State of measures of quality assurance for radiotherapy units in Switzerland

In Switzerland 57 X-ray therapy units are in operation at present. According to the Swiss Ordinance on Radiation Protection, a quality-assurance program must regularly be applied in to these units. However, as the Swiss X-ray Ordinance gives explicit control parameters only for diagnostic units, the present article issues proposals for the realization of a quality-assurance program for the therapy units. In this regard, it is distinguished between checks performed by technical personnel of the X-ray manufacturers and checks performed by a medical physicist with corresponding qualification, or under his supervision. The so-called mentor project for the performance of annual constancy checks in institutes without medical physicists is also taken into account. These proposals should be helpful for the discussion and clarification of competencies, hence contributing to standardization of control practices in Switzerland.