Inter-departmental dosimetry audits - development of methods and lessons learned

David J Eaton; Steve Bolton; Russell A S Thomas; Catharine H Clark

doi:10.4103/0971-6203.170791

Inter-departmental dosimetry audits - development of methods and lessons learned

J Med Phys. 2015 Oct-Dec;40(4):183-9. doi: 10.4103/0971-6203.170791.

Authors

David J Eaton¹, Steve Bolton², Russell A S Thomas³, Catharine H Clark⁴

Affiliations

¹ Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group, Mount Vernon Hospital, London, UK.
² Inter-departmental Audit Group, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, York, UK; Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK.
³ Radiation Dosimetry Group, National Physical Laboratory, London, UK.
⁴ Radiation Dosimetry Group, National Physical Laboratory, London, UK; Department of Medical Physics, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK.

Abstract

External dosimetry audits give confidence in the safe and accurate delivery of radiotherapy. In the United Kingdom, such audits have been performed for almost 30 years. From the start, they included clinically relevant conditions, as well as reference machine output. Recently, national audits have tested new or complex techniques, but these methods are then used in regional audits by a peer-to-peer approach. This local approach builds up the radiotherapy community, facilitates communication, and brings synergy to medical physics.

Keywords: Audit; dosimetry; radiotherapy.