In February the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a joint statement on global equity in cancer care including safe delivery of cancer treatment through dosimetry audit services.
Dose accuracy is critical to safe cancer treatment. Dosimetry audits provide assurance that the radiation dose delivered to the patient aligns with the planned dose.
ARPANSA’s Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service (ACDS) is Australia’s independent dosimetry auditing service for radiotherapy centres across Australia and New Zealand, providing extra surety for around 70,000 Australians who will be treated with radiotherapy for cancer this year.
‘Dosimetry auditing is an excellent safety net to trace systemic issues which impact the amount of radiation being received by the patient and may otherwise go undetected’ says Dr Ivan Williams, Chief Medical Radiation Scientist of ARPANSA.
‘We have more than a decade of experience auditing radiotherapy equipment across Australia and New Zealand and engage with international partners to share knowledge and advance global practices’, said Dr Williams.
‘The IAEA/WHO statement is a good reminder that the excellent quality assurance measures we have in place in Australia are not yet available globally.’
‘It is wonderful to see the learnings from our experience translate to real-world benefits in Australasia and beyond.’
The ACDS compares audit results with data sets collected over a decade that enables deviations in the delivery of radiation to be readily detected and investigated.
Auditing has led to significant improvements in radiotherapy delivery, making it safer and more accurate.
The ACDS shares its audit developments, data analysis, findings and recommendations with the global dosimetry auditing network.
