Enabling remote medical physics services for medical accelerator quality assurance through a novel, table-top imaging device

项目摘要/摘要 放射治疗是吸烟患者治疗策略的有效组成部分- 相关癌症。调强放射治疗(IMRT)等先进技术可改善疗效 相对于传统的方法。在肯塔基州东部，这种现代治疗方式的使用受到限制， 阿巴拉契亚和其他地理上孤立的低收入和中等收入国家的人口。这个 这项研究的广泛、长期目标是提高先进辐射的可及性和安全性。 为全球患者提供低资源设置的技术。需要质量保证(QA)计划以确保 安全、准确的治疗。QA设备的复杂性使得它们的使用需要高度专业化 必须亲自到场以收集和分析数据的人力资源(即医学物理学家)。提供者 在这些资源匮乏的情况下，很难招聘到必要的工作人员。这可能会阻止此类诊所提供 即使他们拥有支持调强放射治疗的加速器，也可以向他们的患者提供调强放疗。 医学物理创新(MPI)建议设计和构建用户友好、负担得起的QA 将使这些低资源环境中的高质量质量保证和精确RT治疗更容易获得的设备 而且很安全。该提案将通过两个具体目标确定可行性：1)构建和测试3个主要 集成设备的子组件以及2)构建和测试临床原型。合并后的 多种设备功能与易用性和测量精度相结合，可在以下情况下实现范式转换 如何提供医学物理服务和质量保证。稀疏但高效的日常QA协议将 取而代之的是全面的数据收集和自动化分析，无需额外的时间或成本 人员配备。高精度的放射治疗可以安全地带到农村和服务不足的地区， 使用这项创新的任何中心的效率和精度都得到了提高。

Project Summary / Abstract Radiation therapy is an effective component of the treatment strategy for patients suffering from smoking- related cancers. Advanced techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) improve outcomes relative to conventional approaches. Access to this modern treatment modality is limited in Eastern Kentucky, Appalachia and other geographically isolated populations throughout low- and middle-income countries. The broad, long-term objective of this research is improving the accessibility and safety of advanced radiation techniques for patients low-resource settings globally. Quality assurance (QA) programs are required to ensure safe and accurate treatment. The complexity of QA devices is such that their use requires highly specialized human resources (i.e., medical physicists) who must be physically present to collect and analyze data. Providers in these low-resource settings struggle to recruit the necessary staff. This can prevent such clinics from providing IMRT to their patients, even when they own accelerators that are IMRT-capable. Medical Physics Innovations (MPI) proposes to design and construct a user-friendly, affordable QA device that will make high quality QA and precision RT treatments in these low-resource settings more accessible and safe. This proposal will establish feasibility via two specific aims: 1) Build and test the 3 primary subcomponents of an integrated device and 2) Construct and test a clinical prototype. The consolidation of multiple device functions combined with the ease of use and measurement precision enable a paradigm shift if how medical physics services and quality assurance are rendered. Sparse but efficient daily QA protocols will be replaced with comprehensive data collection and automated analysis, at no additional cost in time or staffing. High precision radiation treatments can be safely brought to rural and underserved areas, with safety, efficiency and precision improved in any center using the innovation.