AAPM task group report 210: Conventional linear accelerator acceptance testing

Abstract

Increased demand to make medical linear accelerator acceptance testing procedures (ATP) more efficient exists while the technology being evaluated for clinical use has become increasingly complex. The most recent American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) task group giving guidelines to medical physicists on ATP was Task Group report 45, published in 1994. Several new technologies, enhanced machine performance, and possible future changes to ATP since that time require updated guidance from the AAPM. The goal of this task group is to empower the medical physicist to be meaningfully involved with the design and execution of comprehensive and effective linear accelerator ATP beginning with the purchasing contract negotiation to the contractual handover of the linear accelerator to the department for clinical use. Additionally, we discussed aspects related to beam matching, ATP at the time of replacing major linear accelerator's components as well as what we perceive as the future of the ATP process given the trends of standardizing linear accelerators.