Survey of Radiation Shielding Design Goals and Workload Based on Radiation Safety Report: Tomotherapy Vault

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to perform a survey of the radiation shielding design goals (P) and workload (W) based on the radiation safety reports concerned with structural shielding design for the IMRT treatment technique in Tomotherapy vaults. The values of the P and W factors as well as of a verified concrete thickness of the ceiling, bottom, sidewalls (sidewall-1 and sidewall-2), and door have been obtained from radiation safety reports for a total of 16 out of 20 vaults. The recommended and most widely used report for P values was the NCRP No. 151 report, which stated that the P factor in controlled and uncontrolled areas was 0.1 and 0.02 mSv/week, respectively. The range of the W factor was 600~14,720 Gy/week. The absorbed dose delivered per patient was 2~3 Gy. The maximum number of patients treated per day was 10~70. The quality assurance (QA) dose was 100~1,000 Gy/week. Fifteen values of the IMRT factor (F) were mostly used but a maximum of 20 values was also used. The concrete thickness for primary structures including the ceiling, bottom, sidewalls, and door was sufficient for radiation shielding. The P and W factors affect the calculation of the structural shielding design, and several parameters, such as the absorbed dose, patients, QA dose, days and F factor can be varied according to the type of shielding structure. To ensure the safety of the radiation shielding, it is necessary to use the NCRP No. 151 report for the standard recommendation values.