Quality assurance devices for dynamic conformal radiotherapy

Two quality control devices, light-field device and radiation-field device, have been specially designed to facilitate the clinical implementation of conformal dynamic arc treatment (CDAT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). With the devices, the light field as well as the radiation field, projected from the individual beam at any treatment position (i.e. arbitrary gantry angle) can be evaluated. For application, the device was attached at the front end of the couch and was placed at the isocentre of the linear accelerator treatment system (LINAC). The devices are designed to be rotated parallel to the gantry head so that the light field and the radiation field projected from a direct beam can be assessed. The aim of the study is, with the aid of the devices, to evaluate the geometric precision of the beam placement and the dosimetric accuracy performed in CDAT and IMRT. The devices are placed separately from the LINAC during application and provide an independent check on the quality performance of the LINAC in three dimensions. The condition of gantry sag and any mechanical displacement resulting in field shift can be observed and traced during gantry rotation. Mistakes that occurred during the isocentre calibration can lead to significant displacement in the field projection, which would not be revealed with the conventional quality control setting (i.e. gantry 0(o)), was demonstrated with the aid of the devices here. The influence of gravitational acceleration in MLC leaf positioning error, which would consequently lead to inaccurate dose delivery, was investigated. The results of our study show that the existence of gravitational influence is statistically significant, although the magnitude of the dose inaccuracy has been found to be small.