scholarly journals Retrospective analysis of reduced energy switching and room switching times on throughput efficiency of a multi-room proton therapy center

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (1107) ◽  
pp. 20190820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Mah ◽  
Chin Cheng Chen ◽  
A Omer Nawaz ◽  
Greg Galbreath ◽  
Reuven Shmulenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proton Therapy ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Patient Volume ◽  
Switching Times ◽  
Delivery Times ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Software Upgrade ◽  
Beam Delivery ◽  
Therapy Center

Objective: To quantify how a control software upgrade changed beam delivery times and impacted efficiency and capacity of a multiroom proton therapy center. Methods: A four-room center treating approximately 90 patients/day, treating for approximately 7 years with optimized operations, underwent a software upgrade which reduced room and energy switching times from approximately 30 to 20 s and approximately 4 s to ~0.5 s, respectively. The center uses radio-frequency identification data to track patient treatments and has software which links this to beam delivery data extracted from the treatment log server. Two 4-month periods, with comparable patient volume, representing periods before and after the software change, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 16,168 and 17,102 fields were analyzed. For bilateral head and neck and prostate patients, the beam waiting time was reduced by nearly a factor of 3 and the beam delivery times were reduced by nearly a factor of 2.5. Room switching times were reduced more modestly. Gantry capacity has increased from approximately 30 patients to 40–45 patients in a 16-h daily operation. Conclusions: Many proton centers are striving for increased efficiencies. We demonstrated that reductions in energy and room switching time can significantly increase center capacity. Greater potential for further gains would come from improvements in setup and imaging efficiency. Advances in knowledge: This paper provides detailed measured data on the effect on treatment times resulting from reducing energy and room switching times under controlled conditions. It helps validate the models of previous investigations to establish treatment capacity of a proton therapy center.

On-site information sharing for emergency response management

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Yang, PhD, MSc, BSc, MBCS, CITP
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Information Collection ◽  
Rescue Service ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Ongoing Project

Emergency response to any man-made or natural disasters involves different organizations—such as fire and rescue service, emergency medical services, law enforcement (police forces), and responders from other governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Information sharing and management among these responding organizations is essential for the success of the emergency responses, not only during a disaster but also before and after the disaster. Information sharing among different organizations cannot occur overnight and must be in place before a disaster occurs, be able to be easily used during the disaster, and be maintained after the disaster. In this article, information sharing requirements and features for emergency response are discussed before an information sharing infrastructure is proposed. It is particularly expected to enable the response organizations to efficiently communicate with each other in the charged and high-pressure atmosphere of an on-going disaster response. On-site information collection is suggested to be carried out through wireless sensor networks (WSN) and radio frequency identification (RFID). The key technologies for securing information sharing in emergency response management are identified. Our ongoing project SafetyNET is described to illustrate the implementation of the information sharing system.

Commissioning of the discrete spot scanning proton beam delivery system at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Proton Therapy Center, Houston

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Gillin ◽  
Narayan Sahoo ◽  
Martin Bues ◽  
George Ciangaru ◽  
Gabriel Sawakuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proton Beam ◽  
Delivery System ◽  
Proton Therapy ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Spot Scanning ◽  
Beam Delivery ◽  
The University ◽  
Therapy Center ◽  
Beam Delivery System

scholarly journals Technologies for Traceability in Inventory Management System

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (06) ◽  
pp. 588-594
Author(s):  
Mayuri Jamkhedkar ◽  
◽  
Parth Sanghavi ◽  
Pooja Gajera ◽  
Prof. V. A. Mishra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inventory Management ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Near Field Communication ◽  
Inventory Management System ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Industrial Company ◽  
Modern Technologies

Our main aim in this paper is to show that traceability has become more than a way to guarantee the stock details but also useful after the delivery of the orders. In this paper, we are trying to illustrate this idea where how companies can implement traceability using modern technologies. After researching with the various industrial company about how traceability works, we came up the technologies which can help the company to implement traceability with ease. The companies need traceability in order to track the products while packaging, before and after delivery of orders. With coherent traceability, it becomes easier to locate the missing products in the orders after the delivery and provides credibility of the orders. We are going to review three technologies used in the inventory management systems and how can we use these technologies in traceability is Barcode Technology, Radio Frequency Identification(RFID), and Near Field Communication(NFC).

scholarly journals Modular Configuration of an RFID-based Hybrid Control Architecture for a Situational Shop Floor Control

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Gunther Reinhart ◽  
Philipp Englehardt
Keyword(s):  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Hybrid Control ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Control Architecture ◽  
Shop Floor Control ◽  
Delivery Times ◽  
Floor Control ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Framework Conditions ◽  
Hybrid Control Architecture

Nowadays, producing companies act in a turbulent environment, which is caused by the globalization of the economy and the continuous shift from seller markets to buyer markets. One central aspect is the demand for customized products at short delivery times and reasonable costs. In this context, shop floor control becomes more and more important and therefore, the complexity of its purposes increases. However, current shop floor information, which is indispensable for a targeted execution of these purposes, is often not available. The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology enables an adequate and situational shop floor control. Since the integration and capabilities of RFID depends on specific framework conditions (e.g. forms of organization), an approach for a modular configuration of an RFID-based hybrid control architecture, that separates control efforts into centralized and decentralized control elements, is motivated. Finally, this approach could be implemented to a use case of a German automotive seat supplier.

scholarly journals Strategic Operational Redesign for Successfully Navigating Prior Authorization Barriers at a Large-Volume Proton Therapy Center

2020 ◽  
pp. JOP.19.00533
Author(s):  
Eric D. Brooks ◽  
Matthew S. Ning ◽  
Matthew B. Palmer ◽  
G. Brandon Gunn ◽  
Steven J. Frank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proton Therapy ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Prior Authorization ◽  
Patient Access ◽  
Administrative Burden ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Therapy Center ◽  
Improve Patient

PURPOSE: Prior authorization (PA) can be a resource-intensive barrier to oncologic care. To improve patient access and reduce delays at our large, academic proton therapy center, we implemented a novel payor-focused strategy to efficiently navigate the PA process while eliminating physician burden and reducing inappropriate denials. METHODS: In 2017, business operations were redesigned to better reflect the insurance process: (1) certified medical dosimetrists (CMDs), with their unique treatment expertise, replaced our historical PA team to function as an effective interface among physicians, patients, and payors; (2) a structured, tiered timeline was implemented to hold payors accountable to PA deadlines; and (3) our PA team provided administrative leadership with requisite insurance knowledge. PA outcomes were compared 6 months before and after the intervention. RESULTS: After implementation of this multifaceted strategy, the median time to successful appeal (after initial denial of coverage) decreased from 30 to 18 days ( P < .001), and the total number of overturned denials increased by 56%. Because of the efficiency of the CMDs, full-time equivalents on the PA team actually decreased by 44%, translating to a 34% reduction in team personnel expenses. Internal referrals increased by 29%, attributable to optimized communication and diminished administrative burden for providers. New treatment starts also increased, resulting in a 37% larger patient census on treatment. CONCLUSION: Incorporating payor-focused strategies can improve patient access in a cost-effective manner while decreasing time and administrative burden associated with the PA process. These operational concepts can be adapted for other oncologic practice settings facing analogous PA-related obstacles.

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