bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MO‐FG‐207‐03: Maximizing the Utility of Integrated PET/MRI in Clinical Applications
Authors: Behr S. 
Published: June 2015

The use of integrated PET/MRI systems in clinical applications can best benefit from understanding their technological advances and limitations. The currently available clinical PET/MRI systems have their own characteristics. Thorough analyses of existing technical data and evaluation of necessary performance metrics for quality assurances could be conducted to optimize application‐specific PET/MRI protocols. This Symposium will focus on technical advances and limitations of clinical PET/MRI systems, and how this exciting imaging modality can be utilized in applications that can benefit from both PET and MRI.Learning Objectives:

To understand the technological advances of clinical PET/MRI systems
To correctly identify clinical applications that can benefit from PET/MRI
To understand ongoing work to further improve the current PET/MRI technology
Floris Jansen is a GE Healthcare employee.
MO‐FG‐201‐00: High‐Impact Presentations
Authors: Jordan David 
Published: June 2015

Oral presentations are one of the most important tools to advance education, scientific research, and clinical excellence in medical physics. Medical physicists do not often captivate their audiences like a Steve Jobs keynote or a TED talk, but every physicist can learn to engage their audiences and deliver their message in a memorable way using their own personality and style. This interactive session will teach attendees to discover their own style and voice and to use it to engage and connect with their audiences. Audience reception and response will be reviewed in terms of the speaker's executive presence and content, as well as research on the psychology of audiences and physiology of speakers. Physicists will learn how to organize and mentally prepare themselves as well as their PowerPoint slides.Learning Objectives:

Develop executive presence: poised under pressure to deliver a message in a relaxed, casual, and credible way
Connect with an audience by creating harmony between the content and the visual and audible elements of a presentation
Confidently deliver engaging presentations in the individual's voice and personality
Heidi Weiker and Tanya Weiker are co‐owners of Spherica LLC.
MO‐FG‐210‐01: Commissioning An US System for Brachytherapy: An Overview of Physics, Instrumentation, and Techniques
Authors: Chang Z. 
Published: June 2015

Ultrasound (US) is one of the most widely used imaging modalities in medical practice. Since US imaging offers real‐time imaging capability, it has becomes an excellent option to provide image guidance for brachytherapy (IGBT). (1) The physics and the fundamental principles of US imaging are presented, and the typical steps required to commission an US system for IGBT is provided for illustration. (2) Application of US for prostate HDR brachytherapy, including partial prostate treatments using MR‐ultrasound co‐registration to enable a focused treatment on the disease within the prostate is also presented. Prostate HDR with US image guidance planning can benefit from real time visualization of the needles, and fusion of the ultrasound images with T2 weighted MR allows the focusing of the treatment to the specific areas of disease within the prostate, so that the entire gland need not be treated. Finally, (3) ultrasound guidance for an eye plaque program is presented. US can be a key component of placement and QA for episcleral plaque brachytherapy for ocular cancer, and the UCLA eye plaque program with US for image guidance is presented to demonstrate the utility of US verification of plaque placement in improving the methods and QA in episcleral plaque brachytherapy.Learning Objectives:

To understand the physics of an US system and the necessary aspects of commissioning US for image guided brachytherapy (IGBT).
To understand real time planning of prostate HDR using ultrasound, and its application in partial prostate treatments using MR‐ultrasound fusion to focus treatment on disease within the prostate.
To understand the methods and QA in applying US for localizing the target and the implant during a episcleral plaque brachytherapy procedures.
MO‐FG‐210‐02: Implementation of Image‐Guided Prostate HDR Brachytherapy Using MR‐Ultrasound Fusion
Authors: Libby B. 
Published: June 2015

