Effect of Same-Day Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy on Resource Utilization in Rapid Access Palliative Radiotherapy...

Area of Science:

• Radiation Oncology
• Medical Physics
• Cancer Care Delivery

Background:

• Rapid Access Palliative (RAP) radiotherapy (RT) clinics offer urgent same-day consultation, simulation, and treatment.
• Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) is an advanced RT technique.
• Automation in treatment planning can potentially improve efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of implementing same-day VMAT using the Northern Plan Automation Service Treatment Planning Automation Service (NoPAUSE-TPAS) on patient throughput in RAP-RT clinics.
• To assess changes in resource utilization and quality metrics following the introduction of NoPAUSE-TPAS.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study comparing RAP-RT clinic data from February-August 2024 (post-NoPAUSE-TPAS) with January-July 2019 (pre-NoPAUSE-TPAS).
• Analysis of patient characteristics, consultation slots, CT simulation, and treatment delivery.
• Assessment of resource utilization and quality measures.

Main Results:

• Patient throughput and the proportion of patients receiving RT remained similar between the two periods.
• Most patients received RT on the same day as consultation in both cohorts.
• Same-day VMAT was delivered to 58.9% of eligible sites using NoPAUSE-TPAS, with a median optimization time of 12 minutes.

Conclusions:

• Same-day VMAT implementation using NoPAUSE-TPAS in RAP-RT clinics did not negatively affect patient throughput or resource utilization.
• Automation technology can facilitate efficient same-day VMAT delivery for palliative RT.
• NoPAUSE-TPAS shows potential for streamlining palliative radiotherapy workflows.