QA issues for computer-controlled treatment delivery: This is not your old R/V system any more!

State-of-the-art radiotherapy treatment delivery has changed dramatically during the past decade, moving from manual individual field setup and treatment to automated computer-controlled delivery of complex treatments, including intensity-modulated radiotherapy and other similarly complex delivery strategies. However, the quality assurance methods typically used to ensure treatment is performed precisely and correctly have not evolved in a similarly dramatic way. This paper reviews the old manual treatment process and use of record-and-verify systems, and describes differences with modern computer-controlled treatment delivery. The process and technology used for computer-controlled treatment delivery are analyzed in terms of potential (and actual) problems, as well as relevant published guidance on quality assurance. The potential for improved quality assurance for computer-controlled delivery is discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc.