Quality, technology and outcomes: evolution and evaluation of new treatments and/or new technology

The pace of technological innovation and adoption continues to increase each year, and the field of Radiation Oncology struggles to react appropriately to the changes and potential improvements in treatment which hopefully will result from this innovation. The standard methods used in the past to test new technology and treatment techniques are often no longer appropriate for this fast-changing environment. This paper uses examples from radiotherapy technological developments over the last decades to illustrate issues which need to be solved in order to study and evaluate potential advances, and then describes several improved ways to study new techniques and technology. Design of appropriate studies can help us improve patient care while at the same time documenting which new clinical strategies, enabled by new technology, lead to improved patient outcomes.