bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MO‐B‐105‐01: Successes and Challenges Associated with Monte Carlo Treatment Planning in the Clinic
Authors: Chetty IJ , Cygler J 
Published: July 2013

The availability of Monte Carlo (MC)‐based codes optimized for photon and electron beams in patient‐specific geometries has enabled the use of MC‐based dose calculations for radiotherapy treatment planning in the routine clinical setting. These codes have made it possible to perform MC‐based photon and electron beam dose calculations within minutes on typical treatment planning computational platforms. As efficient and accurate MC codes become more widely utilized in the clinic, it is important that strategies and paradigms for clinical commissioning and implementation of these systems be formulated and discussed. This lecture will focus on such strategies, challenges and successes associated with the use of MC‐based dose calculations for external photon and electron beam therapy in the clinic.Learning Objectives:1. To provide an educational review of the physics of the MC method including discussion of the approaches used for coupled photon and electron transport.2. To discuss currently available MC‐based photon and electron algorithms fast enough for clinical implementation.3. To describe the development of beam models for photon and electron beam treatment planning.4. To discuss the factors associated with MC dose calculation within the patient‐specific geometry, such as statistical uncertainties, CT‐number to material density assignments, and reporting of dose‐to‐medium versus dose‐to‐water.5. To review paradigms and approaches for commissioning and experimental verification of MC‐based photon and electron beam dose calculation algorithms.6. To summarize the approaches being used in evaluating the clinical impact of MC‐based photon dose calculations and the associated issues.NIH/NCI R01 CA106770; Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA
MO‐E‐500‐01: Point and Counter Point Debate: The More Important Heavy Charged Particle Radiotherapy of the Future Is More Likely to Be with Heavy Ions Rather Than Protons
Authors: Smith A , Jaekel O 
Published: July 2013

Over the past decade there has been considerable interest and progress in the use of heavy ions such as protons and carbon in an attempt to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy. Both have a physical advantage over photons because of their Bragg peaks, but only heavier ions such as carbon have a potential biological advantage. This has led to the claim that the most important heavy charged particle radiotherapy of the future is more likely to be with heavy ions rather than protons, and this is the premise argued in this debate.Arguments FOR the Proposition include:• relative to protons, heavier ions exhibit reduced lateral scattering, reduced range straggling, and increased dose to the tumor compared to the entrance dose• accurate positioning of the Bragg peak can be verified by in vivo measurements with heavier ions but not with protons• with heavier ions there is increased RBE in the tumor compared to normal tissues• with heavier ions there is increased effectiveness in hypoxic tumorsArguments AGAINST the Proposition include:• proton facilities cost 2–3 times less than those for heavier ions• cost and size of isocentric gantries for protons are much less• there are large uncertainties in the RBE in the heavier ion Bragg peak• with protons, there is the potential for reoxygenation during a course of therapy• due to fragmentation, heavier ion beams exhibit a tail of high‐LET radiation beyond the Bragg peakArguing for the Proposition is Oliver Jakel, Ph.D. Dr. Jakel completed his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics at the University Erlangen, Germany in 1994. He then moved to the Department for Medical Physics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, where he is currently Full Professor and Director of the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Facility of the University Hospital. Arguing against the Proposition is Alfred R. Smith, Ph.D. Dr. Smith obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, in 1970. After completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medical Physics at The University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, he held faculty positions at several institutions until he moved back to M. D. Anderson in 2002 as a Full Professor and Director of Proton Therapy Development, a position he held until 2010.Learning Objectives:1. To understand why heavy ions might be more suitable than photons for the treatment of some cancers2. To understand the relative benefits of therapy with heavier ions compared with protons3. To understand the relative benefits of therapy with protons compared with heavier ions
MO‐F‐105‐01: Challenges of Increased Controls of Radioactive Materials
Authors: Fairobent L , Blankenship B 
Published: July 2013

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, heightened concerns were expressed about the use of risk‐significant radioactive materials in a malevolent act. In the changed threat environment after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Commission determined that certain licensed material should be subject to enhanced security requirements and safeguarded during transport, and that individuals with unescorted access to risk‐significant quantities of radioactive material should be subject to background investigations. The NRC initially regulated these changes by Order. Since then, the NRC has developed a final regulation which when complied with will replace existing orders. The first part of this session will address the NRC's final rule and guidance document. This final rule is effective on May 20, 2013 with compliance required by March 19, 2014.The second part of this session will address the experience and practicalities of implementing the Orders and the process required for compliance with the final rule.Learning Objectives:1. Individuals will understand the content and complexity of the final 10 CFR 37 and its corresponding guidance document.2. Individuals will understand if the 10 CFR 37 requirements are applicable to their Radioactive Materials Program.3. Individuals will understand the complexity and challenge in implementing 10 CFR 37 requirements in practice.
TU‐A‐103‐01: MRI QA
Authors: O' Shea M , Huff K , Reeve D , Jia G 
Published: July 2013

