ISRRT_COVID-19_book

used VERT for online before, faculty evaluated the performance over GoToMeeting, prior
to the launch. We also evaluated the performance of MOSAIQ® information system over a
remote connection. We found after using MOSAIQ® for a few sessions however, that while it
worked for the testers (students and faculty), reading the display was a challenge for some
students who were using laptop computers with smaller screens.
Treatment instructions/setup notes were documented to enable students to position and
align the patient to the LINAC and to verify and deliver beams within VERT. Faculty
controlled the VERT system to avoid distraction and the potential stress of students learning
the “buttonology” of the system. In addition, VERT allowed us to display dose clouds to
assess target coverage and OAR doses against accepted target and tolerance doses. For some
cases, we used the image matching feature on VERT for treatment verification.
The assessments for treatment delivery took place online maintaining the format of the
weekly in-class sessions, where the students used the case studies and were expected to
perform the associated treatment setup in VERT. Students worked in paired teams with
faculty directing and marking the assessments in real time.
Some of the challenges encountered with the Treatment Delivery stream were:
• latency in the response of VERT during poor Internet connections and/or users in
distant geographic locations
• Adaptation of some patient files from the VERT system to the CSS generated cases.
These issues were relatively minor, however, and overall, we were able to achieve the
treatment delivery outcomes completely online.
Moving through to 2021
Treatment Delivery
In the spring of 2021, the Treatment Delivery stream returned to sessions being delivered inclass
adhering to strict infection prevention and control measures. However, with the
successful learning achieved through case studies, and the positive feedback from the
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