AAPM task group 224: Comprehensive proton therapy machine quality assurance

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Particle Beam Therapy

Background:

• Proton therapy is an advanced radiation treatment modality.
• Established quality assurance (QA) guidelines exist for photon and electron therapy.
• Task Group (TG) 224 was formed to address QA for proton therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop comprehensive QA guidelines for proton therapy beam delivery techniques.
• Ensure safe, accurate, and consistent dose delivery in proton therapy.
• Supplement existing QA guidelines for other radiation modalities.

Main Methods:

• Described common proton therapy beam delivery techniques (scattering, uniform scanning, pencil beam scanning).
• Highlighted salient components of related machine hardware.
• Identified common beam parameters and their typical QA check frequencies.

Main Results:

• Presented common beam parameters typically checked for QA.
• Detailed typical frequencies for QA checks (daily, weekly, monthly, annually).
• Provided suggested tools and procedures for periodic QA checks.

Conclusions:

• Tabulated recommended tolerance limits for QA checks.
• Based recommendations on literature and clinical proton therapy experience.
• Aimed to serve as a reference for establishing or evaluating proton therapy QA programs.