Course Overview

The introductory medical linac service technician is an online training module in which students will learn basic procedures for common medical linear accelerator repairs. It is an online course led by an instructor. It consists of readings and videos. Students will familiarize themselves with the course materials over a five-week period.

Module 1 (3 weeks online):

The student will review basic procedures commonly used by front-line medical linac service technicians. The students will review videos of component repairs and discuss the relevant aspects of the repair with the instructor in a discussion setting. For each type of repair, the leading indications of component failure will be discussed.

Module 2 (1 week online):

Students will review the functional aspects of the service mode of a major linear accelerator manufacturer. Error messages and meanings will be presented to the students.

Module 3 (1 week online):

Students will be exposed to linear accelerator quality assurance and the return to service process.

Prerequisites

Linear Accelerators Beginner Course

Course Objectives

Module 1: 

At the completion of module 1, students will identify hazardous materials in medical linear accelerators. Students will review the procedure for simple component repairs that front-line service technicians are often called to perform.  

Module 2: 

At the completion of module 2, students will review the structure of the service mode of a major linear accelerator manufacturer and identify the different zones within the service screen, differentiate between areas related to beam generation, interlocks, or other machine configurations.  

Module 3: 

At the completion of module 3, students have been exposed to the quality assurance requirements needed after linear accelerator repairs. Students will identify quality assurance protocols, instruments used for quality assurance, and processes required to return a medical linear accelerator to clinical service after a repair.