• Title/Summary/Keyword: QA(Quality assurance)

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Study on the Effects of ISO 9000 Quality Assurance Systems in Korean Industry (ISO 9000 시리즈에 의한 품질보증(品質保證) 시스템이 우리 나라 기업경영(企業經營)에 미치는 영향(影響))

  • Lim, Nam-Jin;Kim, Nung-Jin
    • Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.87-101
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    • 1996
  • To investigate the impacts of ISO 9000 QA systems to the Korean industry quality improvement as well as quality consciousness, QA related data has been surveyed from quality assurance engineers who have worked on ISO 9000 certification activities and has been analyzed using relevant tabulations of five(5) scale or x2-homogeneity test method. Hypotheses to the unchange in the quality consciousness are tested in terms of x2-homogeneity in order to compare the consciousness of pre-certification with that of post-certification. The level of quality management of Korean manufacturing industry has been high-lighted by use of quality maturity grid.

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Quality Assurance of Patients for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (세기조절방사선치료(IMRT) 환자의 QA)

  • Yoon Sang Min;Yi Byong Yong;Choi Eun Kyung;Kim Jong Hoon;Ahn Seung Do;Lee Sang-Wook
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.81-90
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    • 2002
  • Purpose : To establish and verify the proper and the practical IMRT (Intensity--modulated radiation therapy) patient QA (Quality Assurance). Materials and Methods : An IMRT QA which consists of 3 steps and 16 items were designed and examined the validity of the program by applying to 9 patients, 12 IMRT cases of various sites. The three step OA program consists of RTP related QA, treatment information flow QA, and a treatment delivery QA procedure. The evaluation of organ constraints, the validity of the point dose, and the dose distribution are major issues in the RTP related QA procedure. The leaf sequence file generation, the evaluation of the MLC control file, the comparison of the dry run film, and the IMRT field simulate image were included in the treatment information flow procedure QA. The patient setup QA, the verification of the IMRT treatment fields to the patients, and the examination of the data in the Record & Verify system make up the treatment delivery QA procedure. Results : The point dose measurement results of 10 cases showed good agreement with the RTP calculation within $3\%$. One case showed more than a $3\%$ difference and the other case showed more than $5\%$, which was out side the tolerance level. We could not find any differences of more than 2 mm between the RTP leaf sequence and the dry run film. Film dosimetry and the dose distribution from the phantom plan showed the same tendency, but quantitative analysis was not possible because of the film dosimetry nature. No error had been found from the MLC control file and one mis-registration case was found before treatment. Conclusion : This study shows the usefulness and the necessity of the IMRT patient QA program. The whole procedure of this program should be peformed, especially by institutions that have just started to accumulate experience. But, the program is too complex and time consuming. Therefore, we propose practical and essential QA items for institutions in which the IMRT is performed as a routine procedure.

Quality Improvement Activity in Hospitals and Its Acceptance among Hospital Personnels (의료 질 관리 활동에 대한 병원종사자들의 태도와 인식)

  • Hwang, Jeong-Hae;Cho, Sung-Hyun;Kim, Chang-Yup;Seo, Juag-Don;Han, Man-Chung;Lee, Jeong-Ye
    • Quality Improvement in Health Care
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.86-97
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    • 1997
  • Background : It is a primary goal for hospital personnel to improve the quality of patient care. In Korea the concept of quality assurance has been spread over the last five years. Many hospitals have implemented quality assurance programs that fit their own philosophy and needs. As a result, they are supposed to have different experiences and attitudes toward quality assurance. To investigate their diversity will be helpful to have a direction to the future and to enhance the quality assurance activities in Korean hospitals. Objectives : The aim of this study is to obtain information about hospital personnel's attitude and opinion toward quality assurance in hospitals. Methods : A questionnaire was developed which consisted of five parts; the general characteristics of respondent, the concepts of quality assurance, need for quality assurance program, current status of quality improvement activities, and participation in programs. Using the registry of Korean hospitals, 102 hospitals with more than 400 beds were selected. Questionnaires were mailed to hospital staffs of each hospital; top managers, clinical department heads, registered nurses, medical recorders, and administrators. Results : Of 2038 questionnaires sent, 877 were returned, giving response rate of 44%. Most respondents(70%) regarded quality assurance as efforts to provide patient with care in highest quality and to improve effectiveness or resource utilization. Ninety-nine percent of respondents agreed to need for quality assurance in their hospitals. There were current quality improvement programs implemented in the department of 553 respondents(62%), and most of the(85%) have participated in at least one program. Lack of motivation was pointed out as a barrier to implement the programs. Conclusion : Although most respondents have known of the concept and need for quality assurance, this study suggests that education and motivation of hospital personnel be needed to activate the quality assurance programs in hospitals.

