EqualCheck

External Quality Control Laboratory

The EqualEstro laboratory was set up in 1998 to perform external audits of radiotherapy beams for all the European centres. The external quality control is based on measurements performed with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) sent by postal mail to the participating centre in order to be irradiated on axis in reference conditions and in conditions close to clinical conditions for photon and electron beams.

The EqualEstro laboratory also started in 2002, a new TLD control allowed to check the dosimetry of complex clinical fields for photon beams with multileaf collimator (MLC). New geometric and dosimetric checks have also been developed for brachytherapy.

Material and Methods: The participating centre irradiates TLDs (7LiF: Na, mg, Ti, TLD 937 [Philitec]) in water at a dose of 2 Gy, calculated with the TPS used clinically, following the EqualEstro protocol.

Results: Since the beginning of the activities, 46% of the French radiotherapy centres and 55% of the European radiotherapy centres applied to participate to the Equal quality control programme.*

External audit based on postal TLD system for Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy

• High Energy Photon Beams
• High Energy Photon Beams with Multileaf Collimator
• High Energy Electron Beams
• High Energy Photon Beams with Microleaf Collimator **
• Dose delivered around Iridium 192 sources HDR and PDR
• Reconstruction technique with TPS used in clinic
External audit based on postal film dosimetry system

• IMRT
• Tomotherapy

 
* A Roué, J Van Dam, A Dutreix, H Svensson; The EqualEstro external quality control laboratory in France; Cancer Radiother. 2004 Nov ;8 Suppl 1 :S44-9 15679246 (P,S,E,B) (link: http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:15679246)

** Ongoing project