Parallel/Opposed: IMRT QA using treatment log files is superior to conventional measurement‐based method

In the recent years, more and more researchers believe measurement-based quality assurance (QA) method for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is insensitive in detecting various types of failures.(1-3) Machine delivery log-file analysis has been proposed to be a more effective and efficient approach in verifying IMRT delivery accuracy in terms of gantry, collimator, jaws, and MLCs.(1,4-9) However, whether log file measurements can replace conventional QA methods remains a major debate in current medical physics society. This is addressed as our first parallel/opposed topic. Nathan Childress is parallel to the argument. Dr. Childress received his Ph.D. in Medical Physics in 2004 from University of Texas-M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering, and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia, both in 2001. His dissertation focused on bulk IMRT QA analysis and film dosimetry. He worked as a clinical physicist for six years at The Methodist Hospital before founding Mobius Medical Systems, LP in 2010. Mobius has designed and developed software packages that perform linear accelerator QA, treatment plan QA, and IMRT QA. He created and maintains www.medphysfiles.com, a site for the free sharing of files related to clinical medical physics. Dr. Childress is a Section Editor for the JACMP and is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiological Physics. Quan Chen is opposing the argument. Dr. Chen obtained his Ph.D in medical physics from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI in 2004. He joined TomoTherapy Inc. the same year as a medical physicist, focusing on research and innovations. He joined University of Virginia in 2011 as an assistant professor in the radiation oncology department. His main research interests include tomotherapy, high-performance computing, optimization and dose calculation, Monte Carlo, and innovative QA methods. He has authored and co-authored over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and holds seven granted patents.