Delivery quality assurance with ArcCHECK

Radiation therapy requires delivery quality assurance (DQA) to ensure that treatment is accurate and closely follows the plan. We report our experience with the ArcCHECK phantom and investigate its potential optimization for the DQA process. One-hundred seventy DQA plans from 84 patients were studied. Plans were classified into 2 groups: those with the target situated on the diodes of the ArcCHECK (D plans) and those with the target situated at the center (C plans). Gamma pass rates for 8 target sites were examined. The parameters used to analyze the data included 3%/3 mm with the Van Dyk percent difference criteria (VD) on, 3%/3 mm with the VD off, 2%/2 mm with the VD on, and x/3 mm with the VD on and the percentage dosimetric agreement “x” for diode plans adjusted. D plans typically displayed maximum planned dose (MPD) on the cylindrical surface containing ArcCHECK diodes than center plans, resulting in inflated gamma pass rates. When this was taken into account by adjusting the percentage dosimetric agreement, C plans outperformed D plans by an average of 3.5%. ArcCHECK can streamline the DQA process, consuming less time and resources than radiographic films. It is unnecessary to generate 2 DQA plans for each patient; a single center plan will suffice. Six of 8 target sites consistently displayed pass rates well within our acceptance criteria; the lesser performance of head and neck and spinal sites can be attributed to marginally lower doses and increased high gradient of plans.