International audit of craniospinal irradiation by IROC

International audit of craniospinal irradiation by IROC

14 August 2018

In June, we irradiated the craniospinal phantom of IROC (Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core, located in Houston). The successful and accurate irradiation of this phantom proves that UMCG satisfies the international requirements set for craniospinal irradiations (CSI). 

The IROC craniospinal phantom consists of a spinal column embedded in water-equivalent material. The phantom also holds several thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and radiographic films for measuring the delivered dose.

We applied our clinically validated CSI-protocol to prepare, align and irradiate the phantom:

  1. Acquisition of a treatment planning CT,
  2. Design of a robust proton therapy treatment plan,
  3. Quality assurance of this treatment plan by our medical physicists,
  4. Alignment and irradiation the phantom by our physicists and radiotherapy technicians.

IROC will evaluate the accuracy of our irradiation by comparing the measured doses (on TLDs and films) to the treatment plan. Institutes that pass the acceptance criteria will be certified, allowing them to participate in international clinical trials that apply proton therapy for craniospinal irradiations.

The IROC craniospinal phantom, housing a spinal column within water-equivalent material The IROC craniospinal phantom, housing a spinal column within water-equivalent material