Failure Mode and Effect Analysis for Three Dimensional Radiotherapy at Ain Shams University Hospital

Abstract

The process of radiotherapy is very complex and requires understanding of the principles of medical physics, radiobiology, radiation safety, quality management, radiotherapy planning and interaction of radiotherapy with other modalities. It requires collaboration between radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, medical physicists and radiation engineers. Increased complexity of radiotherapy process caused many types of errors. Accidental errors in radiotherapy may result from human error, operating error or equipment failures. The risk of failures has increased due to the interaction of many health care personnel working together on highly advanced technologies.

FMEA is a proactive risk assessment strategy used to identify and anticipate potential errors and to take action before a radiation incident occurs. The FMEA technique offers s