan-specific report into the treatment management system. The framework of the BPC allows for the addition of applicator-specific or site-specific checks as well as other customization. Items not automated are incorporated as semi-automated or manual checks.

Results: The BPC was commissioned with the test suite to demonstrate the functional and accuracy of each check. Incorporation of BrachyVision Acurosᵀᴹ as an independent second check calculation will replace the current second check calculation process of running a MatLab (The MathWorks, Inc.) script. The plan checker is expected to be seamlessly integrated into the clinical workflow due to the design and organization of the individual stages.

Conclusion: A script-based automated plan checker was designed for clinical implementation. The plan checker will streamline the clinical workflow while standardizing documentation for brachytherapy treatment plans.

Keywords

Brachytherapy, Quality Assurance, HDR

Taxonomy

IM/TH- Formal quality management tools: General (most aspects)

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