World Championships of Treatment Planning (Update

February 27, 20186 minute read

This is the fourth and final update for the 2018 ProKnow World Championships of Treatment Planning, which serves to complement the information already posted in the previous updates; update 1, update 2, and update 3.

In this fourth update, we cover the following topics:

  1. Final Preparations
  2. Metric and Scoring Update
  3. Recorded Q&A Meetings
  4. Eligibility for the ‘Overall’ Category (Dose QA)
  5. Live Support During the Event

1. Final Preparations

Event Date and Time

The official start time of the event is March 1, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC -5). Don’t forget to convert to your local date and time! Here is an internet tool to help you do that.

The time limit for plan submission is 4 hours. If you want to optionally compete for the overall category, the time limit to submit true composite dose QA analysis (i.e., a full fraction delivered to a phantom, and measurement vs. calculation comparison) is an extra 16 hours after the plan submission deadline (see below section on ‘Dose QA’).

Pre-Event Preparation

It might be a good idea to study up beforehand on how to participate in a ProKnow plan study. Below are some useful links.

If this is your first ProKnow plan study, you might want to practice the process for any previous public plan study (there are many). You will be able to do everything except submit a plan (because the data collection for prior studies is closed), so it is a great way to get familiar with the process.

Ready, Set, Go!

When the day and time arrives:

  • Sign in to ProKnow.
  • In the top menu, select “Plan Studies.”
  • In the upper right drop-down menu, click “Select Organization: World Championships 2018.”
  • You will now see the “2018 World Championships (GYN)” plan study is active (if you sign in early, you will need to refresh the page until you see it).
  • Select it, download the CT and structure files, and start planning!
  • Don’t forget that on the “Upload, Review, and Submit” tab, once you’re happy with your final plan, you must click “SUBMIT” to officially enter your plan. Remember, you can re-submit as many plans as you want (it will replace any prior submission), but we do need your final submission by the end of the four-hour time slot.

2. Metric and Scoring Update

At user request, the limit of the number of VMAT arcs allowed has been increased to five, but only if necessary and if the target is very large with respect to beam width restrictions. Only use this many beams if you would do so clinically with a real patient, which is always a requirement for ProKnow plan studies.

Please view the There have been a few minor edits to the description of the plan scoring algorithm ; it is slightly more lenient now, and will include “performance bin” visualization on the scorecards to complement the numeric results. Also, see update #3 for more rules about plan practicality and efficiency.

3. Recorded Question & Answer (Q&A) Meetings

There were two live Q&A meetings held on Monday, January 26. These meetings were great, thanks to those who showed up! Each discussion was unique in its own way, and both meetings were recorded (audio only), so if you get time, just put on your headphones and click play!

You can listen to the audio of these meetings using the audio widgets, below.

Meeting #2

Q and a 2 With Music

Meeting #1

Q and a 1 With Music

4. ELIGIBILITY FOR THE ‘OVERALL’ CATEGORY (DOSE QA)

As mentioned in the prior updates, there will be award sub-categories (per TPS, per delivery type for any category with three or more submissions), and eligibility for these categories does not require the pretreatment dose QA.

However, we will have one category for the ‘Overall’ winner. To be eligible for this, you must do a full, true composite dose QA analysis of your plan. This is optional! That is, it is not required to compete in the plan quality sub-categories, as we realize some participants may not be able to schedule a QA measurement with your physicists. However, it is required for the overall category. See the details, below.

  • True composite. This means you deliver a single fraction of all beams, at their real treatment positions, to a dosimetry phantom. The analysis will be a quantitative comparison of the TPS calculated dose (to the phantom) to the measured dose. The phantom must be 3D, and the dosimeters can be diodes, ion chambers, film, or 3D polymer.
  • Why true composite? Some of you might not use true composite anymore at your clinic for per-patient plan verification, but it is important for this study. It’s the best way to audit both the TPS 3D dose calculation and the machine delivery. It also, by definition, ensures the plan was practical with no arrangements that would cause collision with the couch, patient, etc.
  • Objective evidence. Submit objective evidence (e.g., PDF reports and/or images from your QA software) via email attachments to ProKnow physics (bnelms@proknowsystems.com). You must have this submitted within 16 hours after the end of the planning time limit.
  • Required metrics and graphics. The report must contain 3%/2mm and 2%/2mm passing rates, calculations vs. measurements. The lower threshold dose below which to ignore comparisons will be 10% of the Rx dose (i.e., 0.2 Gy). Images of dose plane(s) should also be in the submitted materials, allowing verification that the fraction delivered and analyzed matches your treatment plan.

5. LIVE SUPPORT DURING THE EVENT

Email Support

ProKnow staff is standing by to provide quick responses to emails about the World Championships. If you encounter any issues while downloading or importing the dataset or uploading your plan and dose, please send us an email at support@proknowsystems.com. Or, just click on the Contact Us button in the header of the proknowsystems.com website to open our contact form.

For the duration of the four-hour planning event, we will make sure that you receive a prompt reply within ~15 minutes.

Live Support via GoToMeeting

If you prefer to talk with a ProKnow staff member instead of submitting your question via email, please sign in to the GoToMeeting using the information below. This meeting will be left open for the duration of the World Championships.

World Championship Support

Thu, Mar 1, 2018 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST

Join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/129250925

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (646) 749-3129
Access Code: 129-250-925

Some international call-in numbers are below. (Note: If you do not see your country, please use the web meeting link above, and have a headset and/or mic and speakers.)

Australia: +61 2 9087 3604
Austria: +43 7 2081 5427
Belgium: +32 28 93 7018
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9391
Denmark: +45 32 72 03 82
Finland: +358 923 17 0568
France: +33 170 950 594
Germany: +49 692 5736 7317
Ireland: +353 15 360 728
Italy: +39 0 230 57 81 42
Netherlands: +31 207 941 377
New Zealand: +64 9 280 6302
Norway: +47 21 93 37 51
Spain: +34 932 75 2004
Sweden: +46 853 527 827
Switzerland: +41 225 4599 78
United Kingdom: +44 330 221 0088

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