MRI QAACR Annual Testing Requirements The ACR MRI accreditation program requires annual testing to be performed by a qualified medical physicist/MR scientist. Two of these tests are Magnetic Field Homogeneity and radio frequency Coil testing. Unfortunately, these tests are often not well understood by the medical physics community. They are often vendor specific, or require access to service protocols or passwords. In some cases they are cumbersome or impossible to perform on a particular unit. This session will give the medical physicist a better understanding of the value of these tests and guidance on how to perform them. Another portion of the annual testing is review of the technologist QA program. This is also subject to misunderstanding. Often the value of an individual test, or the proper procedures for their performance is not well understood. Guidance and recommendations for enhancing the review of the technologist QA program is also addressed in this session.Learning Objectives:1. Identify and understand the B0 homogeneity test tools available on manufactured MRI equipment sold today. Interpret the homogeneity field test results to ensure the magnet is shimmed properly.2. Understand the acquisition and reconstruction of phase maps.3. Identify the pitfalls when analyzing and subtracting phase maps.4. Understand shimming values and how they relate to the magnetic field homogeneity.5. Use of the Bandwidth Difference Methodology to evaluate the magnetic field homogeneity.6. Describe different approaches to performing RF coil quality control testing.7. Discuss methods of measuring SNR and the influence of acquisition parameters on the results.8. Recommend information to include in the coil QC record.9. Understand the technologist's role in the quality control program.10. Obtain tips about the technologist's quality control test.11. Identify common image quality problems of MRI scanners.12. Understand the importance of efficient communication to Radiologists and Physicist Understand additional QC tests (MRS, Perfusion, Diffusion, fMRI, ADNI, etc).
Medical Physics Practice in Latin America: The Best of Times, The worst of Times
Authors: Fontenla Doracy P 
Published: July 2013

Introduction: Our task is to present information on the status of the Medical Physics practice in the different countries in Latin America. Because of its fundamental value, we would like to focus on the status of education and professional medical physics issues in the different countries. Purpose: The IAEA is interested in promoting harmonization of Medical Physics practice worldwide. As a contribution, we must first learn about the diverse status of the medical physics practice, possibilities and needs in the different countries of Latin America. Methods and Materials: The LAASC maintains a close communication with all (or most) Latin American Countries through the valuable contributions of our Latin American Liaisons and Consultants. We also rely heavily on the information and cooperation with ALFIM (The umbrella association of all Medical Physics Associations of the different countries in Latin America). This presentation is based on their contributions. Results: There is a large diversity in the status of Medical Physics practice in the different countries of Latin America. As expected, this discrepancy is mostly due to the different economy status in Latin American countries. However, in many instances the economic deficiencies are somehow compensated by the great creativity of medical physicists in the region. A large credit must be given to the extensive work of the IAEA and IOMP in the education and practice of the profession of medical physics in different countries of Latin America. Conclusions: LAASC always places emphasis on divulging to the Latin America medical physicists the professional and educational opportunities as well as the medical physics literature available through the AAPM website. Through the realization of ISEP workshops it has also been possible to exchange scientific information on the state of the art of the practice of medical physics, and also to divulge AAPM programs available to countries in development, such as PIP, International Affiliate, access to Medical Physics Journal and AAPM protocols, to name a few. We believe that through cooperation and work together with ALFIM, the AAPM could contribute to make a sustainable impact to the medical physics profession in Latin American Countries.Learning Objectives:1. Understand the fundamental problems associated with the different medical physics practice levels encountered in Latin America2. To become familiar with on‐going work in developing countries in Latin America in relation to medical physics education and professional recognition.3. Learn how the AAPM could make a sustainable impact.
TU‐E‐WAB‐01: How Do We Couple Quantitative Imaging and Models of Tumor Response to Improve Multimodality Therapy?
Authors: Marks L , Moiseenko V , Stewart R , Jeraj R 
Published: July 2013

