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OAK RIDGE INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR STUDIES OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE Rasaarch and iiedicine Division United States Atomic Ensrgy Commission Oak Ridge, Tennessee We are transmitting herewith two copies of the reprint article appeared in RADIOLOGY, Vol. 60, No, 5, hy,1953,
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[Reprinted from RADIOLOGY, Vol. GO, KO. 5, Pages 735-39, May, 1953.1 Copyrighted 1953 by the Radiological Society of Korth America. Incorporated Teletherapy Evaluation Board In the spring and summer of 1952, twenty medical schools and the Medical Division of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies joined forces in a program designed to "investigate, develop and evaluate radioisotopes for teletherapy." A Teletherapy Evaluation Board composed of one representative from each participating school has been organized. The funds supporting the board are furnished in part by the medical schools and in part by the Oak Ridge Institute of Xuclear Studies under its contract with the United States Atomic Energy Commission. The program of the Teletherapy Evaluation Board will explore initially the possibilities of utilizing three isotopes for teleand CobaltGo. An effort will be made to exploit the inherent physical advantages of each isotope so that a variety of unit designs may be possible. A prototype unit incorporating extensive mechanical innovations so as to investigate to the fullest all the possibilities of both rotational therapy and more conventional technics has been designed and is being constructed. It has been designed so that any of the isotopes in question could be used. This prototype unit will be studied exhaustively by the physicist and radiotherapist members from the various participating medical schools. From their study a unit design will be evolved which will be suitable for clinical By far the most important function of the Teletherapy Evaluation Board is to evaluate the method of therapy. The pros and cons of the suitability of the various isotopes and the minor differences of design have only a passing importance. The essential feature of the program is the evaluation of the method by a group effort. The plan calls for each participating school to devote only a portion of the use of its isotope machine to the evaluation program; a large portion is to be used entirely at the discretion of the radiotherapist in charge to follow his own line of clinical investigation. By pooling clinical experience a variety of technics can be utilized and properly evaluated with statistical significance. Instead of waiting years for analysis of a technic or dosage schedule because of lack of statistically significant numbers, in a relatively short time by proper organization and co-operation, a large series can be studied and definitive conThe program is planned as a long-term effort, and while the deliberations of the Teletherapy Evaluation Board will be open to any of its professional colleagues it is not expected that results will be available for many years to come. Chairman, Executive Committee, Teletherapy Evaluation Board