Objective To compare the performances of four commercially available LINAC daily QA instruments.Methods The dosimetric stability of a LINAC including central axis output,flatness and symmetry were verified and fine-tuned using a 3-dimensional water phantom,dosimeters and ionization chambers.The baseline of the four instruments including LINA-C,QUICK-C,BEAM-C and QA3 were set thereafter.Daily measurements of LINAC were conducted with these instruments respectively and the results were compared.Arbitrary errors (CAX and SYM) beyond TG-142 tolerances were introduced to the LINAC to test the sensibilities of each instrument in detecting these changes.Results Relative to the baseline that were measured by the 3-dimensional water phantom and dosimeters,the results monitored by the four instruments were comparable.The maximum disparities of the CAX,FLAT,and SYM were 0.5％ (LINA-C),-0.45％ (QUICK-C),and 0.5％ (BEAM-C),respectively.All checkers detected the known errors successfully.Conclusions The stabilities of all the four evaluated instruments met the requirements of daily QA for LINAC.LINA-C verifies CAX only.QUICKE-C,BEAM-C and QA3 can be used to perform all the daily QA protocols as suggested by AAPM TG 142 report.They also provide unique additional functions.The setup of baseline determines if the morning checkers could measure the LINAC dosimetric parameters correctly.When an error is alarmed by the morning checker,it is recommended to verify the performance of the instrument first rather than recalibrating the LINAC immediately.

Objective To explore the Monte Carlo calculation methods for the absolute dose calibration and output factor of 6 MV flattening-filter ( FF) and flattening-filter free ( FFF) photon beams based on TrueBeam accelerator .Methods The BEAMnrc code was used to model the LINAC head of FF and FFF modes.The BEAM_up covers the components from the target to the monitor chamber , and BEAM_down includes the structures beneath the chamber , the dose deposit to the monitor chamber contributed by the incidence electrons and scattered particles from the secondary collimators were calculated respectively .The incidence electron-induced dose at certain depths on the central axis were simulated by means of the DOSXYZnrc code .By means of dose calibration equation , the calibration factor for the standard field (10 cm ×10 cm) and the output factors for various fields (1 cm ×1 cm-40 cm ×40 cm) were computed respectively .Results For the 6 MV FF and FFF beams under the standard 10 cm ×10 cm field, 1 MU equals to 7.747 ×1013 ±3.099 ×1011 and 3.248 ×1013 ±1.624 ×1011 electrons to the target , respectively , which deposited 21.53 and 35.01 cGy to the monitor chamber of the virtual accelerator respectively .The difference between the simulated and calculated output factors were 0.72%±1.4%and 0.56%±0.78%for FF and FFF , respectively .Conclusions The model generated and measured output factors agree well , indicating the good accuracy of the dose calculation by the model , which would provides basis for further clinical dosimetric studies .

Dose verification, as part of the radiotherapy QA chain, is a significant method to ensure the patients' safety and efficacy of treatment. The increasing application of precision radiotherapy techniques in clinic has advanced the need of three-dimensional ( 3D) dose verification. Gel dosimeters, prevailing for its intrinsic 3D high-resolution measurement and good tissue equivalence, can serve as effective supplement to the clinical radiotherapy dosimetric system. This paper reviews the method ology, dose response mechanism, characterizations of the state-of-the-art gel dosimeters. Gel dosimeters, outstanding for 3D dose measurement, have a great potential to explore both for clinical application and academic research.

Objective To compare the impact of immobilization base plates composed of 7 types of materials on the MR-simulation imaging quality used for radiotherapy,aiming to provide reference data for clinical applications.Methods Using identical T1 and T2 sequences of Siemens MR-simulator,the MR images of ACR Large Phantom were acquired on the Orfit carbon fiber laminate,polycarbonate (PC),high precision base plate (HP),Jinan Huayuxin BR,WR,KP and SP materials,respectively.The imaging quality without any plate was used as the baseline data.The following metrics were compared:1.High-contrast spatial resolution:the sharpness of 3 pairs of hole arrays was observed,which represented resolutions of 1.1 mm,1.0 mm and 0.9 mm on the LR and AP directions;2.Image intensity uniformity in terms of percent integral uniformity (PIU):PIU =100× [1-((high-low)/(high +low)];3.Low-contrast resolution:distinguishable spokes representing resolutions of 5.1％,3.6％,2.5％ and 1.4％ were recorded.According to ACR recommendations,high-contrast resolution of 1.0 mm,PIU of T1WI and T2＞82％and low-contrast spoke difference＜3 were considered as clinically acceptable.Results High-contrast T1WI and T2WI resolutions of no plate,PC plate,HP plate and KP material were all 0.9 mm,and those of the remaining materials were =worse than 0.9 mm.The T1WI and T2WI PIU of no plate was＞87％,and the PIU of carbon fiber plate was reduced by＞ 25％.The PIU decrease of remaining materials was within ±4％.Except the carbon fiber plate,the low-contrast spokes of the remaining materials were within ±3 compared with the reference.Conclusions In clinical settings,carbon fiber plate exerts the most significant effect upon the MR-simulation imaging quality,which is unsuitable for MR simulation.Imaging quality of PC and HP plates are consistent with that of no plate.BR and KP materials exert slight effect upon MR signal.The remaining materials are of potential values for the manufacture of immobilization devices and accessories.

Objectives:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical pharmaceutical smoking cessation intervention strategies in China in the context of primary cancer prevention.Methods:Markov cohort simulation models were established to simulate the burden of 12 smoking caused cancer, including lung cancer, oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. Taking incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) as the main indicator, the model sets one year as the cycling period for 50 periods and simulates the cohort of 10 000 thirty-five-year-old current smokers with various smoking cessation strategies. To ensure the robustness of conclusion, univariate sensitivity analysis, probability sensitivity analysis, and age-group sensitivity analysis were conducted.Results:The results showed that varenicline intervention was the most cost-effective intervention. Compared to the next most effective option, incremental cost of each additional quality-adjusted life year is 11 140.28 yuan, which is below the threshold of willingness to pay (1 year GDP per capita). The value of ICER increased as the increasing age group of adopting intervention, but neither exceeded the threshold of willingness to pay. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the value of discount rate, the hazard ratio and cost of intervention strategy had a greater impact on the result of ICER.Conclusion:In China, the use of varenicline to quit smoking is highly cost effective in the context of cancer primary prevention, especially for younger smokers.