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Radiation Safety
Radiation is a powerful tool in the fight against cancer and patients within the Shields Oncology network can rest assured that the highest standards in radiation safety are not only met but are exceeded.
The team of professionals at Shields Oncology includes board certified oncologists and physicists affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. They have implemented not only the most appropriate and effective policies, but a culture of continuous advancement and dedication to patient care. Each center has undergone a rigorous and independent audit by the American Board of Radiology and each has earned the prestigious honor of accreditation, a distinction held by only a handful of sites in Massachusetts. For additional information on Radiation Safety click here.
The detail of safety practices in radiation medicine is technical in nature, but we offer it here for our patients, our partners, and for anyone interested in gaining a deeper knowledge of radiation oncology safety.
Linear Accelerator Calibration
Patients undergoing external beam radiation therapy receive radiation generated by a large machine called a linear accelerator. The radiation beam is tuned, or calibrated, regularly by a qualified medical physicist. This calibration involves precision instrumentation, complex mathematics, and physical adjustment of the machine. At Shields Oncology, this calibration is performed redundantly and independently by multiple on site physicists and is checked by physicists at the national Radiologic Physics Center.
Linear Accelerator Quality Assurance Program
Aside from beam calibration, the intricacy of a linear accelerator requires regular testing of several other mechanical and radiation beam properties. The American Association of Physicists in Medicine has published recommendations of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual quality assurance testing. The staff at each of Shields Oncology centers is fully compliant with these recommendations.
Treatment Planning Computers
Most radiation therapy patients get a CT scan which is imported into a treatment planning computer and is used to sculpt the geometry and radiation properties of the treatment. Again, the computations performed by these computers are complex, and rigorous quality assurance is required to ensure that they are done correctly. At the Shields sites not only are national testing recommendations upheld, but measures are taken to go above and beyond.
When each of Shields’ linear accelerators was installed, the properties of all radiation beams were matched to one another. This allows for direct comparison between treatment plans run on different computers and for different linear accelerators. Testing is done regularly and shows strong agreement between all computers. Additionally, the system has undergone an independent audit by the Radiologic Physics Center and passed the highest standards.
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
IMRT is a radiation therapy technique that utilizes moving beam shaping devices in the head of the linear accelerator to deliver radiation in a very custom and conformal manner. This technique can allow for a more effective treatment of cancer and fewer side effects but like anything else, more complexity requires more quality assurance testing. Testing is costly, labor intensive, and not required, but at Shields Oncology every patient due to start IMRT treatment gets a practice “run through” and rigorous testing of the treatment that they are set to receive. The safety and accuracy of these treatments is not only expected, it is proven… for each and every patient.
Conventional Radiation Therapy, Prostate Brachytherapy, and High Dose Rate Therapy for Breast and GYN
IMRT is just one treatment technique among a host of others including prostate, breast, and GYN brachytherapy. In short, the culture of radiation safety is upheld for all treatment modalities offered at Shields Oncology. Calculations, documentation, and computer validity are always checked by physician, physics, and therapy staff before a patient is allowed to begin treatment. Independent redundant quality assurance is paramount in our commitment to safety and our dedication to our patients.
