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Improving brachytherapy efficiency with dedicated dosimetrist planners.
Dylann K Fujimoto1, Rie von Eyben1, Melissa Usoz1
1Department of Radiation Oncology at Stanford University, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA.
Brachytherapy
|November 5, 2018
Summary
Dedicated dosimetrists improve high-dose-rate brachytherapy efficiency for gynecologic cancers. Factors like planner experience and treatment scheduling significantly impact procedure duration, offering opportunities for optimization.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Physics
Background:
- High-dose-rate brachytherapy is a crucial treatment for gynecologic malignancies.
- Optimizing procedure duration is essential for patient throughput and resource management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors influencing procedure duration in high-dose-rate brachytherapy for gynecologic cancers.
- To evaluate the impact of planner experience and treatment scheduling on brachytherapy timing.
Main Methods:
- Prospective data collection of 86 vaginal cylinder (VC) and 82 tandem and ovoid treatments.
- Analysis of key time intervals including preprocedure, procedure, contouring, and planning times.
- Mixed effects linear regression to analyze factors affecting treatment duration.
Main Results:
- Planner experience significantly impacted VC timing; inexperienced physicists were slower than dosimetrists and experienced physicists.
- Increased daily treatment volume prolonged VC total time.
- VC procedure time varied based on the number of prior VC treatments for a patient.
Conclusions:
- Employing dedicated dosimetrists as brachytherapy planners enhances cost and time efficiency.
- Several variables affect brachytherapy treatment duration, presenting actionable opportunities for improved scheduling.
