The radiation therapy dosimetry network in the United States
The United States government and the governments of sixteen other countries have established radiation standards laboratories which house the primary standards dosimeters of the respective countries. In the United States, three regional calibration laboratories were established to disseminate the national radiation standards through the use of secondary standards dosimeters. These, in turn, are used for calibration of radiation field instruments used to measure radiation applied in therapy. These laboratories are periodically accredited by the American Assocation of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). In 1976, AAPM established a Committee on Radiation Calibration Needs in Therapy to conduct a study of the adequacy of the therapy dosimetry network in the United States. According to this study, 1322 centers were performing radiotherapy in 1978, and 1057 radiation instruments were used to calibrate the therapy machines in these facilities. In more than 99% of the institutions, medical physicists are responsible for carrying out the necessary calibrations. The study showed that there is a need, though not an urgent one, for an additional regional calibration laboratory in the Far Western United States. Establishment of such a laboratory would not be excessively disruptive to the existing laboratories.