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Clinical performance of FractionLab in patient-specific quality assurance for intensity-modulated radiotherapy : a retrospective study

  • Oh, Se An;Kim, Sung Yeop;Park, Jaehyeon;Park, Jae Won;Yea, Ji Woon
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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    • v.39 no.2
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    • pp.108-115
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    • 2022
  • Background: This study was aimed at comparing and analyzing the results of FractionLab (Varian/Mobius Medical System) with those of portal dosimetry that uses an electronic portal imaging device. Portal dosimetry is extensively used for patient-specific quality assurance (QA) in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: The study includes 29 patients who underwent IMRT on a Novalis-Tx linear accelerator (Varian Medical System and Brain-LAB) between June 2019 and March 2021. We analyzed the multileaf collimator DynaLog files generated after portal dosimetry to evaluate the same condition using FractionLab. The results of the recently launched FractionLab at various gamma indices (0.1%/0.1 mm-1%/1 mm) are analyzed and compared with those of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm). Results: The average gamma passing rates of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and FractionLab are 98.1% (95.5%-100%) and 97.5% (92.3%-99.7%) at 0.6%/0.6 mm, respectively. The results of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) are statistically comparable with the QA results of FractionLab (0.6%/0.6 mm-0.9%/0.9 mm). Conclusion: This paper presents the clinical performance of FractionLab by the comparison of the QA results of FractionLab using portal dosimetry with various gamma indexes when performing patient-specific QA in IMRT treatment. Further, the appropriate gamma index when performing patient-specific QA with FractionLab is provided.

Quality Assurance for High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (고선량율 근접치료의 정도관리)

  • Bang, Dong-Wan;Cho, Chung-Hee;Park, Jae-Il
    • The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.30-44
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    • 1998
  • Accurate delivery of doses using a high dose rate(HDR) brachytherapy, remote afterloading system(RALS) depends on knowing the strength of the radioactive source at the time of treatment, the precision and consistency of the timer, and the ability of the unit to position the source at the proper dwell location along the applicator. Periodic Quality Assurance(QA) on HDR machines is a part of the standard protocol of any user. The safety of the patient & staff, positional accuracy, temporal accuracy, and dose delivery accuracy are periodically(weekly, quarterly, monthly) estimated using HDR source(Ir-192), treatment planning devices, measurement devices, and overall treatment devices with regard to treatment delivery. The overall measurement results are estimated successfully and assessed its clinical significance. As a result, our HDR brachytherapy units has been very accurate until now. The QA program protocol permits routine clinical use and provides a high confidence level in the accurate operation of HDR units. Therefore, regular QA of HDR brachytherapy is essential for successful treatment.

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A Study on Quality Assurance(QA) Guideline for Diagnostic Monitor (판독용 모니터 정도관리 항목 및 시행기준안 개발 연구)

  • Son, Gi-Gyeong;Sung, Dong-Wook;Jung, Hae-Jo;Jeong, Jae-Ho;Kang, Hee-Doo;Shin, Jin-Ho;Lee, Sun-Geun;Kim, Yong-Hwan
    • Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.53-65
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    • 2007
  • PACS has been run at the Kyung Hee University Medical Center(KHMC) since 2001, and the installation and operation of PACS have contributed to automation and quantification of KHMC's medical environment During these five years our greatest concern is how to make our own guiding principle of diagnostic monitor QA which is adapted to international standards. In accordance with the terms of 'KHMC QA Guideline', 'AAPM TG18', 'SMPTE RP133', 'DICOM Part14', 'DIN V 6868-57', 'JESRA X-0093', 'JIS Z4752-2-5' and 'KCARE', concern about quality assurance of medical images are on the increase. With the investigation of acceptance testing and quality control of international standards for medical display devices, and data collection and analysis for recommended guideline, it is reported that acceptance testing(quality control), including geometrical distortion, display reflection, luminance response, luminance uniformity, display resolution, display noise, veiling glare and color chromaticity being adequate and effective to domestic hospital environments for medical display devices and assessment methods according to each performance. Accordingly, KHMC classified the checkpoint items by period, at the time of monitor setting, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annually. Periodic classification of checkpoint items for monitor QA makes a good guideline for image QA/QC and useful guideline for persistent good quality of monitor.

