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Please contact Bonnie Culbertson at PCI (312-558-1770 ext 103) for all media inquiries and to learn more about the teleconference that will be scheduled before the meeting. Please note that certain abstracts are embargoed until presentation date.

Image courtesy of Dr. Di Zhang, UCLA School of Medicine Dose Reduction in Computed Tomography (CT)

A major emphasis on the measurement and reduction of radiation dose in CT imaging is underway throughout the field of medical physics. Activities include: image quality studies for low-dose imaging protocols; novel image reconstruction methods to provide improved image quality at low dose; patient-size-specific low-dose protocols, including pediatric imaging; new standards for dose measurement and reporting; and the development of appropriateness criteria in clinical CT utilization.

See, for example:

Image courtesy of Dr. R. Jeraj, University of Wisconsin
Imaging of Therapy Response

Key to understanding the nature of cancer and the effectiveness of cancer therapy is a better understanding of the biological, physiological, biochemical, and genotypic factors governing therapy response. For example, why does a certain course of radiotherapy succeed in one patient yet fail in another patient with the same stage and class of tumor? This major question is likely to form a central theme in the coming decade of cancer research, with multi-disciplinary research in medical physics shedding light on the complexities of radiation response in normal and cancerous tissue.

See, for example:

Images courtesy of Elekta Inc.
Patient Safety in Radiation Therapy

Cutting-edge methods and devices promise to enhance, quantify, and/or monitor the safe delivery of radiation in therapeutic medicine, with emphasis on innovative science and engineering for patient safety. The importance of such work is evident in recent accidents involving radiation in both the diagnostic and radiation therapy sectors. As an area of innovative scientific research, a considerable effort within the medical physics community is underway beyond basic quality control standards in radiation safety and training to identify new avenues for assuring patient safety.

See, for example:

 

