[Results of the DGMP survey on radiotherapy planning systems]

The present paper presents the results of a survey on radiotherapy-treatment planning systems conducted in the summer of 2000. A total of 263 questionnaires of 108 German, 6 Austrian, and 4 Swiss radiotherapy clinics or practices have been evaluated. Most treatment planning systems are used for teletherapy, with nearly all sites using at least one commercial system. The planning systems are mostly networked with CT, partially also with MRI, simulator and R&V systems of the treatment equipment. For brachytherapy planning, usually orthogonal X-ray images are used, but some systems allow already the use of CT data as well. Stereotactic planning dominates the specialized treatment planning, followed by total body irradiation techniques. Commercial systems are well established for stereotactic planning systems, whereas in-house systems are still predominant for total body irradiation. In-house systems predominate also in the case of simple treatment planning systems and plausibility check programs. These simpler dose-calculation programs usually offer variable degrees of correction options.