Multimodal treatments of solid malignancies have grown in prominence as new trials seek to effectively combine radiation therapies and molecularly targeted therapies. However, inter‐patient and intra‐patient variations in therapeutic response have yielded inconclusive trial outcomes. Quantitative imaging has been suggested as a means of overcoming some of these variations through individualized target definition, dose escalation, and response assessment due to its predictive value for therapy outcomes. Nonetheless, current visualization techniques at limited spatial resolution provide a narrow view of the underlying molecular, cellular and multicellular processes that make up the comprehensive biological response to therapies. Additionally, temporal gaps among longitudinal imaging time points limit dynamic response assessment. Biological imaging‐based and multi‐scale modeling of tumor response to combination therapies is a new area of clinical research that seeks to bridge these visualization and temporal gaps. This symposium will summarize recent clinical trials that are guided by quantitative imaging, address challenges of linking molecular imaging to heterogeneous biological properties, enumerate models of target definition and biologically effective response to therapy, and propose integrative methods for imaging‐based models of multimodal therapy dynamics. Most importantly, the session will bring together clinicians and scientists alike specializing in imaging and dose‐response modeling to partake in a panel discussion around the thematic question: how do we couple quantitative imaging and models of tumor response to improve multimodal therapy?Learning Objectives:1. Understand the expanding role of quantitative imaging for therapy target definition, dose escalation, and response assessment.2. Gain an improved understanding of how physical and biological mechanisms contribute to therapy response across relevant time and spatial scales.3. Discuss strategies to integrate information from clinical trials with imaging and tumor modeling so as to personalize treatments and improve outcome assessment.Supported in part by grant CA69579 (LBM)
TU‐G‐141‐01: BEST IN PHYSICS (JOINT IMAGING‐THERAPY)‐A Novel 4D CT Acquisition and Analysis Technique to Generate Low Noise Artifact‐Free Images at User Selected Breathing Phases
Authors: Thomas D , White B , Gaudio S , Jani S , Lee P , Lamb J , Low D 
Published: July 2013

Purpose: To develop a novel 4DCT technique that exploits standard fast helical acquisition, a simultaneous breathing surrogate measurement, deformable image registration, and a breathing motion model to remove motion‐induced artifacts. Methods: Five patients were imaged under free breathing conditions 25 successive times in alternating directions with a 64‐slice CT scanner using a low dose fast helical protocol. A pneumatic bellows around the abdomen was used to as a breathing surrogate. The lungs were segmented from each image. Deformable registration was used to register the first to the subsequent 24 segmented images. Voxel‐based motion model parameters were determined using a published breathing motion model. A low‐noise image was created by averaging the 25 images deformed to the first image geometry, reducing statistical noise by a factor of 5. The motion model was used to deform the low noise image to any user‐selected breathing phase. Accurate HU values were assigned to each voxel in the reconstructed images. Results: Images produced using the model at user‐selected breathing phases did not suffer from motion artifacts. The mean discrepancy between the breathing motion model results and the measured positions corresponding to each scan was determined to be 0.7mm (standard deviation of 0.4mm). In each patient, regions near to the myocardium exhibited mean discrepancies greater than 1 mm, which were likely due to uncompensated cardiac motion. Conclusion: The proposed technique can be employed as a clinical 4DCT technique providing motion artifact free images at user‐selected breathing phases. It is robust in the presence of irregular breathing, and allows the entire imaging dose to contribute to the resulting image quality, providing motion artifact free images at a patient dose similar to or less than current 4DCT techniques. We are currently modifying the protocol to work on 16‐slice CT scanners.This work supported in part by NIH R01CA096679
TU‐G‐141‐08: Impact of Audiovisual Biofeedback Respiratory Training On 4D‐PET Image Quality
Authors: Yang J , Yamamoto T , Gopalan S , Berger J , Johnston E , Chung M , Eclov N , Diehn M , Loo B , Graves E , Keall P 
Published: July 2013

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that audiovisual biofeedback (AV) respiratory training improves 4D‐PET image quality. Methods: In an IRB‐approved study, two 4D‐PET scans, with AV and free breathing, were acquired sequentially for 10 lung cancer patients. AV was performed by guiding a patient to follow a waveform with period and displacement determined by averaging the respiratory cycles of the patient. The acquisition time for the second scan was increased to compensate for activity decaying. 4D‐PET images were created by phase‐based gating with six bins. The 4D‐PET images with AV were compared to those with free breathing by quantifying (1) SUVmax and (2) tumor motion range. The motion range was quantified through the center of mass of a segmented tumor volume at each phase. To investigate the correlation of respiratory regularity and SUVmax, we separated tumors into two groups: (1) tumors with large motion (>5 mm, spatial resolution) and (2) the others. We tested the hypothesis using the two‐tailed paired t‐test. Results: For tumors with large motion, the average SUVmax with AV and free breathing was 11.5 and 10.8, respectively (p = 0.03); for the other tumors, the average SUVmax with AV and free breathing was 14.4 and 12.4, respectively (p < 0.001). For tumors with large motion, the average motion range with AV and free breathing was 9.1 and 7.4 mm (p = 0.36) in the superior‐inferior direction, respectively. However, the results were patient‐specific. In the 7 tumors with large motion, SUVmax with AV was improved for 3 tumors, worsen for 2 tumors, not correlated with respiratory regularity for 2 tumors. Conclusion: A 10‐patients study demonstrated statistically significant improvement of SUVmax with AV for tumors with large motion. Futures studies will focus on optimizing the interface for improved compliance and recruiting patients who have tumors with large motion.Research supported by the Kwanjeong Education Foundation in Korea, NIH/NCI 2 R01 CA 093626, and Stanford BioX Interdisciplinary Initiatives
WE‐A‐105‐01: Preparing for the ABR Therapy Exam
Authors: Becker S , Hipp E , Culberson W 
Published: July 2013