Top Newsworthy Presentations

NEWS RELEASES
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  • Press Teleconference to be held JULY 26 (11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET)
  • Please contact Bonnie Culbertson at PCI (312-558-1770 ext 103) for all media inquiries and to learn more about the teleconference that will be scheduled before the meeting.
News Releases
RADIATION THERAPY PHYSICS
logo1 Title: 3D In-Patient Dose Reconstruction From the PET-CT Imaging of Y-90 Microspheres for Metastatic Cancer to the Liver
Session: WE-A-BRB Brachytherapy
Presenting Author: Eugene Fourkal
Byline: E Fourkal*, I Veltchev, S Koren, M Lin, C Ma, J Meyer, M Doss, M Yu, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
logo2 Title: Dosimetric Analysis of Inverse-Planned Modulated-Arc Total-Body Irradiation
Session: TH-C-BRB Treatment Delivery and Verification: Intensity-Modulated Techniques
Presenting Author: Mareike Held
Byline: M Held*, N Kirby, O Morin, J Pouliot, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
logo3 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY) - Combined Effects of Pulsed Non-Thermal Focused Ultrasound and Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment
Session: TU-C-BRB Basic Radiation Biology and Animal Studies
Presenting Author: Xiaoming Chen
Byline: X Chen1, D Cvetkovic1, J Xue1,2, L Chen1, C-M Ma1, (1)Radiation Oncology Department, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, (2)Cancer Center of Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
logo4 Title: Comparison of Proton Therapy Institutional Data Collected by the RPC
Session: MO-D-BRB Dosimetry: Safety Procedures
Presenting Author: Paige Summers
Byline:P Summers*, G Ibbott, M Moyers, R Grant, D Followill, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
logo5 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY) - A Novel Multi-Point Plastic Scintillation Detector for in Vivo Dosimetry and Quality Assurance in Radiation Therapy
Session: WE-G-BRB On-line Devices and Detectors for Dosimetry
Presenting Author: Francois Therriault-Proulx
Byline: F Therriault-Proulx1,2*, L Beaulieu2,3, L Archambault2,3, S Beddar1, (1) University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, (2) Departement de Physique, de Genie Physique et d'Optique, Universite Laval, Quebec,QC, (3) Centre Hospitalier Univ. de Quebec, Quebec, QC
logo6 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY) - A Real Time Dose Monitoring and Dose Reconstruction Tool for Patient Specific VMAT QA and Delivery
Session: MO-D-BRB Dosimetry: Safety Procedures
Presenting Author: Kai Yang
Byline: K Yang*, D Gersten, D Yan, N Tyagi, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI
logo7 Title: Correlating Areas of Radiation Toxicity with Relative Biological Effectiveness-Weighted Dose Distributions in Proton Radiotherapy
Session: TH-C-213AB Biological Modeling and Outcome Modeling/Assessment
Presenting Author: Christopher Peeler
Byline: C Peeler1,2*, D Mirkovic2, D Grosshans2, U Titt2, R Mohan2, (1) The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, (2) The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
logo8 Title: JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR WINNER - Fast and Accurate Patient Specific Collision Detection For Radiation Therapy
Session: MO-D-BRB Dosimetry: Safety Procedures
Presenting Author: Rex Cardan
Byline: R Cardan1*, R Popple2, J Duan3, S Shen4, X Wu5, I Brezovich6, (1) UAB University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, (2) Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, (3) Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, (4) Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, (5) Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, (6) Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
logo9 Title: Mean Regional Dose to the Esophagus Predicts Acute Toxicity Rate for Lung Cancer Patients
Session: SU-F-BRCD Young Investigator Symposium
Presenting Author: Shane Krafft
Byline: S Krafft*, S Tucker, Z Liao, L Court, D Gomez, M Martel, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
logo10 Title: TG-51 Calibration of First Commercial MRI-Guided IMRT System in the Presence of 0.35 Tesla Magnetic Field
Session: WE-G-BRB On-line Devices and Detectors for Dosimetry
Presenting Author: SreeKrishna Murty Goddu
Byline: S Goddu*, O Pechenaya Green, S Mutic, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO
logo11 Title: Nanoscaffold-Enhanced Proton Therapy
Session: TU-C-BRB Basic Radiation Biology and Animal Studies
Presenting Author: Lawrence Bronk
Byline: L Bronk1*, J Polf2, W Driessen1, M Gillin1, W Arap1, R Pasqualini1, (1) UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, (2) Oklahoma State University, STILLWATER, OK
logo12 Title: Knowledge-Based Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) Treatment Planning for Prostate Cancer
Session: WE-G-BRCD Treatment Planning for External Beam Therapy
Presenting Author: Deon Dick
Byline: D Dick*, S Das, J Lo, Duke Univ Medical Center, Durham, NC
IMAGING FOR THERAPY GUIDANCE
logo1 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (JOINT IMAGING-THERAPY) - Modeling Pathologic Response of Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer to Chemoradiotherapy Using Spatial-Temporal FDG-PET Features, Clinical Parameters and Demographics
Session: WE-C-BRA The John S. Laughlin - Science Council Research Symposium
Presenting Author: Hao Zhang
Byline: H Zhang1*, S Tan2, W Chen1, S Kligerman1, G Kim1, W DSouza1, M Suntharalingam1, W Lu1, (1) University of Maryland School of Medicine, BALTIMORE, MD, (2) Huazhong University of Science and Technology
logo2 Title: Physiological Imaging-Defined Response-Driven Subvolumes of a Tumor
Session: WE-C-BRA The John S. Laughlin - Science Council Research Symposium
Presenting Author: Reza Farjam
Byline: R Farjam*, C Tsien, F Feng, D Gomez-Hassan, J Hayman, T Lawrence, Y Cao, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
logo3 Title: The Effects of Radiation Therapy On White Matter Fiber Tracts of the Limbic Circuit
Session: WE-A-217A Therapy Assessment
Presenting Author: Mohammad-Reza Nazem-Zadeh
Byline: M Nazem-Zadeh*, C Chapman, T Lawrence, C Tsien, Y Cao, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
logo4 Title: The Impact of Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) Variability On the Assessment of Treatment Response in Head-And-Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemoradiotherapy
Session: WE-A-217A Therapy Assessment
Presenting Author: Shiva Das
Byline: S Das1*, J Hoang2, K Roy Choudhury2, D Yoo1, D Brizel1, (1) Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Duke Univ Medical Center, Durham, NC (2) Dept. of Radiology, Duke Univ Medical Center, Durham, NC
logo6 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (JOINT IMAGING-THERAPY) - Assessment of Radiation-Induced White Matter Injury in Sub-Structures of Normal-Appearing Brainstem Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Session: WE-C-BRA The John S. Laughlin - Science Council Research Symposium
Presenting Author: Jinsoo Uh
Byline: J Uh*, T Merchant, R Ogg, C Hua, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
logo7 Title: Motion Adaptive Rotational Intensity Modulated Radio Therapy (MA-RIMRT) with Image Guidance
Session: TU-G-BRA Motion Assessment and Management: Novel Modalities
Presenting Author: Ajay Paidi
Byline: A Paidi*, F Neacsu, W Aguilar, S Bose, A Bani-Hashemi, J Maltz, Siemens Medical Solutions
DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING PHYSICS
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News Release!