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Suggestion for Comprehensive Quality Assurance of Medical Linear Accelerator in Korea (국내 선형가속기의 포괄적인 품질관리체계에 대한 제언)

  • Choi, Sang Hyoun;Park, Dong-wook;Kim, Kum Bae;Kim, Dong Wook;Lee, Jaiki;Shin, Dong Oh
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.294-303
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    • 2015
  • American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Published Task Group 40 report which includes recommendations for comprehensive quality assurance (QA) for medical linear accelerator in 1994 and TG-142 report for recommendation for QA which includes procedures such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in 2010. Recently, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) published NSSC notification no. 2015-005 which is "Technological standards for radiation safety of medical field". This notification regulate to establish guidelines for quality assurance which includes organization and job, devices, methods/frequency/tolerances and action levels for QA, and to implement quality assurance in each medical institution. For this reason, all of these facilities using medical machine for patient treatment should establish items, frequencies and tolerances for proper QA for medical treatment machine that use the techniques such as non-IMRT, IMRT and SRS/SBRT, and perform quality assurance. For domestic, however, there are lack of guidelines and reports of Korean Society of Medical Physicists (KSMP) for reference to establish systematic QA report in medical institutes. This report, therefore, suggested comprehensive quality assurance system such as the scheme of quality assurance system, which is considered for domestic conditions, based the notification of NSSC and AAPM TG-142 reports. We think that the quality assurance system suggested for medical linear accelerator also help establishing QA system for another high-precision radiation treatment machines.

Quality Assurance of Multileaf Collimator Using Electronic Portal Imaging (전자포탈영상을 이용한 다엽시준기의 정도관리)

  • ;Jason W Sohn
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.151-160
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    • 2003
  • The application of more complex radiotherapy techniques using multileaf collimation (MLC), such as 3D conformal radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), has increased the significance of verifying leaf position and motion. Due to thier reliability and empirical robustness, quality assurance (QA) of MLC. However easy use and the ability to provide digital data of electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) have attracted attention to portal films as an alternatives to films for routine qualify assurance, despite concerns about their clinical feasibility, efficacy, and the cost to benefit ratio. In this study, we developed method for daily QA of MLC using electronic portal images (EPIs). EPID availability for routine QA was verified by comparing of the portal films, which were simultaneously obtained when radiation was delivered and known prescription input to MLC controller. Specially designed two-test patterns of dynamic MLC were applied for image acquisition. Quantitative off-line analysis using an edge detection algorithm enhanced the verification procedure as well as on-line qualitative visual assessment. In conclusion, the availability of EPI was enough for daily QA of MLC leaf position with the accuracy of portal films.

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Evaluation of the Utility of a Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Specific Patient Quality Assurance using Software-based Quality Assurance System (소프트웨어 기반 정도관리 시스템을 이용한 부피세기조절회전치료 환자 별 정도관리의 유용성 평가)

  • Kang, Dong-Jin;Jung, Jae-Yong;Shin, Young-Joo;Min, Jung-Whan;Kim, Yon-Lae;Kwon, Kyung-Tae
    • Journal of radiological science and technology
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    • v.41 no.1
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    • pp.39-45
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of a software-based quality assurance system based on Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy treatment plan. Evaluate treatment plan through the D VH analysis, PTV mean dose ($D_{mean}$) and PTV 95% dose($D_{95}$) compare the MFX based on original treatment plan, Average error rate was $0.9{\pm}0.6%$, $1.0{\pm}0.8%$, respectively. Measuring point dose using phantom and ion chamber, the average error rate between the ionization chamber and MFX was $0.9{\pm}0.7%$, $1.1{\pm}0.7%$ (high dose region), $1.1{\pm}0.9%$, $1.2{\pm}0.7%$ (low dose region). The average gamma though of MFX and $Delta^{4PT}$ is $98.7{\pm}1.2%$, $98.4{\pm}.3%$, respectively. Through this study, A software based QA system that simplifies hardware based QA procedures that involve a lot of time and effort. It can be used as a simple and useful tool in clinical practice.