Ultrasound (US) is one of the most widely used imaging modalities in medical practice. Since US imaging offers real‐time imaging capability, it has becomes an excellent option to provide image guidance for brachytherapy (IGBT). (1) The physics and the fundamental principles of US imaging are presented, and the typical steps required to commission an US system for IGBT is provided for illustration. (2) Application of US for prostate HDR brachytherapy, including partial prostate treatments using MR‐ultrasound co‐registration to enable a focused treatment on the disease within the prostate is also presented. Prostate HDR with US image guidance planning can benefit from real time visualization of the needles, and fusion of the ultrasound images with T2 weighted MR allows the focusing of the treatment to the specific areas of disease within the prostate, so that the entire gland need not be treated. Finally, (3) ultrasound guidance for an eye plaque program is presented. US can be a key component of placement and QA for episcleral plaque brachytherapy for ocular cancer, and the UCLA eye plaque program with US for image guidance is presented to demonstrate the utility of US verification of plaque placement in improving the methods and QA in episcleral plaque brachytherapy.Learning Objectives:

To understand the physics of an US system and the necessary aspects of commissioning US for image guided brachytherapy (IGBT).
To understand real time planning of prostate HDR using ultrasound, and its application in partial prostate treatments using MR‐ultrasound fusion to focus treatment on disease within the prostate.
To understand the methods and QA in applying US for localizing the target and the implant during a episcleral plaque brachytherapy procedures.
MO‐F‐CAMPUS‐J‐04: One‐Year Analysis of Elekta CBCT Image Quality Using NPS and MTF
Authors: Nakahara S , Tachibana M , Watanabe Y 
Published: June 2015

Purpose:To compare quantitative image quality (IQ) evaluation methods using Noise Power Spectrum (NPS) and Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) with standard IQ analyses for minimizing the observer subjectivity of the standard methods and maximizing the information content.Methods:For our routine IQ tests of Elekta XVI Cone‐Beam CT, image noise was quantified by the standard deviation of CT number (CT#) (Sigma) over a small area in an IQ test phantom (CatPhan), and the high spatial resolution (HSR) was evaluated by the number of line‐pairs (LP#) visually recognizable on the image. We also measured the image uniformity, the low contrast resolution ratio, and the distances of two points for geometrical accuracy. For this study, we did additional evaluation of the XVI data for 12 monthly IQ tests by using NPS for noise, MTF for HSR, and the CT#‐to‐density relationship. NPS was obtained by applying Fourier analysis in a small area on the uniformity test section of CatPhan. The MTF analysis was performed by applying the Droege‐Morin (D‐M) method to the line pairs on the phantom. The CT#‐to‐density was obtained for inserts in the low‐contrast test section of the phantom.Results:All the quantities showed a noticeable change over the one‐year period. Especially the noise level changed significantly after a repair of the imager. NPS was more sensitive to the IQ change than Sigma. MTF could provide more quantitative and objective evaluation of the HSR. The CT# was very different from the expected CT#; but, the CT#‐to‐density curves were constant within 5% except two months.Conclusion:Since the D‐M method is easy to implement, we recommend using MTF instead of the LP# even for routine periodic QA. The month‐to‐month variation of IQ was not negligible; hence a routine IQ test must be performed, particularly after any modification of hardware including detector calibration.
MO‐F‐CAMPUS‐I‐04: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of An in Vitro 3D Tumor Model
Authors: Veiga C , Long T , Siow B , Loizidou M , Royle G , Ricketts K 
Published: June 2015

