The Design of an Audit Test for 60Co Brachytherapy Treatment Planning System

J Med Signals Sens. 2022 May 12;12(2):133-137. doi: 10.4103/jmss.JMSS_47_19. eCollection 2022 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Auditing the treatment planning system (TPS) software for a radiotherapy unit is of paramount importance in any radiation therapy department. A Plexiglas phantom was proposed to measure the ionization of 60Co high dose rate (HDR) source and compare dose points in the planning system for auditing and verifying TPS.

Methods: Auditing was performed using a Plexiglas phantom in an end-to-end test, and relative dose points were detected by a farmer-type ionization chamber and compared with the relative dose of similar points in TPS. The audit results were determined as pass optimal level (<3.3%), pass action level (between 3.3% and 5%), and out of tolerance (>5%).

Results: The comparison of the collected data revealed that 80% of the measured values were ≤5% in the pass level, and 20% of the points were out of tolerance (between 5% and 6.99%).

Conclusion: This study documented the appropriateness of the dosimetry audit test and this phantom design for the HDR brachytherapy TPS.

Keywords: Audit; Plexiglas phantom; brachytherapy; dosimetry; radiotherapy.