ENS 47737
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
04:00 Mar 12, 2012 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Aborted Fractional Dose Treatment |
| Event Description | The following information was received from the State of New Jersey:
A patient was treated with a Nucletron microSelectron 106.990(v3) HDR unit on March 12, 2012. The prescription dose was 600 cGy per fraction for 5 fractions. The fractional treatment planned was for a total of 14 dwell positions in two different catheters: six dwell positions in the ring to be treated on HDR Channel 1 and eight dwell positions in the tandem to be treated on HDR Channel 3. After all appropriate QA, the patient treatment was started with Channel 1 being the first set of dwell positions treated. At the completion of the Channel 1 treatment, the HDR unit gave an error stating that there was a 'Possible incomplete source retraction in Channel 2.' Even though all radiation indicators did not detect the presence of radiation, and even though the licensee was not using Channel 2, immediate emergency procedures were implemented. The emergency stop was activated and the room was entered with a survey meter to verify that there was no elevated radiation present. All indications were that the source was retracted properly and that there was no danger to the patient or the staff. The error displayed on the treatment screen indicated that it was possible that dust was on the optocoupler, thus causing the fault. However, the error could not be cleared by using the reset button. Nucletron was immediately contacted. Nucletron support personnel attempted to walk the licensee through some steps that may have cleared the error, but they were unsuccessful. Therefore, the remaining part of the patient's treatment was aborted. Nucletron scheduled one of their service engineers to respond to the licensee's facility to repair the unit. The authorized user informed the patient that the complete treatment was not delivered due to the machine malfunction and that the authorized user would determine what action to take on the future fractions. The patient and the treatment room were surveyed prior to release. No elevated readings were observed. The patient received 120 cGy (versus the prescribed dose of 600 cGy). The deviation from the written directive was documented in the patient's chart. A Medical Event may indicate potential problems in a medical facility's use of radioactive materials. It does not necessarily result in harm to the patient. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Clara Maass Medical Center Belleville, New Jersey (NRC Region 1) | |
| Organization: | Nj Rad Prot And Rel Prevention Pgm |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+31.37 h1.307 days <br />0.187 weeks <br />0.043 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Richard Peros 11:22 Mar 13, 2012 |
| NRC Officer: | Pete Snyder |
| Last Updated: | Mar 13, 2012 |
| 47737 - NRC Website | |
Clara Maass Medical Center with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 517282016-02-11T05:00:00011 February 2016 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Brachytherapy Device Malfunction Resulting in Underdose ENS 477372012-03-12T04:00:00012 March 2012 04:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Aborted Fractional Dose Treatment 2016-02-11T05:00:00 | |