Purpose:To investigate the use of an in vitro 3D tumor model (tumoroid) as a bio‐phantom for repetitive and sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies.Methods:The tissue engineered tumoroid comprised an artificial cancer mass (ACM) containing 30 million HT29 cancer cells seeded in a collagen type I matrix, whose density was increased by plastic compression (dry/wet weight=40%). The ACM was embedded in an uncompressed collagen gel that mimicked the tumor stroma, and the tumoroid was incubated for 24h before imaging. Images were acquired using the 1T ICON™ (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA) MRI scanner. T1 maps were calculated using an IR‐RARE sequence (TE=12ms, TR=10000ms, 7 inversion times), while for T2 maps a MSME technique (TR=6000ms, 16 echoes) was used. T1 and T2 fittings were performed using a pixel‐wise approach to produce relaxometric parametric maps.Results:The images acquired and corresponding T1 and T2 maps indicate contrast between the ACM and the stroma. T1 was 2500 and 2800ms, while T2 was 520 and 760ms, for the ACM and stroma respectively. The ACM construct was not homogenous and internal features were visible, which can be explained by local gradients of cell and/or collagen density. The viability of the cells was confirmed via confocal microscopy for several days after the imaging session, demonstrating the suitability of the tumoroid for sequential imaging studies.Conclusions:We have engineered a tumor model compatible with repetitive and sequential MRI. We found T1 and T2 contrast between the ACM and stroma using a pre‐clinical MRI scanner. The model, which enables controllable cell and matrix densities, has potential for a wide range of applications in radiotherapy, such as to study tumor progression and to validate imaging biomarkers. Further work is necessary to understand the mechanisms behind the contrast achieved, and to correlate findings with biology and histology data.
MO‐F‐CAMPUS‐I‐05: Quantitative ADC Measurement of Esophageal Cancer Before and After Chemoradiation
Authors: Yang L , Son JB , Ma J , Cheng S , Hazle J , Carter BW , Lin S 
Published: June 2015

Purpose:We investigated whether quantitative diffusion imaging can be used as an imaging biomarker for early prediction of treatment response of esophageal cancer.Methods:Eight patients with esophageal cancer underwent a baseline and an interim MRI studies during chemoradiation on a 3T whole body MRI scanner with an 8‐channel torso phased array coil. Each MRI study contained two axial diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) series with a conventional DWI sequence and a reduced field‐of‐view DWI sequence (FOCUS) of varying b‐values. ADC maps with two b‐values were computed from conventional DWI images using a mono‐exponential model. For each of DWI sequences, separate ADCall was computed by fitting the signal intensity of images with all the b‐values to a single exponential model. For the FOCUS sequence, a bi‐exponential model was used to extract perfusion and diffusion coefficients (ADCperf and ADCdiff) and their contributions to the signal decay. A board‐certified radiologist contoured the tumor region and mean ADC values and standard deviations of tumor and muscle ROIs were recorded from different ADC maps.Results:Our results showed that (1) the magnitude of ADCs from the same ROIs by the different analysis methods can be substantially different. (2) For a given method, the change between the baseline and interim muscle ADCs was relatively small (≤10%). In contrast, the change between the baseline and interim tumor ADCs was substantially larger, with the change in ADCdiff by FOCUS DWI showing the largest percentage change of 73.2%. (3) The range of the relative change of a specific parameter for different patients was also different.Conclusion:Presently, we do not have the final pathological confirmation of the treatment response for all the patients. However, for a few patients whose surgical specimen is available, the quantitative ADC changes have been found to be useful as a potential predictor for treatment response.
MO‐G‐304‐04: Generating Well‐Dispersed Representations of the Pareto Front for Multi‐Criteria Optimization in Radiation Treatment Planning
Authors: Kirlik G , Zhang H 
Published: June 2015

Purpose:To present a novel multi‐criteria optimization (MCO) solution approach that generates well‐dispersed representation of the Pareto front for radiation treatment planning.Methods:Different algorithms have been proposed and implemented in commercial planning software to generate MCO plans for external‐beam radiation therapy. These algorithms consider convex optimization problems. We propose a grid‐based algorithm to generate well‐dispersed treatment plans over Pareto front. Our method is able to handle nonconvexity in the problem to deal with dose‐volume objectives/constraints, biological objectives, such as equivalent uniform dose (EUD), tumor control probability (TCP), normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), etc. In addition, our algorithm is able to provide single MCO plan when clinicians are targeting narrow bounds of objectives for patients. In this situation, usually none of the generated plans were within the bounds and a solution is difficult to identify via manual navigation. We use the subproblem formulation utilized in the grid‐based algorithm to obtain a plan within the specified bounds. The subproblem aims to generate a solution that maps into the rectangle defined by the bounds. If such a solution does not exist, it generates the solution closest to the rectangle. We tested our method with 10 locally advanced head and neck cancer cases.Results:8 objectives were used including 3 different objectives for primary target volume, high‐risk and low‐risk target volumes, and 5 objectives for each of the organs‐at‐risk (OARs) (two parotids, spinal cord, brain stem and oral cavity). Given tight bounds, uniform dose was achieved for all targets while as much as 26% improvement was achieved in OAR sparing comparing to clinical plans without MCO and previously proposed MCO method.Conclusion:Our method is able to obtain well‐dispersed treatment plans to attain better approximation for convex and nonconvex Pareto fronts. Single treatment plan can be achieved when given bounds on the objectives.
TU‐A‐213‐00: MBAs for Medical Physicists: Business School Basics
Authors: Tarver Russell 
Published: June 2015

