Customer

Technical Bulletin
CTB Information

Title High Energy Clinac MU2 and ION1/2 Potentiometer Adjustments

DWG Number 100048422 CTB CN-282
Complaint No. N/A Est. Labor Hrs 1
Purpose Provide procedures to adjust MU 2 and ION 1 & 2 settings on a Varian High Energy Clinac
after MU 1 is calibrated to 1 MU = 1 cGy. This alignment is required to prevent DS12, CLFA
and CKFA interlocks during clinical operation.
Product Product Codes H27, H29, H14
Code(s) High Energy C-Series Clinacs with Console Software Versions 5.2 +
Affected
Prerequisites MU 1 calibration must be completed by the site responsible person.
AN UPDATE TO THIS CTB MAY BE AVAILABLE ON MY.VARIAN.COM

Tools Information

Tools and Calculator

Equip
Reference None
Documents
Modification 1. Adjust MU1 for 1 MU = 1 cGy @ Dmax (See CAUTION Note in Section 1)
Overview
2. Adjust MU2 to match MU1.
3. Adjust ION 1 & 2 for correct simulated dose count.
Order Kit Information

Order Number Description

100048422-01 N/A

Revision Information

REV DATE STB AUTHOR NAME DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE FILE NAME

A Feb. 5, 2003 N/A DB Initial Release CTB-CN-282-A.doc

B Dec. 28, 2006 N/A DB Incorporate changes to include new software versions CTB-CN-282-B.doc

C Updated procedures to coincide with Education manuals and CTB-CN-282-C.doc

Mar 29, 2010 N/A JT PSE guidelines; transferred document to new template;

Add CTB drawing number.

D Mar 24, 2012 N/A Jeff Taylor Updated Table 1. Transferred document to new template. CTB-CN-282-D.doc

E Jan 4, 2013 N/A MJ Updated document to include High Intensity Mode CTB-CN-282-E.docx

F April 1, 2013 N/A Kevin Freeman Added Note at the beginning of Section 1 per DR 95535. CTB-CN-282-F.docx

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed
maintenance or repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these
hazards could cause serious injury and even death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
SHEET

1 OF 7
100048422 F
DWG NO. REVISION

Format TMP-GE-CTB-R
 Customer Technical Bulletin

GENERAL INFORMATION

Read this entire document, carefully reviewing all instructions.

PERFORMANCE CHECK

Complete a thorough performance verification before disassembling and modifying any system. Make a
note of any operational discrepancies.

SAFETY PROCEDURES

Become familiar with Customer Support Service’s safety policies before working on Oncology Systems
Products. Ensure compliance with CSS’s safety practices and procedures while performing this
modification. Refer to the Product Users’ Manual for safety instructions.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If there are any questions, issues, or concerns contact Varian at 1.888.VARIAN.5 (1.888.827.4265) or go
to http://my.varian.com and click on Contact Us.

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 2 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Customer Technical Bulletin

INSTRUCTIONS

1. MU1 QUICK CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE

Note When selecting a new energy to perform dose or QA measurements in Service mode,
wait an additional 6 seconds after the Ready condition is reached before beaming on.
This allows time for the gun high voltage and bending magnet values to stabilize to
provide stable dose measurements. In Clinical mode, this delay is automatically built
into the Cal Check cycle during energy selection.

NOTICE MU 1 calibration is the sole responsibility of the Customer. Varian employees are not
authorized to perform MU1 absolute dosimetry calibration.
The Clinac monitor units (MU) must be calibrated so that 1 MU = 1cGy at depth of maximum
ionization (Dmax) at 100 cm TSD (or 160 cm TSD for HDTSe). Any other calibration technique
or protocol that produces beams with greater intensity may place the Clinac at risk of
premature failure. Clinac specifications are determined based on the performance margins
required for safe and reliable operation.

1.1. Calculate the absolute dose cal error using the following equation:
Dose Cal Error = Actual electrometer charge / Desired electrometer charge
(e.g. 1.085 / 1.075 = 1.0093)

1.2. With the beam off, select CALIB > Calibrate dosimetry > Extended integration
(type C C E) to continuously run the integration cal cycle. [See following NOTE]

Note The Extended Integration selection is only available with Console SW V7+. Clinacs
below SW V7 do not have the Extended integration selection, so it will be necessary to
re-select the Integration cal cycle (by typing C C I) approximately every 5 seconds to
keep the cycle running while adjusting the ION pots. After hitting key combination C C I
once, the cycle can be repeated by simply hitting the Enter key 3 times with one hand
while adjusting the pot with the other hand.

1.3. During the integration cal cycle, record dose rate value on the D/R (Dose Rate) display.

Note High Intensity Mode dose rate is 4000 during the Integration cal cycle.