Imaging Implants : Research Shows New CT Technique Provides Higher Quality Images of Joint Replacements
May Reduce Radiation Exposure

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News Release!

Measuring Breast Density : Spectral Mammography: Like Going From Black and White to Color
New Method Measures Breast Density, Can Help Determine Cancer Risk Research Suggests

logo1 Title: BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING) - Evaluation of Apoptosis and Proliferation in Non-Thermal Pulsed HIFU Treated Mouse Prostate Tumors
Session: TH-C-217BCD Advanced Imaging Applications and Contrast Agents in Ultrasound Imaging
Presenting Author: Dusica Cvetkovic
Byline: D Cvetkovic*, X Chen, C Ma, L Chen, Fox Chase Cancer Center, PHILADELPHIA, PA
logo2 Title: Development of Graphic Patient Models for a Real-Time Skin Dose Tracking System (DTS) for Fluoroscopic Interventional Procedures
Session: SU-E-I Imaging General Poster Discussion
Presenting Author: Vijay Rana
Byline: V Rana1*, D Bednarek2, J Wu1, S Rudin2, (1) Univ. at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, (2) Univ. at Buffalo (SUNY) School of Med., Buffalo, NY
logo3 Title: Defining Performance-Based, Size-Specific, Optimized Protocols for Pediatric CT
Session: TH-E-217BCD CT Image Quality
Presenting Author: Xiang Li
Byline: X Li1*, E Samei1, J Solomon1, D Frush1, (1) Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Featured Interviews

Trends and Hot Topics in Medical Physics

Dr. Gary Ezzell, president of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), talks about current trends in medical physics, particularly the melding of imaging and radiation therapy to guide treatment. He also recaps some of the hot topics discussed at this year’s annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C., and AAPM’s key initiatives for the coming year.



Iterative Technique to Eliminate Artifacts from Implants

Dr. Web Stayman of Johns Hopkins University presents an overview of research he presented at the 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. It involves an iterative technique for computed tomography (CT) to better contend with implants to improve image-guided surgery or interventions. The technique takes knowledge about the components and integrates it into the reconstruction to eliminate artifacts.



A New Technique Utilizes Spectral Mammography to Measure Breast Density

Dr. Sabee Molloi from the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, worked with a team on a study using spectral mammography to develop a quantitative technique to measure volumetric breast density. Their technique also enables a lower dose to be used for a screening mammogram. Two members of the team, Justin Ducote and Huanjun Ding, describe the research, which they presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.



AAPM gratefully acknowledges the cooperation of ITN in conducting these interviews and making them available here and on their website.