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The Journal of the Korean Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 2005;23(3): 186-193. |
| Statistical Analysis of Operating Efficiency and Failures of a Medical Linear Accelerator for Ten Years |
| Sang Gyu Ju, Seung Jae Huh, Youngyih Han, Jeong Min Seo, Won Kyou Kim, Tae Jong Kim, Eun Hyuk Shin, Ju Young Park, Inhwan J Yeo, David R Choi, Yong Chan Ahn, Won Park, Do Hoon Lim, Young Hwan Park |
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. sjhuh@smc.samsung.co.kr
2Department of Biomedical Engineer, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. |
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| ABSTRACT |
PURPOSE:
To improve the management of a medical linear accelerator, the records of operational failures of a Varian CL2100C over a ten year period were retrospectively analyzed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The failures were classified according to the involved functional subunits, with each class rated into one of three levels depending on the operational conditions. The relationships between the failure rate and working ratio and between the failure rate and outside temperature were investigated. In addition, the average life time of the main part and the operating efficiency over the last 4 years were analyzed.
RESULTS:
Among the recorded failures (total 587 failures), the most frequent failure was observed in the parts related with the collimation system, including the monitor chamber, which accounted for 20% of all failures. With regard to the operational conditions, 2nd level of failures, which temporally interrupted treatments, were the most frequent.
Third level of failures, which interrupted treatment for more than several hours, were mostly caused by the accelerating subunit. The number of failures was increased with number of treatments and operating time. The average life-times of the Klystron and Thyratron became shorter as the working ratio increased, and were 42 and 83% of the expected values, respectively. The operating efficiency was maintained at 95% or higher, but this value slightly decreased. There was no significant correlation between the number of failures and the outside temperature.
CONCLUSION:
The maintenance of detailed equipment problems and failures records over a long period of time can provide good knowledge of equipment function as well as the capability of predicting future failure. More rigorous equipment maintenance is required for old medical linear accelerators for the advanced avoidance of serious failure and to improve the quality of patient treatment. |
| Key Words:
Pattern of failure, Operating efficiency of linear accelerator, Management of linear accelerator |
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