New video supports radiation dosimetry audits

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), working with the National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group, has produced a video guide to support physicists participating in radiation dosimetry audits.

The National Cancer Research Institute Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Team (NCRI RTTQA) designs and implements quality assurance programmes, ensuring all NCRI radiotherapy trials adhere to a trial protocol and that patients are treated according to nationally accepted standards. Minimising variation across radiotherapy trials ensures that trial outcomes reflect differences in randomisation, rather than departures from the trial protocol.

The new video will support physicists in NHS radiotherapy centres who are participating in NCRI-badged trials, providing clear instructions on how to use a postal phantom with film and alanine inserts for remote dosimetry audits.

The first dosimetry audit a centre receives would involve an on-site visit from the RTTQA. Subsequent audits may use a postal phantom to streamline the quality assurance process. This video guide makes it easier for a centre to follow the written instructions provided with the phantom, and will enable a more consistent approach to the equipment's use in participating centres.