A broad survey of business schools and their potential to augment the utility of practicing medical physicists will be presented in didactic format. Topics will include: 1) business education vs. medical and scientific education, 2) the MBA degree vs. alternative degrees/certificates, 3) distinguishing features among MBA programs, 4) the MBA admissions process and student experience, 5) a description of the typical MBA curriculum and its relevance to clinical practice, and 6) themes to consider when performing a cost‐benefit analysis of whether or not to enroll in an MBA program.This session is the first of two consecutive sessions exploring the professional impact of supplementing medical physics credentials with formal business education, and is also part of a larger block of sessions concentrating on the Management, Business and Supervision aspects of Medical Physics.Learning Objectives:

To consider medical physics credentials within a broader educational and economic context.
To gain a sense of what is taught in business schools and how medical physicists might become more effective with this knowledge.
To discern market segments among MBA students and product differentiation among MBA programs.
TU‐A‐304‐00: Imaging, Treatment Planning, and QA for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
Authors: Xing Lei 
Published: June 2015

Increased use of SBRT and hypo fractionation in radiation oncology practice has posted a number of challenges to medical physicist, ranging from planning, image‐guided patient setup and on‐treatment monitoring, to quality assurance (QA) and dose delivery. This symposium is designed to provide updated knowledge necessary for the safe and efficient implementation of SBRT in various linac platforms, including the emerging digital linacs equipped with high dose rate FFF beams. Issues related to 4D CT, PET and MRI simulations, 3D/4D CBCT guided patient setup, real‐time image guidance during SBRT dose delivery using gated/un‐gated VMAT or IMRT, and technical advancements in QA of SBRT (in particular, strategies dealing with high dose rate FFF beams) will be addressed. The symposium will help the attendees to gain a comprehensive understanding of the SBRT workflow and facilitate their clinical implementation of the state‐of‐art imaging and planning techniques.Learning Objectives:

Present background knowledge of SBRT, describe essential requirements for safe implementation of SBRT, and discuss issues specific to SBRT treatment planning and QA.
Update on the use of multi‐dimensional (3D and 4D) and multi‐modality (CT, beam‐level X‐ray imaging, pre‐ and on‐treatment 3D/4D MRI, PET, robotic ultrasound, etc.) for reliable guidance of SBRT.
Provide a comprehensive overview of emerging digital linacs and summarize the key geometric and dosimetric features of the new generation of linacs for substantially improved SBRT.
Discuss treatment planning and quality assurance issues specific to SBRT.
Research grant from Varian Medical Systems
TU‐B‐210‐01: MRg HIFU ‐ Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Ablation
Authors: Ghanouni P. 
Published: June 2015