1.4. Determine the amount of correction using the following equation:

Displayed D/R Value X Dose Cal Error (e.g. 2000 X 1.0093 = 2018.6)

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 3 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Customer Technical Bulletin

1.5. During the integration cal cycle, adjust the MU1 pot until the D/R displays the calculated
correction value in the previous step.

1.6. Stop the extended cal cycle by typing C C E again (or C C I for pre-V7 Clinacs).

1.7. Run 100 or 200 MU integration and verify dose cal accuracy.

Note The MU2, ION1 and ION2 adjustments in the following steps will not affect the absolute
dose calibration for MU1.

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 4 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Customer Technical Bulletin

2. MATCHING MU2 TO MU1

Note To prevent DS12 interlocks during Clinical operation, MU1 and MU2 counts must match.

2.1. In Service Mode, select INTLK/TRIG/LT > Triggers Off/on > Dose Servo and turn OFF
the Dose Servo. This will make the following adjustments easier.

2.2. Select DISPLAY > Hex window and enter the hex offset shown in the following table. This
value will display the MU1 & MU2 MSB and LSB hex data, which represents the MU1 and
MU2 dose rate in hex format. [Figure 1]

Table 1: CRAM Map Locations

Console Software Version Hex Offset

7.5 and higher 67B
6.3 676
5.4 – 6.2 674
5.2 633
NOTE: Console Software version can be viewed when exiting Service Mode.

2.3. Setup desired energy with 9999 MU, RepRate 3 or 4.

2.4. Beam-on and adjust the MU2 pot to accurately match the MU2 LSB and MSB hex values to
the MU1 LSB and MSB values. [Figure 1]

2.5. Beam-off and setup the same energy for 100 MU and beam-on again. When the beam
terminates, verify MU1 and MU2 match within 1%.

2.6. Repeat for all energies (including HDTSe, High Intensity Mode or SRS).

Figure 1: MU1 & MU2 Dose Rate Hex Data Locations (CD, RepRate 3 shown)

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 5 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Customer Technical Bulletin

3. ADJUSTING ION 1 & 2 FOR CORRECT DOSE COUNT

Note To prevent CAL interlocks during Clinical operation, ION1 and ION2 potentiometers
must be adjusted for the proper simulated dose count during the CAL cycle. This
simulated dose count is a verification and validation process for the integrity of the
dosimetry circuitry.

Note The Extended Integration selection in the following step is only available with Console
SW V7+. Clinacs below SW V7 do not have the Extended integration selection, so it will
be necessary to re-select the Integration cal cycle (by typing C C I) approximately every
5 seconds to keep the cycle running while adjusting the ION pots. After hitting key
combination C C I once, the cycle can be repeated by simply hitting the Enter key 3
times with one hand while adjusting the pot with the other hand.

3.1. Starting at the first energy again with the beam off, select CALIB > Calibrate dosimetry >
Extended integration (type C C E) to continuously run the integration cal cycle.

3.2. During the integration cal cycle, adjust the ION 1 pot until the D/R (Dose Rate) display
indicates 2000 (or 1050 for non-CD Clinacs). CD Clinacs have dose steps of 100 MU/Min
and non-CD Clinacs have dose rate steps of 80 MU/Min.

Note If calibrating High Intensity Mode, the dose rate during the Integration cal cycle is 4000.

3.3. If the machine is equipped with High Intensity Mode Option, adjust the ION 1 pot until the
D/R (Dose Rate) display indicates 4000.

3.4. Adjust ION 2 to accurately match the MU2 LSB and MSB hex values to the MU1 LSB and
MSB values. [Figure 1]

3.5. Stop the extended cal cycle by typing C C E again (or C C I for pre-V7 Clinacs).

3.6. Run the integration cal cycle by typing C C I and verify both MU1 & MU2 displays indicate
200 ± 2 (105 ± 2 for non-CD and 400 ± 4 for High Intensity Mode) at the end of the cal
cycle.

3.7. Repeat this procedure for all energies (including HDTSe, HIM or SRS).

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 6 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Customer Technical Bulletin

Bill Of Materials

-01 Part Number Description

- N/A N/A

Drawing or
Other Documents Included
Document Number
- N/A N/A

ATTENTION: This information is provided for use by qualified service technicians. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. makes no SHEET
representation to the qualifications of any service technicians other than its own employees. Improper or uninformed maintenance or 100048422
repair of the Product may expose a maintenance technician, operator and/ or patient to safety hazards including but not limited to one or
more of the following: mechanical collision, electrical shock, and radiation. Any of these hazards could cause serious injury and even DWG NO.
CN-282 Rev F 7 of 7
death. Copyright © 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.