Newsletter Medical Systems – including letter of recommendation Koen Tournel – SunCHECK at LOC

With the PEO Medical Systems newsletter we inform you about the latest developments in radiation therapy QA, medical imaging QA and patient positioning & immobilization. This edition:

• Why customers choose us: SNC SunCHECK, the EPID based In-vivo solution by Sun Nuclear, at Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum;
• Our partners: solutions for radiation therapy, medical imaging and patient positioning;
• In the spotlight: CIRS MRGRT Motion Management QA Phantom and CIRS MR Distortion & Image Fusion Head Phantom;
• PEO informs you: March 17 Meetup – Shaping the Future of Radiation Therapy QA.

Why customers choose us: SNC SunCHECK, the EPID based In-vivo solution by Sun Nuclear, at Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum

At the LOC (Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum) 2500 patients are treated annually with radiotherapy on 2 sites and 5 linear accelerators. All state-of-the-art techniques such as IMRT, VMAT, SRS and SBRT are present and used in clinical practice. Patient-related and in-vivo QA for this amount of patients requires a significant load on personnel and equipment. Up to 2019 pre-treatment was performed using portal dosimetry (PDIP, Varian Medical System) in combination with 2D array measurements (for FFF-beams). In treatment checks were done using the Epigray in-vivo system (Dosisoft), which only allows point-based transit-dosimetry.

Because of the absence of a full 3D-independent calculation system and the lack of automatization and integration in the in-vivo system the decision was made to move to the more integrated “SunCHECK” Platform, a Sun Nuclear solution. The system was chosen because of  the integration of independent TPS-dose check, pre-treatment QA (including FFF-beams) and in-vivo verification in one platform. Especially the automatic retrieval and processing of log files, EPID images and CBCT for every patient (both on CLinac and TrueBeam systems) had our interest since this would reduce workload significantly.

The system also allowed us to streamline procedures with a few workflow changes. The in-vivo verifications are performed on multiple levels (log calculation checking MLC and output, In-treatment EPID-verification) allowing for an top-down evaluation of possible errors.

The use of SunCHECK allowed us to reduce array measurements to a minimum and has accelerated projects such as the full switch to ACUROS dose calculation in the Eclipse TPS, and reducing the number of pre-treatment verifications based on plan complexity data.

Koen Tournel, lic.
Medical Physics Expert Radiotherapy
Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum
Jessa Ziekenhuis

Our partners

Sun Nuclear delivers patient safety solutions for Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation Therapy and is worldwide market leader in radiation oncology QA.
Read more…

Gammex (part of Sun Nuclear) catalogue

CIRS is recognized worldwide as a leader in the manufacture of tissue equivalent phantoms for densitometry, calibration, quality control, research and training in medical imaging and radiation therapy.
Read more…

Qfix provides state-of-the-art patient positioning and immobilization devices to optimize patient outcomes in radiation therapy.
Read more…

Ashland produces self-developing radiochromic dosimetry film for radiotherapy & radiology and blood irradiation indicators for visual verification of irradiation.
Read more…

QA Benchmark specializes in software solutions for QA / QC testing in CT, MR and NM imaging systems.
Read more…

In the spotlight: CIRS MRGRT Motion Management QA Phantom

The integration of MR imaging in radiation therapy facilitates real time motion management.The CIRS MRgRT Motion Management QA phantom is designed to address such needs. The phantom is MR Safe due to the use of piezoelectric motors and non-ferro-magnetic materials.

The two piezoelectric motors move a cylindrical insert, which contain a tracking target, through a gel/liquid fillable body by rotating it independently from the motion in the Inferior-Superior direction.
Learn more…

In the spotlight: CIRS MR Distortion & Image Fusion Head Phantom

Assess MR distortion and image fusion during SRS.CIRS Model 603-GS was designed to assess MR image distortion in Stereotactic Radiosurgery Planning. It’s also a useful tool for verifying image fusion and deformable image registration algorithms used in various treatment planning systems. The tissue equivalent, anthropomorphic design closely matches a clinical imaging scenario.

The phantom can be imaged using X-ray, Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance. It images well with all MRI sequences tested to date, including T1 weighted, T2 weighted, 3D Time of Flight, MPRAGE and CISS.
Learn more…

PEO informs you: March 17 Meetup – Shaping the Future of Radiation Therapy QA

90-minute event begins at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET
(March 17, 2021)

Opening Talk: Independent QA & the Necessity of Data Access

Jeff Kapatoes, Ph.D.,
Sun Nuclear Sr. Director, Research & Regulatory

This talk will address the critical role of independent QA in providing unbiased assurance that treatment-related issues are caught. While vendor-integrated system self-checks represent some efficiency gains, data accessibility for independent QA remains essential – especially as complexity increases.Register hereBreakout Sessions & Discussion Facilitators

After the opening presentation, small-group breakout sessions will be open to discuss related topics. Facilitators will help guide conversation as needed.

What QA Practices from 2020 Should Remain?
Jennifer Hamilton, M.E., DABR, Sun Nuclear
Focus Group: What is your Ideal SRS Array?
Mark Rose, Ph.D., Sun Nuclear
The State of Machine Learning in Radiotherapy
Jeff Kapatoes, Ph.D., Sun Nuclear