MR guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), or alternatively high‐intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU), is approved for thermal ablative treatment of uterine fibroids and pain palliation in bone metastases. Ablation of malignant tumors is under active investigation in sites such as breast, prostate, brain, liver, kidney, pancreas, and soft tissue. Hyperthermia therapy with MRgFUS is also feasible, and may be used in conjunction with radiotherapy and for local targeted drug delivery. MRI allows in situ target definition and provides continuous temperature monitoring and subsequent thermal dose mapping during HIFU. Although MRgHIFU can be very precise, treatment of mobile organs is challenging and advanced techniques are required because of artifacts in MR temperature mapping, the need for intercostal firing, and need for gated HIFU or tracking of the lesion in real time. The first invited talk, “MR guided Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Tumors in Bone and Soft Tissue”, will summarize the treatment protocol and review results from treatment of bone tumors. In addition, efforts to extend this technology to treat both benign and malignant soft tissue tumors of the extremities will be presented. The second invited talk, “MRI guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound – Advanced Approaches for Ablation and Hyperthermia”, will provide an overview of techniques that are in or near clinical trials for thermal ablation and hyperthermia, with an emphasis of applications in abdominal organs and breast, including methods for MRTI and tracking targets in moving organs.Learning Objectives:

Learn background on devices and techniques for MR guided HIFU for cancer therapy
Understand issues and current status of clinical MRg HIFU
Understand strategies for compensating for organ movement during MRgHIFU
Understand strategies for strategies for delivering hyperthermia with MRgHIFU
CM ‐ research collaboration with Philips
TU‐CD‐213‐00: Administrative Aspects of Medical Physics
Authors: Johnson Jennifer Lynn 
Published: June 2015

As part of the AAPM's Scope of Practice, medical physicists are expected to collaborate effectively with practioners and allied health care providers. Interpersonal skills such as communication, negotiation and persuasion are vital for successful collaboration to achieve shared goals. This session will provide some theoretical background of these interpersonal skills as well as specific techniques and practical tools to influence others. Applications of these interpersonal skills for administrative and human resource management purposes vital to medical physicists will be shared. Session attendees will gain knowledge and tools to help them effectively collaborate with administrative and physician leaders in areas such as capital and human resource selection, prioritization, and implementation. Participants will hear methods of how to articulate their goals and to understand the goals of administration, helping ensure alignment of purpose.Session speakers will present one of the topics: equipment selection, budget creation, contracts, and program‐related policy development. Specifics may include designing a business case in language that administrators understand, calculating the prioritization of budget requests, and influencing policies for safe and effective care. Human resource topics may include staffing justification, recruitment for fit, employment contracts, and benefits. Speakers will provide examples in both radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging departments and will share experiences and outcomes of their approaches for better results.Learning Objectives:After this course attendees will be better able to

Understand the shared goal between administrative and physicist leadership.
Articulate the “why” of the technical or human resource need.
Utilize communication, negotiation and persuasion tools to improve collaboration.
TU‐CD‐213‐02: Communication, Negotiation, and Persuasion: Approaches for Better Results
Authors: Clements J. 
Published: June 2015

As part of the AAPM's Scope of Practice, medical physicists are expected to collaborate effectively with practioners and allied health care providers. Interpersonal skills such as communication, negotiation and persuasion are vital for successful collaboration to achieve shared goals. This session will provide some theoretical background of these interpersonal skills as well as specific techniques and practical tools to influence others. Applications of these interpersonal skills for administrative and human resource management purposes vital to medical physicists will be shared. Session attendees will gain knowledge and tools to help them effectively collaborate with administrative and physician leaders in areas such as capital and human resource selection, prioritization, and implementation. Participants will hear methods of how to articulate their goals and to understand the goals of administration, helping ensure alignment of purpose.Session speakers will present one of the topics: equipment selection, budget creation, contracts, and program‐related policy development. Specifics may include designing a business case in language that administrators understand, calculating the prioritization of budget requests, and influencing policies for safe and effective care. Human resource topics may include staffing justification, recruitment for fit, employment contracts, and benefits. Speakers will provide examples in both radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging departments and will share experiences and outcomes of their approaches for better results.Learning Objectives:After this course attendees will be better able to

Understand the shared goal between administrative and physicist leadership.
Articulate the “why” of the technical or human resource need.
Utilize communication, negotiation and persuasion tools to improve collaboration.