United States Technical Advisory Group (TAG)

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) develops and promulgates consensus standards for the safety and performance of electrical devices to assure uniformity throughout the world. The standards address a wide variety of devices.

The United States Technical Advisory Group (TAG) advises the U.S. National Committee to the IEC on how to comment and vote on draft standards written by committees and working groups of the IEC. There are a number of TAGs; but of interest to the field is the U.S. TAG for IEC Subcommittee 62C that addresses standards dealing with radiation therapy equipment. The TAG is responsible for developing the US position on contentious provisions regarding international equipment/manufacturing standards and voting on formal draft standards. For more background information, read a 2014 ASTROnews article.

The membership of the TAG is roughly an equal mix of industry representatives and clinical medical physicists. The role of the clinical physicists is to promote the safety of patients and staff and ensure that the requirements imposed by the standards do not adversely affect clinical utility and workflow. Three clinical medical physicists serve as ASTRO representatives on the TAG.

There is currently an opening on the TAG. Applicants must exhibit the following qualifications and apply by Monday, February 20.

Qualifications

• Medical physicist with 10+ years clinical experience.
• Employed by a health care-related organization.
• Interest and familiarity with radiation therapy equipment.
• Bonus if an individual has an engineering background.
• Able to make a multi-year commitment (as there is a relatively steep learning curve).

Requirements for Active Participation

• Review documents and provide feedback. Participate in discussion.
• Attend between 2 and 6 conference calls per year.
• Attend ~2 meetings a year (virtual/travel within the U.S.).

The TAG workload can be time intensive but sporadic. Members pore over lengthy technical provisions and debate the safety implications on equipment requirements. A draft standard might be 30-100 pages, single-spaced, some of which is taken up by figures, definitions of terms, and an index. When reviewing these drafts, TAG members must pay attention not only to technical specifications but editorial issues including spelling, grammar and internal references.

The content and timing of TAG work is based on the IEC Working Group. The deadlines for review are generally set 2-3 months after a draft is distributed, and attempts are made to space out the draft publication dates, but there is frequently a bolus of several documents in the months leading up to a Working Group meeting.

As stated in the ASTROnews article, “[t]hese documents are complex and written to be both unambiguous and understood by various cultures and backgrounds. Review is not easy, but it is rewarding work, as one is aware that the result will have significant and long-lasting effects."