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TITLE 25HEALTH SERVICES
PART 1DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES
CHAPTER 289RADIATION CONTROL
SUBCHAPTER EREGISTRATION REGULATIONS
RULE §289.229Radiation Safety Requirements for Accelerators, Therapeutic Radiation Machines, Simulators, and Electronic Brachytherapy Devices

      (vi) Selection and display of dose monitor units shall meet the following requirements.

        (I) Irradiation shall not be possible until a selection of a number of dose monitor units has been made at the treatment console.

        (II) The preselected number of dose monitor units shall be displayed at the treatment console until reset manually for the next irradiation.

        (III) After termination of irradiation, it shall be necessary to reset the dosimeter display to zero before subsequent treatment can be initiated.

        (IV) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, after termination of irradiation, it shall be necessary to manually reset the preselected dose monitor units before irradiation can be initiated.

      (vii) Termination of irradiation by the dose monitoring system or systems during stationary beam therapy shall meet the following requirements.

        (I) Each primary system shall terminate irradiation when the preselected number of dose monitor units has been detected by the system.

        (II) If original design of the equipment includes a secondary dose monitoring system, that system shall be capable of terminating irradiation when not more than 15% or 40 dose monitor units, whichever is smaller, above the preselected number of dose monitor units set at the console has been detected by the secondary dose monitoring system.

        (III) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, a secondary dose monitoring system shall be present. That system shall be capable of terminating irradiation when not more than 10% or 25 dose monitoring units, whichever is smaller, above the preselected number of dose monitor units set at the console has been detected by the secondary dose monitoring system.

        (IV) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, an indicator on the console shall show which dose monitoring system has terminated irradiation.

      (viii) A locking device shall be provided in the system to prevent unauthorized use of the x-ray system. A computerized password system would also constitute a locking device.

      (ix) It shall be possible to interrupt irradiation and equipment movements at any time from the operator's position at the treatment console. Following an interruption, it shall be possible to restart irradiation by operator action without any reselection of operating conditions. If any change is made of a preselected value during an interruption, irradiation and equipment movements shall be automatically terminated.

      (x) It shall be possible to terminate irradiation and equipment movements or go from an interruption condition to termination conditions at any time from the operator's position at the treatment console.

      (xi) Timers shall meet the following requirements.

        (I) A timer that has a display shall be provided at the treatment console. The timer shall have a preset time selector and an elapsed time indicator.

        (II) The timer shall be a cumulative timer that activates with the production of radiation and retains its reading after irradiation is interrupted or terminated. After irradiation is terminated and before irradiation can be reinitiated, it shall be necessary to reset the elapsed time indicator to zero.

        (III) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, after termination of irradiation and before irradiation can be reinitiated, it shall be necessary to manually reset the preset time selector.

        (IV) The timer shall terminate irradiation when a preselected time has elapsed if the dose monitoring systems have not previously terminated irradiation.

      (xii) Equipment capable of producing more than 1 radiation type shall meet the following additional requirements.

        (I) Irradiation shall not be possible until a selection of radiation type has been made at the treatment console.

        (II) An interlock system shall be provided to:

          (-a-) ensure that the equipment can emit only the radiation type that has been selected;

          (-b-) prevent irradiation if any selected operations carried out in the treatment room do not agree with the selected operations carried out at the treatment console;

          (-c-) prevent irradiation with x-rays except to obtain a port film when electron applicators are fitted; and

          (-d-) prevent irradiation with electrons when accessories specific for x-ray therapy are fitted.

        (III) The radiation type selected shall be displayed at the treatment console before and during irradiation.

      (xiii) Equipment capable of generating radiation beams of different energies shall meet the following requirements.

        (I) Irradiation shall not be possible until a selection of energy has been made at the treatment console.

        (II) An interlock system shall be provided to prevent irradiation if any selected operations carried out in the treatment room do not agree with the selected operations carried out at the treatment console.

        (III) The nominal energy value selected shall be displayed at the treatment console before and during irradiation.

      (xiv) Equipment capable of both stationary beam therapy and moving beam therapy shall meet the following requirements.

        (I) Irradiation shall not be possible until a selection of stationary beam therapy or moving beam therapy has been made at the treatment console.

        (II) An interlock system shall be provided to prevent irradiation if any selected operations carried out in the treatment room do not agree with the selected operations carried out at the treatment console.

        (III) The selection of stationary or moving beam shall be displayed at the treatment console. An interlock system shall be provided to ensure that the equipment can only operate in the mode that has been selected.

        (IV) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, an interlock system shall be provided to terminate irradiation if movement of the gantry occurs during stationary beam therapy or stops during moving beam therapy unless such stoppage is a preplanned function.

        (V) Moving beam therapy shall be controlled to obtain the selected relationships between incremental dose monitor units and incremental angle of movement.

          (-a-) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, an interlock system shall be provided to terminate irradiation if the number of dose monitor units delivered in any 10 degrees of arc differs by more than 20% from the selected value.

          (-b-) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, where gantry angle terminates the irradiation in arc therapy, the dose monitor units shall differ by less than 5.0% from the value calculated from the absorbed dose per unit angle relationship.

        (VI) Where the dose monitor system terminates the irradiation in moving beam therapy, the termination of irradiation shall be as required by clause (vii) of this subparagraph.

      (xv) For equipment manufactured after March 1, 1989, a system shall be provided from whose readings the absorbed dose rate at a reference point in the treatment volume can be calculated. The radiation detectors specified in subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph may form part of this system. In addition, the dose monitor unit rate shall be displayed at the treatment console. If the equipment can deliver under any conditions an absorbed dose rate at the normal treatment distance more than twice the maximum value specified by the manufacturer for any machine parameters utilized, a device shall be provided that terminates irradiation when the absorbed dose rate exceeds a value twice the specified maximum. The dose rate at which the irradiation will be terminated shall be in a record maintained by the registrant in accordance with subsection (l) of this section for agency inspection.

      (xvi) The registrant shall determine, or obtain from the manufacturer, the location with reference to an accessible point on the radiation head of the x-ray target or the virtual source of x-rays and the electron window or the virtual source of electrons if the system has electron beam capabilities.

      (xvii) Capabilities shall be provided so that all radiation safety interlocks can be checked for correct operation.

    (B) Facility and shielding requirements.

      (i) Each installation shall be provided with primary and/or secondary barriers as are necessary to assure compliance with §289.231(m) and (o) of this title.

      (ii) All protective barriers shall be fixed except for entrance doors or beam interceptors.

      (iii) The console shall be located outside the treatment room and all emergency buttons/switches shall be clearly labeled as to their functions.

Cont'd...

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