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. 2020 Mar;21(3):192-195.
doi: 10.1002/acm2.12830. Epub 2020 Feb 10.

Technical Note: Use of automation to eliminate shift errors

Elizabeth L Covington  1 , Richard A Popple  1 , Rex A Cardan  1
Affiliations

Technical Note: Use of automation to eliminate shift errors

Elizabeth L Covington et al. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To create automated tools within the treatment planning system (TPS) that eliminate the common error pathway of providing incorrect shift instructions to therapists.

Materials/methods: Two scripts were created within the TPS using the Eclipse API (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA). One script detects whether or not the user origin has been placed correctly at the intersection of the simulation markers while the other calculates a shift instruction sheet that can be printed for treatment.

Results: Analysis of our RO-ILS database identified eight errors caused by improper setting of the user origin in the treatment planning system. The user origin script flagged all of the treatment plans for markers inconsistent with user origin. Automated calculation of shifts eliminated the error pathway of miscalculating or transcribing shift values.

Conclusion: Automation can eliminate the common error pathway of providing the wrong shifts to therapists. The scripts have been made available as open-source software for implementation at other radiotherapy clinics.

Keywords: RO-ILS; automation; scripting; shift errors.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
User interface of the “Treat Sheet” script with example treatment plan loaded. All available plans are listed on the left with the ability to calculate shifts between plans.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(Left) User origin has been set within tolerance of the intersection of CT markers and will pass an automatic check that confirms the intersection of marker contours and user origin. Average anterior (A) and posterior (P) coordinate will be used if contours aren’t aligned. (Right) User origin not set correctly and resulting shifts to isocenter () will be incorrect and will be flagged by script.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example of script that flags users that the origin has not been set at the intersection of the markets set at simulation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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