The following is the complete description of the 2023 Pardee Use of Kenmure Fights Cancer Funds.
Simulator Laser Marking System ($15,000)- The treatment of cancer with Radiation Therapy requires precise localization of the tumor. In order to deliver the radiation dose to the lesion and to also avoid critical surrounding structures, detailed 3D imaging is required during the Treatment Planning process. Prior to any treatments, the patient is “Simulated” in a highly specialized CT Scanner that allows the Radiation Therapists to position the patient in a customized device that is comfortable and reproducible. During this time, the patient undergoes an intricate 3D imaging process utilizing a multi-slice CT Imaging. Simulation is a critical step in the planning for successful radiation therapy. Setup and localization are required to be reproducible within 1mm.
The proposed Laser Controller from Lap Laser communicates with a series of lasers mounted in the Simulator Room. After the Radiation Oncologist pinpoints the exact location of the tumor on the 3D imaging system, the Lasers move to the indicated “isocenter” and the Therapists use this position to mark the patient for Treatment Planning and the prescribed radiation treatments. The Laser Controller allows the patient to be precisely aligned (within 1mm) for safe and efficient radiation therapy.
SunCHECK Quality Assurance Platform ($38,000)- In order to adequately target and treat cancerous tumors with External Beam Radiation Therapy, high doses of radiation must be delivered with exact precision. The high energy Linear Accelerator is an intricate device which requires diligent quality assurance to ensure that the radiation dose is delivered to the patient in a safe, precise and accurate manner.
Each morning, prior to any clinical use, the Linear Accelerator is put through a rigorous testing of more than 100 different items with submillimeter accuracy. Any parameters outside of stringent tolerances are immediately addressed. Clinical operation proceeds only after all values have successfully passed.
In addition to these measures, the Medical Physicist conducts more intricate testing monthly and annually. All of these data points are utilized to also provide indicators of items that may be trending toward an out of tolerance situation. By analyzing these values and taking appropriate preventative maintenance, future machine downtime events can be avoided. Currently all of these parameters are gathered and stored through many different vendor solutions, spreadsheets and tables and stored locally in various physical servers.
The proposed SunCheck QA Platform by Sun Nuclear Corporation will consolidate all of our Quality Assurance tests and data into one cloud-based solution. By integrating all of our testing devices and results, we will be able to access all data from one database and be able to provide robust analysis and trending of machine performance. Integrating the quality assurance will provide standardization, workflow efficiency and opportunities for continuous process improvement, thus assuring more machine issues will be caught prior to any equipment downtime and providing even higher quality treatments and safety for our patients. With the proposed SunCheck Platform, we hope to consolidate our data collection and results with other UNC Health treatment centers to increase our knowledge of machine performance and further improve our delivery of care.