Towards Safer Radiotherapy
Towards Safer Radiotherapy
Towards Safer Radiotherapy
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<strong>Radiotherapy</strong><br />
The treatment of disease, usually cancer, using high-energy<br />
electromagnetic radiation or particles<br />
<strong>Radiotherapy</strong> error See Section 3.1.2<br />
<strong>Radiotherapy</strong> treatment<br />
pathway<br />
The route that a patient will take to the completion of their<br />
treatment<br />
Radiation incident See Section 3.1.2<br />
Record and verify system (R&V) Computerised system into which planning data is entered and<br />
transferred to LinAc and used each fraction to set up the field size<br />
and dose to be delivered<br />
Reportable radiation incident See Section 3.1.2<br />
Simulator<br />
Specialist registrar<br />
Therapeutic radiographer<br />
Thermoluminescent<br />
dosimetry (TLD)<br />
Transit dosimetry<br />
Treatment parameters<br />
Treatment planning<br />
system (TPS)<br />
Underdose<br />
Verification<br />
Wedge<br />
Yellow Card scheme<br />
X-ray device used in radiotherapy to plan the radiotherapy and<br />
provide geometric verification of treatment position and set-up<br />
A doctor who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of<br />
medicine to become a consultant<br />
An individual trained to plan and deliver radiotherapy and all<br />
aspects of associated patient care along the radiotherapy<br />
treatment pathway<br />
A small chip of a special absorbent material (eg, lithium fluoride) is<br />
placed in the radiation beam to measure the dose delivered<br />
The process to calculate the actual dose delivered to a patient by<br />
measuring the dose entering and exiting from the patient<br />
Size of treatment fields, use of wedge, angles of beam, number of<br />
monitor units etc used to deliver the required radiation dose<br />
Computers and specialised software which enables planners to<br />
design treatment plans<br />
When less radiation has been delivered than was intended<br />
The process by which data is confirmed to be correct. For<br />
example, confirming data entry or acquiring images to ensure<br />
correct patient set-up<br />
Used to vary the radiation intensity across a treatment field. Can<br />
be used in a treatment plan to ensure an even dose distribution<br />
A British scheme for reporting information on adverse events by<br />
healthcare professionals and patients to the MHRA<br />
81<br />
<strong>Towards</strong> <strong>Safer</strong> <strong>Radiotherapy</strong>