Preparing for all three parts of the Therapy ABR Physics boards is more than just studying as much material as possible. There will always be material that is missed and gaps in one's knowledge. Therefore it is crucial to understand how the materials relate to each other and to clinical experiences in order to fill those gaps.Each part of the board exam presents its own difficulties: Part I: Determining what material to study, most of which might have been learned a long time ago.Part II: Solving a vast array of clinical calculations rapidly by hand, which are usually done by a computer.Part III: Gaining crucial clinical experiences and being able to explain orally how they are performed and what they mean.All three require different skill sets and preparation, from memorizing vast amounts of material, to rapidly recognizing and solving calculations, to being able to easily and confidently respond to oral questions about all aspects of working in the clinic and why those clinical methods and procedures are performed that way. This symposium is not a comprehensive review of all required study material. Instead it focuses on the previously mentioned problems and required skill sets that are needed for each part of the board exam. Expert Medical Physicists and Medical Faculty will share their experiences and methods to help students best prepare for the challenges of each individual exam along with helping students cope with the anxiety of the exam process.Learning Objectives:1. How to Prepare for Part 1 by determining study material2. How to Prepare for Part 2 by learning to solve clinical calculations rapidly3. How to Prepare for Part 3 by determining critical clinical experiences and learning how to answer questions orally
WE‐D‐137‐01: Open Access Publishing and Medical Physics
Authors: Keyes R , Hendee W , Kahn M , Mills M 
Published: July 2013

Open access, or no fee access, to journal articles has been gaining wider adoption in the scientific and scholarly communities. The medical physics community is no exception, with many of the journals dedicated to medical physics topics now having specific policies enabling open access. The advantages of open access to scholars, researchers, and other “users” of articles are many, but the topic is not without controversy or complexity.As open access becomes more prevalent, it is important for our community to understand the concepts of open access and the context in which it has come about. Changing regulations by funding agencies, shifts in the attitudes of authors, budgetary considerations, and the interests of journals and societies all play important roles.The speakers in this session will provide background information on open access as well their perspectives on how open access fits into the medical physics landscape and the larger world of scholarly publishing.Learning Objectives:1. Understand the basic concepts and definitions in open access publishing.2. Understand the current state of open access in medical physics.3. Understand the perspective of different stakeholders in open access publishing.
WE‐E‐105‐01: Managing and Leading Others: Practical Advice for Medical Physicists
Authors: Molineu A , Miller R , Clements J , Balter J 
Published: July 2013

Medical physicists often find themselves in management and leadership positions, whether they are direct supervisors of other physicists, students, and residents or indirect managers of tasks performed by professionals such as therapists, technologists or dosimitrists who report to someone else. Yet, many medical physicists have had no formal management training to be managers. Educational opportunities for developing this skill set may be limited to hospital‐wide human resources, informal training through mentorship, or on the job training without support. To address the unique needs of medical physicists, this session includes talks from a panel of physicists who are successful in managing others well. Each panelist will present tips and methods that they have learned or developed over their careers that have helped them succeed in managing others effectively. Each panelist will emphasize a different type of management: supervision of interdisciplinary groups (such as therapists and dosimetrists), direct reports for supervised physicists, (such as residents, junior physicists), and direct reports for academic activities (students, post‐doctoral associates). They may also share lessons they have learned from situations that were not handled well. Advice will include tips about managing students, residents, physicists and therapists. There will be a moderated question and answer session.Learning Objectives:1. Learn about tools for improving your management skills for directly supervised physicists2. Learn management skills for interdisciplinary groups3. Learn management skills for supervision of students and/or post‐doctoral associates4. Learn how to access other tools to become an effective manager