title: Survey of equipment quality control in radiotherapy centres in croatia: first results.
abstract: Implementation of advanced radiation therapy techniques in clinical practice can greatly improve tumour control and normal tissue sparing. An important part of this implementation is quality control (QC) of every part of the radiotherapy process, as it helps to detect errors and provides instant remedy. This increases the probability of successful radiation treatment and ensures patient radiation safety. Every radiotherapy quality assurance (QA) programme is based on quality control of radiotherapy equipment. The aim of our survey was to review QC practices in a number of radiotherapy centres in Croatia. As a first step, we defined a set of tests to check different parameters of linear accelerators and simulators in these centres. The tests were defined and performed according to protocols developed at two university hospitals. Test results varied largely between the centres. This calls for harmonisation of QC protocols.
authors.affiliation: Radiotherapy Department, University Hospital Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Slaven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jurković
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diklić
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasabašić
authors.forename: Deni Smilović
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Radojčić
authors.forename: Manda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Svabić
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivković
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Faj
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D006801:Humans; D010315:Particle Accelerators / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards*; D011786:Quality Control; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*