Algorithms for radiotherapy treatment booking

Abstract

Two algorithms for booking courses of radiotherapy treatment sessions for the dynamic arrival of patients in a parallel machine environment are developed. Patients vary by due date, by which they should start their treatments, clinical category and treatment machine requirement. The first algorithm, mimicking current practice, books patients forward from the release date (i.e. the date when the patient can start radiotherapy treatment). The second algorithm books patients backwards from the due date. Feasible schedules of treatment sessions are generated for each patient with the aim to minimise the total number of patients who do not meet waiting time targets, the total length of waiting time breaches, and the total number of interruptions to treatment. The algorithms incorporate practical constraints that arise in real-life problems faced by the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK.