Introduction and implementation of the basic treatment equivalent in a Varian-based department

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• 3-D planning in radiation oncology increases workload and resource utilization.
• Traditional workload metrics (fields treated per day) are inaccurate due to variations in treatment technique complexity and duration.
• Accurate workload assessment is crucial for efficient scheduling and resource management in radiation oncology departments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of the basic treatment equivalent (BTE) formula for estimating patient treatment times.
• To determine if the BTE formula can serve as a reliable indicator of radiation therapy workload.
• To improve scheduling accuracy and workload distribution across treatment units.

Main Methods:

• The basic treatment equivalent (BTE) formula, incorporating various treatment parameters, was implemented.
• Actual patient treatment times were recorded and compared against BTE-estimated times.
• Minor modifications were applied to the BTE formula for multi-leaf collimation (MLC) treatment units.

Main Results:

• The BTE formula, with modifications for MLC, demonstrated high accuracy in predicting treatment times.
• 85% of timed patient treatments fell within +/- 3 minutes of the BTE-estimated times.
• 95% of timed patient treatments fell within +/- 5 minutes of the BTE-estimated times.

Conclusions:

• The BTE formula provides a more sensitive and accurate measure of radiation therapy workload compared to fields per hour.
• Routine implementation of the BTE equation enhances scheduling accuracy and facilitates equitable workload distribution.
• The BTE formula offers a valuable tool for inter-departmental workload comparisons and operational efficiency.